Martin Scorsese says that Marvel movies 'are not cinema'

Avengers: Endgame may be among the biggest box office hits of all time, with a box office haul of $2.8 billion.

But that's not enough for Martin Scorsese to consider it a proper movie.

Speaking to Empire, the veteran director of movies like Taxi Driver and Goodfellas said: “I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema.

“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.

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“It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”

He's not the only one to have used the theme park analogy in describing the superhero genre.

Jodie Foster told the Radio Times last year: “Going to the movies has become like a theme park. Studios making bad content in order to appeal to the masses and shareholders is like fracking - you get the best return right now but you wreck the earth.

“It’s ruining the viewing habits of the American population and then ultimately the rest of the world.”

James Cameron has also spoken out, saying last year: “I’m hoping we’ll start getting Avenger fatigue here pretty soon. Not that I don’t love the movies.

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“It’s just, come on guys, there are other stories to tell besides hyper-gonadal males without families doing death-defying things for two hours and wrecking cities in the process. It’s like, oy!”

Scorsese is poised to release his latest movie, the three-hour-plus The Irishman, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel, telling the story of Frank Sheeran (played by De Niro), a mob hitman who rose to become a power union figure.

Pacino plays Jimmy Hoffa, the teamsters union leader who disappeared and was never found.

It arrives at cinemas on November 1, before streaming on Netflix from November 27.