“What was that? I should kill everyone and escape? Sorry, it’s the voices. Ahaha, I’m kidding! That’s not what they really said.”
“FUCK YOU, MARVEL,” announced overconfident Suicide Squad writer/director David Ayer at the movie’s world premiere in New York earlier this week. He’s now eating his words.
Suicide Squad is the unconventional superhero film desperately needed in the DC universe (or universe in general) to combat the superhero fatigue everyone is experiencing. What made this project so unique is that it is the first movie in the series of DC adaptations that is not directed by Zack Snyder. Sounds perfect, right??
With the disappointment of Batman v Superman, Warner Brothers felt responsible for proving to the world that they had a firm handle on DC Comics characters. They needed a box office hit fast. Suicide Squad was intended to be their saving grace, but with re-shoots and severe tinkering, their sticky little fingers fudged any possibility of redemption. Warner Brothers only has themselves to blame for the film’s 32% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The hype surrounding this movie has been astronomical. Since it’s killer teaser trailer at last year’s San Diego Comic Con, Suicide Squad was my most anticipated movie of 2016. And their marketing campaign has been building the hype-train heavily for a solid year…more exposure than I can remember from a movie. The problem with movies like this one with such a deep-rooted fan base is that expectations are inconceivably insane. It’s a rarity to please both the fanboys and the critics with comic book source material, but whether it’s positive or negative, everyone is talking about this movie.
But does the movie defy the generic and live up to the hype?
A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute a dangerous black ops mission in exchange for shorted prison sentences and some additional perks. They’re the bad guys, the worst of the worst, but this is their opportunity to use their skills for some good. In short, save the world.
Richard Lawson at Vanity Fair called it: “A shapeless, poorly edited trudge that adds some mildly appalling sexism and even a soupçon of racism to its abundant, hideously timed gun worship.”
Some of the more laughable reviews come from Buzzfeed: “The women can’t control themselves and they’re always dragging down the men around them.” Lol. Somewhere Viola Davis is internally screaming and rightfully so. Looks like Buzzfeed didn’t do their comic book homework.
Marvel raised the bar earlier this year with Deadpool crushing the box office ($782 million) and breaking records. Not only did it prove that an anti-hero could slay the screen, but it also could be done with an R-rating, a first for the X-Men film series, and the highest grossing R-rated film of all time.
“I just wanted to play with the genre. That was in a pre-Deadpool world and the movies had been so serious and straightforward up to that point. I wanted to do something where it was much more based on actor performance and character. Those films sometimes feel a little posy, talkey, the actors are very stiff, just kind of delivering the lines and very expositional. I just wanted to do something with more soul and grit and dirt.” Director David Ayer via Deadline
After writing Training Day and directing films like End Of Watch and Fury, David Ayer has taken a shift toward the superhero universe, but with a different approach to the franchise.
“You know, all these movies are about defeating the evil alien robot from f*cking Planet X, before it destroys the world with its ticking clock. And who the f*ck cares? But you do a story about struggle and isolation and people who have been shit on, that suddenly get thrown this lifeline… that’s not so bad. I like to think of this as Comic-Book Movie 2.0.” David Ayer via MoviePilot
Though the studio believed there was enough time to get the movie done, a source with ties to the project says it was a sprint from the start. “[Ayer] wrote the script in like, six weeks, and they just went,” he says, arguing that the whole process would have benefited if Ayer had been given more time to work. More time for the grit and dirt was never delivered, and I’m devastated that I didn’t get to see that film.
Pulses dropped and anxiety ensued with fans when the film underwent significant re-shoots in the spring to boost up the “fun” factor. Rumors suggested that Warner Brothers wanted a lighter movie, while Ayer’s original cut was more dark and sombre. That’s the final cut audiences needed, but the studio came to an agreement to meet in the middle and balance the tones. Thus, the PG-13 rating sealed it’s fate.
The final product is choppy, unbalanced and misdirected. There’s some great humor that previous DC films lack, but coherency and structure were nowhere to be found. It’s very obvious now when you watch this where Warner Brothers tweaked the script, or even how the script feels rushed. But it’s a fun movie. It may be riddled with flaws, but strong performances by Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jared Leto and even Jai Courtney saved the film for me. The rest of the squad? Almost pointless and forgettable.
If you’re looking to be marveled with scenes from Joker’s Jared Leto, don’t hold your breath too hard. He’s not in the film as much as I’d hoped, and that’s a mistake. It also doesn’t help that almost every Joker scene in the movie is already revealed in trailers or television spots. Joker and Harley are unquestionably the scene-stealers of the entire show; scenes between Joker and Harley are so polarizing that you wonder why David Ayer didn’t focus more on them? Why couldn’t the script make them the “villains” or the antagonists against the squad?
It may not be the best in the superhero franchise, but it’s certainly oozing with some great performances that carry the film. Leto is no Heath Ledger, and no one ever will be, but his version of the loony, comedic mobster fit the bill for me. He may not resonate well with others, especially those keen to the comics, but he’ll be the least of your complaints.
While I was hoping for a ballpark hit like Deadpool or Guardians of the Galaxy, Suicide Squad missed the mark. It just tried too damn hard to be cool. If I can applaud David Ayer and their marketing team for anything, it’s that they got a non-DC/Marvel movie fanatic to see a superhero film. They may be considered the Worst. Heroes. Ever., but this certainly isn’t the worst movie ever. Critics and trolls alike need to take many seats.
On the Screen Reviews 
Great review. I’m still looking forward to seeing this despite the reviews. Ayers is kind of an idiot though, you don’t yell “Fuck Marvel” until after your film gets great reviews and millions of dollars. lol
I’m questioning a lot about David Ayer after all these interviews with him are coming out. He made this movie for people who like movies?? So critics don’t like movies? Smh..
