Actor Chris Hemsworth, who played Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), says Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola’s criticisms of superhero movies “felt harsh” when he heard them.
In 2019, Scorsese stoked the ire of millions of Marvel fans when he said the MCU movies were more like theme park rides than cinematic experiences. “I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema,” Scorsese told Empire Magazine. “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.”
After mounting criticism and charges of elitism, Scorsese penned a lengthy and heartfelt op-ed in The New York Times where he clarified his position, lamenting how utilitarian the industry has become.
Later, legendary director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) took the Marvel criticism even further when he called the films “despicable.” The two were joined in their frustrations by auteur directors Ken Loach, Quentin Tarantino, and Terry Gilliam.
Speaking with the Times of London, Hemsworth said the directors were out of line.
“It bothers me, especially from heroes. It was an eye-roll for me, people bashing the superhero space,” Hemsworth said. “Those guys had films that didn’t work too — we all have. When they talked about what was wrong with superheroes, I thought, cool, tell that to the billions who watch them. Were they all wrong?”
Hemsworth blamed the decline of cinema on smartphones and social media.
“Superhero films actually kept people in the cinemas during that transition and now people are coming back. So they deserve a little more appreciation,” he said.
Hemsworth also took issue with other Marvel actors, such as Christian Bale and Anthony Hopkins, who bashed the Disney-owned franchise after leaving.
“It’s, like, ‘They’re films that are successful — put me in one. Oh, mine didn’t work? I’ll bash them,’” Hemsworth said.
He then compared this experience to his time on the Australian soap opera Home and Away earlier in his career.
“It used to bother me when actors would later talk about the show with guilt or shame. Humility goes a long way,” Hemsworth said, referencing his time on the soap opera. “One of the older actors on Home and Away said, ‘We don’t get paid to make the good lines sound good, but to make the bad ones work.’ That stuck with me.”
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