Back in August, Ethan Hawke criticized Logan and superhero films at large as universally substandard when compared to non-comic book-based movies. “Now we have the problem that they tell us Logan is a great movie,†he explained, pointing to the effusive praise received by Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine flick. “Well, it’s a great superhero movie. It still involves people in tights with metal coming out of their hands. It’s not Bresson. It’s not Bergman. But they talk about it like it is.â€Â In a new interview, Marvel’s Daredevil star Charlie Cox says he gets Hawke’s critique. Not that Cox agrees with the actor’s assessment of the genre’s quality, but its quantity … well, that’s another question entirely.
“One of the things that has happened in the last few years is that the movies that typically make lots of money tend to be big franchises,†Cox admits in a recent Telegraph interview. “That means Marvel movies, DC movies, comic book movies … Harry Potter. Hollywood makes so many of these big franchises that there isn’t much space — literally cinema space — for smaller independent movies.â€
But while he admits franchises have basically taken over the game, Cox also points out the obvious: people who love comic book movies really, really love comic book movies. For them, the cinematic adaptation of Logan may very well be one of the best films of 2017. “There is a massive appetite for this stuff,†Cox says. “I’m one of those people [who loves superhero movies]. I lap it up.†So much so that, yeah, he’ll go ahead and throw a little love at the ill-fated 2003 Daredevil movie. “I thought Ben Affleck did a great job,†Cox explains. “I really liked his Matt Murdock. It was in keeping with the characters in the comics.â€