Samuel L. Jackson was the subject of a pretty extensive New York Times Magazine cover story last weekend, but that didn't stop him from expressing disdain about the paper's review of his new movie, "Marvel's The Avengers."
The actor, who plays Nick Fury in the Marvel universe, took to Twitter on Thursday to call for venerable Times critic A.O. Scott's job.
Whether Jackson is unhappy with the moderately negative review Scott gave the film or because the critic offers up a few minor spoilers is unclear.
"The secret of 'The Avengers' is that it is a snappy little dialogue comedy dressed up as something else, that something else being a giant A.T.M. for Marvel and its new studio overlords, the Walt Disney Company," Scott wrote.
While Scott praises the witticism that director Joss Whedon brings to "The Avengers," the critic found major fault in the overwhelmingly large and effects-driven set pieces, specifically in the third act.
"The light, amusing bits cannot overcome the grinding, hectic emptiness, the bloated cynicism that is less a shortcoming of this particular film than a feature of the genre," he wrote. "Mr. Whedon’s playful, democratic pop sensibility is no match for the glowering authoritarianism that now defines Hollywood’s comic-book universe."
While Scott didn't respond directly to Jackson's Twitter slam, he did address the comment in a tweet back to New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, who had noted that Jackson's sling was its own form of "glowering authoritarianism."
Scott also tweeted this gem a little later on:
So far, reviews for "Marvel's The Avengers" have been strong. The film has a 93 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes; Scott is one of 11 critics to rate the film as "rotten."
Read Scott's full review of "Marvel's The Avengers" over at the New York Times website.
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