“Don’t get much bigger of a superhero than Jesus.”
Kevin Smith has defended superhero movies after they came in for harsh criticism from revered director Martin Scorsese.
The Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull director recently made headlines when he said that Marvel movies are “not cinema” and comparable with theme parks, a stance which he has since doubled down on.
Marvel actors and directors like Paul Rudd, Robert Downey Jr. and James Gunn have all responded to Scorsese’s comments, and now the Silent Bob actor has given his thoughts.
“For my money, I think Martin Scorsese made the biggest superhero movie ever, which was The Last Temptation of Christ,” Smith told The Hollywood Reporter. “Don’t get much bigger of a superhero than Jesus.”
He continued: “My feeling is, Martin Scorsese never sat in a movie theater with his dad and watched the movies of Steven Spielberg in the early ’80s or George Lucas in the late ’70s. He didn’t feel that sense of magic and wonder.”
“I can still step into one of those comic book movies, divorce myself of that fact that I do this for a living, release, and my dead dad is back for a minute, for two hours,” Smith explained. “And it’s personal for a lot of the audience. You know, and we’re not arguing whether or not it counts as cinema.”
Smith added: “These [Marvel] movies come from a core. They come from a happy childhood. And they’re reflections of a happy childhood. He’s not wrong, but at the same time, neither are we for loving those movies. And they are cinema.”
Smith is currently on the promotional circuit for his new movie Jay And Silent Bob Reboot. The first clip appeared last month, and saw the duo parodying Batman vs. Superman.
Scorsese, meanwhile, is set to release The Irishman in the UK next month, first in selected cinemas and then on Netflix.
