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Denis Villeneuve Says ‘Cut and Paste’ Marvel Movies Have ‘Turned Us Into Zombies’

VN1X

Banned
Very much looking forward to The Batman coming out, and doing extremely well, because it’ll be the complete antithesis of the Marvel factory production line - that really is getting pretty old and tired at this stage.
buT It's ThE DuDe FrOM twILiGHt AnD he's wEARinG eye linEr!!
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
The zombies part might be a little much, but it's hard to deny the cut and paste part. So many of them are just the same blueprint with a different hero and eventually they all blur together into one.

Endgame was a nice closing point for me, there's some individual movies I'll watch like Strange 2 and the new Spider-Man, but the idea of still being so into every single thing they churn out 10 years on is exhausting. Was anyone really that excited for the Black Widow movie they should have made before Avengers 1..? I mean, obviously, it did fine, but still.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
The only problem with Marvel movies are the people who think they are more than just simple populist entertainment. At their best there are some genuinely high-quality entries but I'm not sure any of them actually rise to the level of classics. Also let's not deny the fact that there's plenty of forgettable entries too, even more if you make the argument about comic-book movies in general.
 
Put it this way: I'd rather watch Attack Of The Clones or Rise Of Skywalker any day before watching Thor 2 or Age Of Ultron ever again.

The former two, while bad, at least make me feel something (unintentional comedy for AOTC and unfiltered rage for TROS); Meanwhile I forget the latter two exist the minute the credits roll.
 
Big Denis fan. He seems a decade or two late with these comments.
Like anything that gets run into the ground, Marvel has some good stuff buried in there.
 

Umbasaborne

Banned
Oh no someone asked him about stupid Marvel movies and he gave his opinion on stupid Marvel movies!

I really need to watch Blade Runner 2049. I think the only Villeneuve film I've seen so far is Arrival which was just okay for me mostly because I don't think the sci-fi idea it had was actually any good.
2049 is great, and i hate the first blade runner movie
 

DKehoe

Gold Member
“ oh I’m so special that I hate anything popular because I’m clearly not the same as everyone else. “
He's adapted one of the most popular books of the 20th century and talked about how much he loves it. Doesn't seem like he just goes out of his way to hate popular things.
 

TonyK

Member
I love Villeneuve movies and Marvel movies. I mean, his first movies where less mainstream, but now he has filmed three scifi movies in a row. Is not Marvel but is not Enemy also.

Dune or Blade runner are mainstream for me, only too slow for regular blockbuster consumers.
 

DelireMan7

Member
This makes me smile. I heard about this "Dune" movie for quite a while. I finally watch the trailer few days ago and immediately thought "This looks like a Marvel movie".
I have some memories of the old Dune movie and I was expected special visuals for the new one, not the "standard Hollywood blockbuster" visuals.

Anyway, a movie is good only if you like it.
 

RavenSan

Off-Site Inflammatory Member
He's not wrong about the cut/paste of Marvel films. I've personally grown excessively tired of them. I end up watching them once just to stay culturally relevant in conversations with friends and colleagues, but they are rarely memorable. The Marvel movies are entertaining, and a good way to shut off your brain and kill a few hours. They're not meant to be intelligent movies that you remember for years, and make you feel anything significant, or change your outlook on something about life; and they don't have to be. Apples and oranges, as far as I'm concerned.

However, the people who obsess over them and have them on some untouchable pedestal are the same type of people who base their entire personality off The Office, or even worse, Friends.

Also, if you think Blade Runner 2049 is a bad sci-fi, or even worse, a bad movie, I retort with this well thought out, and well constructed argument:

No U GIF by MOODMAN
 
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The movies may be similar to some degree, but each character goes through their own struggles that persist throughout the over-arching story.
 

Raven117

Gold Member
Wrong. Guy is an idiot just like Scorsese. Fine to not like those movies, but denying the fact that a lot of people love and enjoy them, because you know, tastes and shit and just posting hateful shit is dumb af. I love Blade Runner 2049 and Dune and Avengers and everything else. Just watch the movies and enjoy them. Stop posting dumb shit just to attract attention to your audience. It's ridiculous.
People can love and enjoy them, doesn’t mean they aren’t artistically crap.

And they are pure junk food.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I just want to say that I was on this train as a teenager the moment these movies started popping up. There was so much god**** hype for both Iron Man and The Avengers back in the day and I was completely flummoxed as to why about 30 minutes into each movie.

