‘I hate superhero movies. I think they are socially toxic’: ‘Die Hard’ director becomes the latest angry old man to rail against the comic book genre

It can’t be a coincidence that the majority of high-profile filmmakers to have voiced their disdain and distaste for superhero cinema aren’t exactly what you’d call spring chickens, with Die Hard director and all-round action icon John McTiernan adding himself to the list.

While you can’t argue with the credentials of the guy who helmed Hollywood’s greatest-ever action epic in addition to Predator, The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and Last Action Hero, he’s also the same person who hasn’t made a movie in 20 years since back-to-back bombs Rollerball and Basic, during which time he also enjoyed a stint behind bars for lying to the FBI, which resulted in bankruptcy.

That being said, the 72 year-old didn’t hold back at the recent Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (per World of Reel), where he put his cards of utter contempt right on the table.

“I hate superhero movies. I think they are socially toxic. But they are only the culmination of a profound phenomenon, unprecedented for about 250 years: money has become the master standard of the graphic representations of our time.”

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but what do McTiernan and fellow Marvel-haters Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott, Terry Gilliam, James Cameron, Oliver Stone, and Jane Campion all have in common besides an aversion to spandex and superpowers? They’re all at least 68 years of age, so make of that what you will.