Robert Downey Jr. criticises Quentin Tarantino’s Marvel comments
The ex-Marvel star and Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. has hit back at the opinion of director Quentin Tarantino after the filmmaker criticised the superhero franchise.
Recently talking to the Cinema Speculation podcast, Tarantino stated: “Part of the Marvel-isation of Hollywood is… you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters…But they’re not movie stars. Right?”. Citing how the franchise has forever changed the makeup of contemporary cinema, he adds: “Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I’m not the first person to say that. I think that’s been said a zillion times, you know, but it’s like, you know, it’s these franchise characters that become a star”.
In response, Downey Jr. called his criticism a “waste of time” in a recent interview with Deadline, adding: “I think our opinions on these matters say a lot about us”.
Continuing, he said: “I think that we are in a time and place that I unwittingly contributed to, where IP has taken precedence over principle and personality. But it’s a double-edged sword”. Admitting to his involvement in the changing face of Hollywood, he adds: “A piece of IP is only as good as the human talent you get to represent it…if you don’t have the right kind of artist playing that role, you’ll never know how good it could have been”.
Concluding his thoughts, the Iron Man star wisely takes the objective stance, stating, “I think that creatively it is a waste of time to be at war with ourselves. I think this is a time when everything is so much more fragmented now that I think you have this kind of bifurcation”.
Take a look at the trailer for the actor’s latest project below, a documentary where his relationship with his father is explored in detail.
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