After making movies for 50 years and counting, Martin Scorsese has an immeasurable amount of classics under his belt. But with this many years in the industry, it’s expected that there is going to be a sizeable number of armchair critics that don’t stand in line with the general consensus.
The filmmaker is considered one of the greatest directors in history, but with gangster epics not being everybody’s cup of tea, there are some hot takes about his movies and even the man himself. Between complaining about his movies’ lengthy runtimes and the word-salad voiceover narrations, or that his movies are simply overrated, not even the celebrated Martin Scorsese is unpopular opinion-proof.
Casino Is Better Than Goodfellas
Casino and Goodfellas are always looked at like siblings, as they are both long gangster epics that star Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. And as great as the movie is, Goodfellas will always be looked at as the far better movie of the two.
But this user argues that Casino is actually much better. They cite that it’s the ending of Casino as to why it should be held in higher regard than the gangster classic. However, while every character does get closure, unlike the ones in Goodfellas, given the fact that the soundtrack features all the same artists and has over-the-top graphic violence, most consider it a Goodfellas rip-off.
The Explanation Of Travis Bickle Being A Vigilante Is Misleading
Taxi Driver sees Travis Bickle take the law in to his own hands, as he attempts to save a young sex worker from the deprived world that she lives in. Because of this, the movie is often described as being about a vigilante, but not everyone agrees with that description.
The Redditor argues that he was only a vigilante for the last three minutes, in which he slaughters everyone who gets in his way of saving Iris, and that they were otherwise bored for the whole movie. But a ’70s movie about a taxi driver slowly descending in to madness isn’t exactly going to be Batman. The movie isn’t intended to be an action movie, but instead a fascinating character study about Bickle.
The Characters In The Irishman Are One Dimensional
Most Scorsese fans are thankful that The Irishman barely escaped development hell, as it’s a late-career masterpiece. But one user rips in to the movie, criticising everything about it, and they lambast the character development, calling the the characters one dimensional.
But most would agree that this couldn’t be further from the truth, especially when it comes to Frank, as he is constantly torn between his loyalty to Jimmy and his loyalty to Russell. And when the main story arc of Jimmy Hoffa’s death is all wrapped up, there’s still another half an hour that tackles the idea of mortality, as Frank has to live with his mistakes while he slowly dies alone. The movie is wrapped up in so many bows and ribbons of character development that it’s almost too much.
Gangs Of New York Is The Worst Scorsese Movie
When Gangs of New York was released in 2002, it was massively welcomed by cinephiles, as it followed the two Scorsese movies, Kundun and Bringing Out The Dead, which weren’t typical Scorsese movies. It was a gangster epic and all of the director’s tropes that fans loved had returned, but one Redditor thinks the opposite.
The user believes that it’s the worst Scorsese movie and a strange misstep. But while the movie is often criticized for some very specific things, such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s Irish accent and the fact that it had gratuitous violence, most feel that there are far more good things than bad. The movie had an incredibly dense set and costume designs, and Bill is one of Daniel Day-Lewis’ best roles.
His Movies Are Too Long
While complaining that Scorsese’s movies are far too long, the Redditor uses The Irishman and The Wolf of Wall Street as examples, saying that both of them could have been an hour shorter. The Wolf of Wall Street is exactly three hours long, and The Irishman touches three hours and 20 minutes.
Not only that, but Scorsese has nine movies over 2.5 hours, but most feel that the runtimes are all warranted, as no minute is wasted. The user should think themselves lucky, as Indiewire mentions that Scorsese wanted to release a four-hour version of Wall Street.
The Only Good Thing About The Wolf Of Wall Street Is That It Launched Margot Robbie’s Career
The Wolf of Wall Street is a classic for many reasons, as it’s the first outright comedy directed by Scorsese and it introduced the world to Margot Robbie. But a select few believe that the latter is the only worthwhile thing about the movie. They complain that the movie indulges in the sex and drug-addled life of Jordan Belfort and his gang of conmen.
The movie does have its fair share of critics, as it blurs the line between satire and glorifying bad behavior and humanizes the bad things that Jordan Belfort does. But at the end of the day, it is a satire, and as all of the scenes in the movie are so outrageous, most in the audience are laughing at the characters, not with them.
Scorsese Movies Have Too Much Narration
All of Scorsese’s most famous movies, such as Goodfellas, Casino, The Irishman, and many more, all have voiceover narrations from the main characters. The use of narration is something that has become a trademark of the director, especially as the narration is given in the character’s dialect and colorful language. But one user doesn’t like this and calls it lazy filmmaking.
The user did some in-depth research, as they even drop the number of how many words are in the Goodfellas script, which is 24.5k. They compare it to the classic romantic movie In The Mood For Love, which had just a three-page script, but is still one of the greatest movies of all time.
Goodfellas Is Bad Because There Isn’t A Single Likeable Character
One Redditor calls Goodfellas boring simply because all the characters are horrible human beings, and they go as far as to say that they “despise” the movie because of it. But that’s the whole point of most Scorsese movies, especially Goodfellas. Though even the most acclaimed gangster movies in the world like The Godfather glamorize the lifestyle, Goodfellas does no such thing.
The movie depicts just how stressful and mortifying the life of a gangster is, and the one scene where Henry and the others are happy is when they’re actually in prison. There’s nobody to root for in Goodfellas because it is such an accurate depiction of that time.
Jack Nicholson’s Dialogue In The Departed Is Oscar-Bait Filler
In a post that criticizes The Departed and calls it overrated, the Redditor thinks that Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of Frank was too try-hard. They go even further to say that the whole character was essentially Oscar-bait filler. But most would agree that this couldn’t be any different from the truth, as half of Nicholson’s lines are improvised by the man himself.
And there’s no way that most of the lines that come out of Nicholson’s mouth were written with the intention of winning any kind of Oscar, as the dialogue is vulgar and disturbing, which never really appeals to the Academy. On top of that, he already has enough Oscars, as he has won three Academy Awards, which is tied for the most with Daniel Day-Lewis.
Scorsese Was Right About Marvel Movies
Scorsese probably regrets what he said about Marvel movies, not because he doesn’t agree with the statement anymore, but because that’s all he’s ever asked about these days. In 2019, the celebrated director claimed that Marvel movies aren’t cinema and that they’re more like theme park rides.
This user agrees, backing up the statement that, compared to Scorsese’s movies that have risks and stakes, Marvel movies are market researched and audience-tested. To the user’s credit, Scorsese’s track record is better than Marvel’s. And there’s some weight to the unpopular opinion, as although he might not be right, he is such an elder statesmen of the cinema industry that, at this point in his career and life, he can say whatever he wants.
