Logan Roy, erm, Brian Cox, recently stated how unimpressed he was with the current state of film, specifically singling out this summer’s blockbuster, Deadpool & Wolverine.
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in Scotland, Cox said, “What’s happening is that television is doing what cinema used to do. I think cinema is in a very bad way. I think it’s lost its place because of, partly, the grandiose element between Marvel, DC and all of that. And I think it’s beginning to implode, actually. You’re kind of losing the plot.”
He lamented that although films like Deadpool & Wolverine pull in a lot of money, the work “becomes diluted afterwards.”
Although I disagree with Cox’s claims about this particular film, it is a breath of fresh air to hear another actor openly criticise the never ending onslaught of superhero films, and the current state of the industry in general.
Deadpool & Wolverine has now eclipsed 1 billion dollars (AED 3.6 billion) in revenue, making it the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time, that title previously held by 2019’s Joker. As mentioned, this particular Marvel installment was an absolute blast, but the probability that the ensuing superhero films will be as equally enthralling, entertaining, and sardonic as this one are rather slim.
“It’s just become a party time for certain actors to do this stuff,” Cox continued. “When you know that Hugh Jackman can do a bit more…but they go down that road and it’s box office. They make a lot of money. You can’t knock it,” he admitted.
Cox himself has actually acted alongside Jackman’s Wolverine before in 2003’s X:2 X-Men United, where he played the bad guy, William Stryker. One can only assume he picked up a saucy paycheck for that one.
This isn’t the first time Cox has openly criticised the current state of movies, as he was in headlines not too long ago completely torching Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, specifically Joaquin Phoenix’s performance.
“A truly terrible performance by Joaquin Phoenix,” he said. “It really is appalling. I don’t know what he was thinking. I think it’s totally his fault and I don’t think Ridley Scott helps him. I would have played it a lot better than Joaquin Phoenix, I tell you that. You can say it’s good drama. No…it’s lies.”
Ouch.
Again, perhaps Hugh Jackman can do more, as we saw in 2013’s Prisoners, where he delivered the best performance of his career. But let’s face it, Hugh Jackman is Wolverine as much as Christopher Reeves was Superman. They are symbiotically linked, and even if Hugh wants to flex his intellectual acting muscles rather than his titanic biceps, at the end of the day, he will always be Wolverine, and after more than 20 years of playing the character, he proved yet again that finding anybody to fill his shoes will be near impossible.
