Robert Downey Jr. owes a lot of his success to the superhero films that he did after a massive slump post his addictions. The actor is known for his portrayal of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). He has appeared in a number of films in that space including ‘The Avengers.’
There was a time when several people including filmmakers like Alejandro G. IƱarritu were critical of superhero films. Robert took a dig at ‘The Revenant‘ director at that time and defended the film. Now it’s clear that Alejandro still hasn’t gotten over Robert’s comment as he responded recently.
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Alejandro G. IƱarritu Is Still Hurt By The Comments Of Robert Downey Jr.
While promoting his 2014 drama film ‘Birdman‘, director Alejandro Gonzalez IƱarritu said that the superhero film was a form of ācultural genocide.ā
He had said, “I donāt respond to those characters. They have been poison because the audience is so overexposed to plot and explosions and shit that doesnāt mean nothing about the experience of being human.ā
The next year Robert took a dig at the director while promoting ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron.‘ He said that he ārespects the heck out ofā IƱarritu but mocked his Mexican roots. āFor a man whose native tongue is Spanish to be able to put together a phrase like ācultural genocideā just speaks to how bright he is,ā he said.
In an interview with IndieWire, Alejandro revisited this incident at Venice Film Festival where his film ‘Bardo‘ was screened. āIt was like āOh, you guys from your banana country,āā he said.
He continued: āIf I were from Denmark or Sweden, I might be seen as philosophical, but when youāre Mexican and you say things, youāre pretentious. What the fuck does that mean? Itās a false, misleading conception, the superhero. Then, the way they apply violence to it, itās absolutely right wing. If you observe the mentality of most of those films, itās really about people who are rich, who have power, who will do the good, who will kill the bad. Philosophically, I just donāt like them.ā
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Robert Had Defended Marvel Films After Martin Scorsese’s Remarks
In October 2019, legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese created an uproar by criticizing the Marvel films. “I donāt see them. I tried, you know? But thatās not cinema,” he said.
Scorsese continued: “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.Ā It isnāt the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
Robert was asked about it during the Howard Stern show. He said: “I appreciate [Scorseseās] opinion because I think itās like anything, we need all of the different perspectives so we can come to center and move on.ā
Stern asked him, āWere you insulted when he said itās not cinema? That somehow Iron Man isnāt cinema? It is cinema to me.ā Downey responded, āI mean look, itād be like saying Howard Stern isnāt radio. It makes no sense to say it.ā
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