Their cheap, product commercial vibe was off putting to me immediately. The hype never made sense.
 

Jsisto

Member
Hard to disagree. Admittedly I haven’t seen every recent Marvel film, faaar from it, but at the end of the day they’re just mindless, cookie cutter action flicks created to appeal to the masses. They don’t have any bold political or social commentary to make beyond incredibly surface level stuff. Which is FINE, Marvel isn’t really my thing, but I love a good action flick! The problem is there’s just so damn many of them, it’s where the money is, and it’s probably taking really good directors away from more meaningful projects they’d rather be working on, but the market speaks. Another problem I have is they keep asking directors these kinds of questions, probably specifically to get clicks and spark outrage. Who the hell cares what X director says about your favorite superhero movies. If you like them, just keep fucking watching them and move on.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
We went from a culture where Seinfeld was the biggest show on TV to a culture where Two and a Half Men was the biggest show on TV.

Somewhere during that time (1998 - 2003), we started valuing formulas, predictability, and broad appeal over genuine quality. The Marvel movies fit nicely alongside Two and a Half Men.
 
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sol_bad

Member
We went from a culture where Seinfeld was the biggest show on TV to a culture where Two and a Half Men was the biggest show on TV.

Somewhere during that time (1998 - 2003), we started valuing formulas, predictability, and broad appeal over genuine quality. The Marvel movies fit nicely alongside Two and a Half Men.

What a gross comparison.
 

FireFly

Member
Doesn't eliminate the fact they are cookie cutter movies with the same plot structure. Yea they are well made and fun but he is right in that respect.
The cookie cutter claim makes zero sense to me. What does Winter Solider have in common with Ragnarok? What does Shang-Chi have in common with Guardians of the Galaxy? What does Doctor Strange have in common with Civil War?

The whole idea behind Marvel movies is that they take a given set of characters and then put them in different genres with each movie. Captain America 1 was a war film, Captain America 2 was an espionage thriller, Captain America 3 was an ensemble team up movie. I think you can reasonably criticise Marvel for creating "lite" versions of popular movies. But it makes no sense to criticise them for making the same movie every time.
 
Marvel movies are pretty much entertainment equivalent of fast-food , they will keep you occupied for a moment but good luck remembering anything else than shitty Deus Ex Machina ending of End Game and few mem worthy scenes.
 
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Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
How are they cut and paste? The marvel films have rather diffirent stories. I mean apart from having super powers theres not many similarities between iron man, thor, marvel, cap America, G of the G, etc.
 

Armorian

Banned
All Marvel movies are in 5, 6/10 territory with maybe Endgame as an exception with 7/10 in my opinion (they wrapped up infinity saga nicely). They bringed nice idea of telling one long ass story in multiple movies that and executed it quiet well in the end but many individual movies were weak or dumb or combination of the two.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
He's not wrong, and I enjoy a MCU flick. I'd however not just use the MCU, and would say this for any superhero film currently.

Maybe it's me, but I remember there being a lot more creativity in the early 00s, 90s and 80s regarding huge blockbuster films.
 
Bunch of Papa John's on these boards, huh? I forgot they shutdown politics. I liked having you bigots all quarantined, now you guys are running around everywhere like the wild bunch.
 
personally i think marvel movies are trash but y'know what? i don't keep watching them and i don't go on the internet and hate on them. yeah i'll share my opinion in a sitation like this but i don't go out my way to hate on it. not everyone likes the same thing as me and i don't like the same thing as everyone else. Marvel must be doing something right since loads of people enjoy the movies. Good on them for making something successful and I'm happy people are having a fun time with the movies.

if you don't like something then move on. don't shit on others cause they like it. the world doesn't revolve around you. we are all different and that's what makes the world fun.

now i do like some of villeneuve's stuff but i'm stick of these directors coming out and being so fucking stuck up and snobbish. go make your movies and let others make theirs.
 
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jason10mm

Gold Member
If Denis did Infinity War it would be a series of long tracking or zoom shots into each hero or villain, each with a spectacular backdrop, but you would have to infer the entire plot from eye twitches, tonal changes in music, and subtle nods of the head.

At the end everyone has a gauntlet and they all snap in unison... fade to black.

You know this is true :p
 

n0razi

Member
What did you guys think about The Green Knight? I just watched it and thought it was borderline too artsy-fartsy so I don't mind a bit of cookie-cutter entertainment to balance things out.
 
