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Thoughts on Stephen Dorff’s Shots at Superhero Movies

July 17, 2021 | Posted by Steve Gustafson
Stephen Dorff Blade Image Credit: New Line Cinema

It seems every few months we get an actor or director who makes some dismissive comments about comic book movies. It doesn’t matter what level or where they’re at in their career, taking shots at superheroes on the big screen is easy content fodder.
 
You’d think we’d be past this by now as we’ve had a number of movies that aren’t just great comic book movies but great movies period. Alas, we still have a group that will never accept them on any level.

The latest example is Stephen Dorff, who didn’t mince words in an interview with U.K.’s Independent. “I still hunt out the good shit because I don’t want to be in Black Widow,” the actor told the newspaper. “It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. I’m embarrassed for those people. I’m embarrassed for Scarlett! I’m sure she got paid five, seven million bucks, but I’m embarrassed for her. I don’t want to be in those movies. I really don’t. I’ll find that kid director that’s gonna be the next [Stanley] Kubrick and I’ll act for him instead.”

I suppose we should disregard his turn as the villain Deacon Frost in 1998’s Blade. He went on to rant about the industry as a whole. “This year’s Oscars were the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen,” he told the newspaper. “My business is becoming a big game show. You have actors that don’t have a clue what they’re doing. You have filmmakers that don’t have a clue what they’re doing. We’re all in these little boxes on these streamers. TV, film – it’s all one big clusterfuck of content now.”

I tend to see if from the other side. With more outlets showing TV and movies, more opportunity for creative minds to get their vision seen. Yes, you have your share of crap but that comes with the territory. A bigger sandbox gives us a plethora of diverse selections across the board. 

Sadly, Dorff, and others, can’t see that or are unable to adapt their way of thinking about how people are getting their entertainment these days. He’s definitely not alone in regards to comic book movies. It wasn’t so long ago that respected director Martin Scorsese said Marvel films “aren’t cinema.” 

I get it. Some won’t get over that hump. They see the source material and box office and get turned off or dismiss it as big budget drivel. What do you think? Where do comic book movies stand in terms of film stature?

article topics :

Stephen Dorff, Steve Gustafson