'Avengers: Endgame' director duo Russo brothers respond to Martin Scorsese's remarks

Washington DC: Joe and Anthony Russo, the brothers behind 'Avengers' and a number of Marvel films, have finally broken their silence on filmmaker Martin Scorsese's comments on superhero Marvel movies where he likened them to "theme park" and called them "not cinema".

Scorsese had at a press conference last month added to his earlier remarks on Marvel films saying, "It's not cinema, it's something else".

Now, finally, Russo brothers have stepped in to defend superhero flicks saying, "Ultimately, we define cinema as a film that can bring people together to have a shared, emotional experience."

The two revealed that they grew up watching both genre movies and art house films and used to stay up late on Saturdays to enjoy late-night genre movies with their father. However, they excelled in superhero flicks like 'Avengers: Endgame' which was a box-office hit.

"When we look at the box-office [of] 'Avengers: Endgame', we don't see that as a signifier of financial success, we see it as a signifier of emotional success," The Hollywood Reporter quoted Joe as saying.

'Avengers: Endgame' was one of the most anticipated Marvel films and smashed the box-office with a total USD 2.78 billion global box office collection.

"It's a movie that had an unprecedented impact on audiences around the world in the way that they shared that narrative and the way that they experienced it. And the emotions they felt watching it," the filmmaker added.

Earlier, while putting forth his views on such flicks, Scorsese had noted that he tried to watch a few Marvel films, but quickly abandoned them.

Referring to which, the Russo brothers added that it's tough to have a debate about cinema with Scorsese if he hasn't watched the films.

"But, at the end of the day, what do we know? We're just two guys from Cleveland, Ohio, and 'cinema' is a New York word. In Cleveland, we call them movies," Joe said.

Meanwhile, Anthony quipped in, "The other way to think about it, too, is nobody owns cinema. We don't own cinema. You don't own cinema. Scorsese doesn't own cinema."

On the work front, the brothers are currently helming 'Cherry' which has Tom Holland as an Army medic in the lead.

They are also bankrolling Chris Hemsworth starrer Netflix feature 'Dhaka'.