Veteran director John McTiernan spewed venom at the Captain America films, saying comic book movies are made by “fascists” and promote a “cult of hyper-masculinity.” The man behind such films as Die Hard and Predator talked to the French website Premiere and derided the action genre: “They are comic book adaptations. There is action but not of human beings, these are films made by fascists.”
McTiernan raged, “I hate most movies for political reasons, I cannot really see them. I'm pissed off the minute it starts— Captain America, without laughing.” He continued, “The cult of American hyper-masculinity is one of the worst things that has happened in the world during the last fifty years. Hundreds of thousands of people died because of this stupid illusion. So how is it possible to watch a movie called Captain America?”
Aside from the weirdness of the director of Die Hard condemning action movies, people have died because of the “stupid illusion” created by movies like Captain America? Would that be patriotism?
In May of 2016, Marvel comics introduced a story arc revealing Captain America as a Nazi. Time magazine wondered if this fascist character is like the 2016 “rhetoric” about securing the border.
A transcript of the French translation of the questions and McTiernan’s answers about comic book movies:
Does the action cinema is down in recent years?
There are more than corporate products. Joel Silver will always produce real action movies, but not much more. Everything they do, they are comic book adaptations. There is action but not of human beings, these are films made by fascists. They believe all the kids on the planet they will never be important enough to make a scenario of their lives. And this is a unique moment in the history of cinema, it was not like this before. A kid could learn how a man or woman should behave by watching movies. What morality. Comic book heroes are for businesses.
...
If I understand you correctly, you find that the big studios poison the action cinema with their ideology?
I hate most movies for political reasons, I can not really see them. I'm pissed off the minute it starts. Captain America, without laughing ... The cult of American hyper-masculinity is one of the worst things that has happened in the world during the last fifty years. Hundreds of thousands of people died because of this stupid illusion. So how is it possible to watch a movie called Captain America?
