Prolific filmmaker Martin Scorsese says Marvel movies are "not cinema" and compares superhero fare to theme parks. Speaking to Empire Magazine ahead of the release of Netflix original movie The Irishman, reuniting him with his Goodfellas and Casino stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the Taxi Driver and The Departed director was asked about the proliferation of the superhero genre and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Scorsese then admitted he tried and failed to get into Marvel movies, which he sees as more play pretend than genuine human drama.
"I don't see them. I tried, you know? But that's not cinema," Scorsese told Empire. "Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn't the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being."
So ERA, can MCU movies be considered kino?