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MacReady13

Member
I enjoy watching a few of the Marvel films but I feel that SOME of the time I am not getting the directors true vision. What we are getting is a story told to me because this is the way the story needs to go. That is more like serialized TV and not a film.
 

AJUMP23

Member
Guardians of the Galaxy kind of set the template for all the movies that came after it in the series. Be lighthearted and have fun while the world ends around you.
 

kuncol02

Banned
If Denis did Infinity War it would be a series of long tracking or zoom shots into each hero or villain, each with a spectacular backdrop, but you would have to infer the entire plot from eye twitches, tonal changes in music, and subtle nods of the head.

At the end everyone has a gauntlet and they all snap in unison... fade to black.
Best. Movie. Ever.
 

Toons

Banned
I like good movies. The Marvel movies are good to great.

No, I don't admit they are dumb and vapid. Sorry. I like them legitimately and think they are good.

Villanova is a skilled director but maybe he should consider making goodies that people actually want to watch? I could be the best painter who ever lived but it wouldn't matter if no one ever saw my paintings would it?
 

Turnt

Member
I like good movies. The Marvel movies are good to great.

No, I don't admit they are dumb and vapid. Sorry. I like them legitimately and think they are good.

Villanova is a skilled director but maybe he should consider making goodies that people actually want to watch? I could be the best painter who ever lived but it wouldn't matter if no one ever saw my paintings would it?
Blade Runner 2049 made $260 million
Arrival made $203 million

It’s not like he’s making art house stuff that no one watches.
 
I like good movies. The Marvel movies are good to great.

No, I don't admit they are dumb and vapid. Sorry. I like them legitimately and think they are good.

Villanova is a skilled director but maybe he should consider making goodies that people actually want to watch? I could be the best painter who ever lived but it wouldn't matter if no one ever saw my paintings would it?

ile-thumb-at-talk-dumb-meme-7a50ee377ff0699e-2d220c165085404b.jpg
 

Toons

Banned
Blade Runner 2049 made $260 million
Arrival made $203 million

It’s not like he’s making art house stuff that no one watches.

Blade runner was a flop.

Arrival was a mild success.

Neither were original concepts. Neither is Dune.

Bit of hypocrisy dont you think?
 

Toons

Banned

Dumb? Hardly. I think he's a solid director like I said. Its just he has no idea how to captivate an audience and make them interested in his vision or what he has to say.

Id agree that the movies follow a formula but so so most films in general. This is like criticism of Scorsese for literslly always making gangster films.

Im fascinated by the Sapir-worf theory just as much as I am fascinated by the fictional physics of a made up metal used to make a cat suit to fight militia. So sue me.
 

Turnt

Member
Blade runner was a flop.

Arrival was a mild success.

Neither were original concepts. Neither is Dune.

Bit of hypocrisy dont you think?
You were saying he should try making films people actually want to see. I pointed out that the box office of his last two films shows that he does. Regardless of how the financials work out, making over $200 million at the box office means you are putting out something that a lot of people are interested in.

Also he wasn’t criticising Marvel films because they’re based on existing properties. So no, it’s not hypocritical.
 

Toons

Banned
I'd still put BR 2049 above any Marvel movie.
Can we stop equating financial success with quality? That would be great!

Who did that? It wasn't me, especially not when my entire post was about how he doesn't know how to get people interested in his stuff. Something that absolutely reflects on BO numbers

I've heard good things about BR2049 though.

That doesnt change that its a sequel to an 80s property not unlike many we've seen.
 
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Who did that? It wasn't me, especially not when my entire post was about how he doesn't know how to get people interested in his stuff. Something that absolutely reflects on BO numbers

I've heard good things about BR2049 though.

Popularity doesn't equate with quality either.
 

Toons

Banned
You were saying he should try making films people actually want to see. I pointed out that the box office of his last two films shows that he does. Regardless of how the financials work out, making over $200 million at the box office means you are putting out something that a lot of people are interested in.

Relatively, no its not. In a vacuum sure. But the amount of money going into these render that obsolete.

Also he wasn’t criticising Marvel films because they’re based on existing properties. So no, it’s not hypocritical.

Hes criticizing a formula. A formula that exists outside of the genre anyway and is pretty much a universal one of good vs evil. He however follows a formula too.
 
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