For over a decade now Marvel movies have dominated cinemas and smashed the box office. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest grossing franchise of all time, having grossed over $22.5 billion at the global box office. This includes Avengers: Endgame which is currently the highest grossing film of all time. Despite all this success however there are those who argue that these films are not real cinema. Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Ken Loach, have all recently expressed their distaste at the dominance of superhero films, with Scorsese stating that they are “not cinema” and labelling them “theme parks”. Scorsese may himself be a master of cinema and one of the most highly influential film makers of all time, but is he right about this?

Despite their role as engaging entertainment it is also hard to deny that a large function of Marvel movies is as advertisements. This is not just for the countless prequels and sequels but also for merchandising, the Marvel brand sells everything from toys, clothing and games to cologne, breakfast cereal and slow cookers. It is easy for this reason to write marvel off as simply another corporate enterprise designed to take our money. However, there are also many reasons not to think like this. Whilst of course not every Marvel film is a masterpiece many of them do manage to balance engaging action with stories grounded in the characters’ growth. This is not only done across individual films but also across the entire franchise through different directors, screenwriters and actors, demonstrating carefully planned great storytelling. Most importantly though audiences everywhere genuinely care about and love the characters from the films. Although you can argue against the corporate side of the franchise you can’t argue with people’s emotional response to a film, and it is undeniable that fans of the films are emotionally invested.

In a time where streaming movies has become the most common way to view them, Marvel movies are bringing more people than ever into cinemas and a shared communal experience. With this immense viewership and influence it seems that in recent years The Marvel Cinematic Universe has strived for greater diversity and representation in their films. This can be seen in recent works such as 2018’s Black Panther which became the first Oscar nominated superhero film of all time. Perhaps what it comes down to is that cinema will never just be one thing. It should really be celebrated that we can live in a world where filmmaking from Scorsese and Marvel can coexist. The wealth of expression and storytelling within cinema means that at the end of the day there is something for everyone.