Success comes at a price with part of it not being able to please everyone, and yet, judging from numbers alone, it would seem like Marvel’s superhero films are the biggest people pleasers when it comes to movies. In today’s world, there really isn’t something that guarantees commercial success as much as having that signature MCU opening credits theme.

This phenomenon did not occur overnight, and though the merits and legacy of the superhero film genre warrant a discussion of their own, ever since Martin Scorsese voiced his opinion on the matter, many of his colleagues have echoed his harsh criticism of Marvel movies. Scorsese’s opinion is rather straightforward, as a filmmaker, he remains respectful of the amount of work and dedication it takes to put together one of Marvel Studios’ blockbusters, nevertheless, that alone does not make the productions cinema: they're content.

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Among the brilliant directors who have backed up Scorsese’s claims are Denis Villeneuve, Ridley Scott, Francis Ford Coppola, Bong Joon-ho, Alejandro González Iñarritu, and more recently Jane Champion, with the first two’s opinion being particularly noteworthy given their work on some very high-profile sci-fi blockbusters. With varying degrees of nuance, the gist of the anti-Marvel gang at its core is indeed the fact that the MCU is not cinema because it doesn’t dare to innovate and make viewers ask themselves hard questions or learn anything.

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However, although there’s a lot to process here, on the face of it the most apparent fault in that argument should be that these “flaws” are not exclusive to Marvel but instead something that plagues blockbuster movies as a whole. Perhaps the biggest examples of this are the Fast and Furious franchise, Star Wars, as well as the slew of modernized remakes of previous mega-hits from other decades such as Jurassic World and whatever Disney decides to put out next.

While The Fast and Furious is more contemporary with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, a wholly different kind of superhero movie, since it came out the franchise has turned out 9 mainline movies, plus one spinoff, with two more on the way until 2024. Suffice to say, F9 is peak content because much like Marvel movies -to paraphrase many of its critics- it’s loud, bloated, they run on massive budgets, and will certainly not incite too many deep emotional experiences, though it might also be argued that no one is buying tickets for either one of those looking for that type of fix.

That won’t stop Toretto and company from making lots of money though, as F9’s post-pandemic worldwide box office revenue has only been beaten by James Bond’s No Time to Die, and that’s precisely the souped-up engine that drives the films forward, money. Disney did not buy Marvel and Star Wars to let them sit idle, the company’s shrewd purchases were destined to pay for themselves thanks to the sheer amount of content that can be made using these franchises, regardless of whether it's good content or not.

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It’s here where James Gunn’s comments on the state of the MCU come into play, because -unlike many- the director is not shy to admit that Marvel films can indeed be just as repetitive as any other soulless film. Not all Marvel movies are the same and, especially now that Disney’s production output is at an all-time high, even comic book lovers and die-hard MCU fans may find themselves admitting that they won’t have any reason to revisit “content” like Black Widow a few years down the line.

In all honesty, Scorsese is not a bitter old man who refuses to make this so-called content. In fact, his most recent movie not only was a Netflix exclusive but it also goes heavy in CGI usage to de-age its all-star cast, so like most filmmakers, his main gripe does not lie with the big-budget aspect that defines blockbusters. However, in order to defend the artistic work behind the superhero film genre, one should recognize that some Marvel movies are guilty of many if not most of the sins pointed out by these directors.

Still, considering Marvel Studios’ only bet on a more "cinematic" director akin to the ones who often criticize the MCU has not done so well in the all-important financial side of things, Disney has very few reasons to make another Eternals with someone like Chloé Zhao at the helm when the Marvel blockbuster formula has people going nuts over Spider-Man: No Way Home tickets all over the world.

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Disney’s corporate consolidation has not changed blockbuster movies as much as it has centralized them, something that became more obvious after 2019 due to the effects the pandemic had on the film industry. Comparing the lesser MCU films to some blockbusters from the 80s or 90s, one would find many similarities between the cinematic qualities (or lack thereof) many movies from that era had because, let’s face it, hardly any franchise from that era aged well past its second entry.

Blockbuster films haven’t really changed that much but one new element brought on board by Marvel is the prevailing interconnectivity that exists in every MCU entry, and that part of Disney's centralization could backfire in the long run, because every mediocre MCU movie cheapens the value of Marvel's best films. In that regard, all the new Disney Plus series are opportunities to add something different to the MCU, a chance to prove critics wrong by bringing new artistry that's restricted by the limited runtime of blockbuster films, even the good ones.

For that reason, shows like Hawkeye should look to innovate past the proven Marvel three-act formula packed with fan service that always ends with a massive CGI battle, all capped off with a post-credits scene leading up to the next big thing that lies ahead. Marvel movies can be impressive but for Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok and Ryan Coogler's Black Panther to shine even brighter, the weaker side of the MCU should be treated as such, even if that means admitting Scorsese is kind of right.

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