I’m a bit dissapointed with the amount of bad reviews this film is getting, because I was really look forward to watching it. The trailers and everything looked so good, but I will reserve judgement until I see it. Great review as well.
Thanks, Liam. Ignore the haters and just see it for yourself. If anything…see it for Margot and Leto ❤
Nice review Courtney and it’s a shame that in the end it isn’t perfect, but I like we already agree, it’s fun. I laughed out loud several times and looking forward to seeing it again.
I would definitely see it again over some of the other superhero movies! Thanks!
My fingers are still crossed despite the negative reaction by critics. But hey, I’m the guy who still liked BvS A LOT.
Let me know when you post your review! Can’t wait to hear your reaction 🙂
Very well-written and considered review. It was a great sell by DC – Suicide Squad looked great and expectations were high. With so amny of the superhero films it seems like the next has to be better than the last and it just doesn’t work out that way. I haven’t yet seen SS but I’m eager to see what the fuss is about.
Expectations were very high…that was probably it’s biggest downfall. The hype was too much. Give it a chance though. Thanks, Dan!!
Great review. The hype definitely got to me too and unfortunately the end result left me pretty disappointed. It’s a bit of a mess to be honest. Still, holding out hope for Wonder Woman…
Thank you! Ah…Wonder Woman…Gal Gadot’s acting in that trailer was mighty awful. Let’s hope for something good…
I thought it was incredibly stupid and cocky for David Ayer to yell that at the premiere, not to mention tacky. I think we’re in agreement here, down to the rating! “Leto is no Heath Ledger” you got that right, and to be honest I wasn’t all that wowed by him, I think Robbie was indeed memorable as Harley though.
Thinking of changing my 3 star to a 2 star…meh
Oh really? I thought from your review and comment you actually like this quite a bit?
The more I let this movie marinate in my mind, the more problems with it I see. I think most of the critiques on it have been accurate, albeit very harsh. I did like it, but it’s suuuuch a messsss 😦
My review is up. I too feel less positive about this one the more I think about it, but I still think it wasn’t devoid of fun.
Oh well. Better luck nextime DC. They seem to be doing really well in the TV show department, but somehow, they just cannot seem to nail it in movies.
Great thoughts on the film! I felt cheated with the lack of Joker in the film as well. Love those gif’s of Will Smith being a Batman fan boy (Fantastic)!
Thanks, Caz! The Will Smith gifs are A++ insdeed.
I was so happy with his performance in this as I have been finding him rather poor recently.
He actually surprised me. I expected to just get another Will Smith performance, but he was great!
Oh yeah totally! 🙂
I’m not recommending the film either, yet despite the bad word of mouth, these DC films are critic proof. None of them have gotten good reviews and yet they make TONS of money. They’re kind of the equivalent of ‘Transformers’ or ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies. This debuted to $135 million opening weekend smashing August records.
And I am in total agreement….I wanted more Joker and his relationship with Harley Quinn. Missed opportunity.
Great review! Although personally I loved the movie (I gave it 5/5 stars on my review.) I completely understand you’re analysis. The other characters besides Margot Robbie and Will Smith, the rest of the cast could be considered dispensable. They didn’t have enough back stories on the rest of the characters, but I can somewhat understand when most movie goers don’t want to see a film that’s more than 2 hours. They had to cut way too many scenes which made the movie worse than it could of been. Hopefully they make an extended edition or Joker edition release in the future when the dvd comes out with all the missing scenes not just of Leto, but the other characters as well!
Thanks, Isabella!
Nice review! I really wish Suicide Squad hit it out of the park. A good portion of it is just good fun if you don’t think too hard on how much it could be better. It’s the cast that really saves the movie because the story is all over the place. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t live up to the gritty, thrill ride that looked so promising in the trailers.
Thanks, Katy!
This is a great review! I hope when Suicide Squad comes to DVD we get to see a cut of the film that David Ayer wanted to make.
Thanks, Matt! I completely agree 🙂
Great review mate. I seemed to like it a lot more than you, but I can’t disagree on its faults that you mention. One thing though:
“A shapeless, poorly edited trudge that adds some mildly appalling sexism and even a soupçon of racism to its abundant, hideously timed gun worship.”
That has got to be one of the dumbest things I have ever read. Racist? Sexist? Gun worship? What the hell? Its a MOVIE based on COMICS for crying out loud!!!!
These PC-crazed critic lunatics need to STOP looking for these type of elements in EVERY MOVIE THEY WATCH. How this movie was sexist or racist is beyond me.
“If I can applaud David Ayer and their marketing team for anything, it’s that they got a non-DC/Marvel movie fanatic to see a superhero film”
Indeed!! That was the case with me too. Your last paragraph sums it all up pretty well actually.
Here’s hoping for a director’s cut, or hell, a Harley/Joker movie would be amazing. I thought Leto was incredible, especially when he was on-screen for what, six minutes? Seven at the most? And I’m no comic-book geek at all but that severely pissed me off and I agree was a massive mistake. And the attempt to make it a lighter film, that ruined it a bit too. That is probably why Joker is barely seen, Leto did such a good job of making him seem so unhinged.
All that said though, this is the best superhero movie I have seen since Watchmen. GotG and Civil War are two of the worst movies I have ever seen, and despite all the flaws, the horrid editing, the horrid camerawork, the dumb third act, this was actually dark and fun in a way that no other film of this genre has been.
Thanks! They need to take more notes from Marvel next time I think 😉
Great read. I haven’t yet seen the film so can’t comment personally but it’s sad to see so many people – particularly fans – finding so much to dislike about it. I suppose that promise we all thought was a sure thing from the trailers hurt the film by raising expectation too high.
Thanks, hype was incredibly unrealistic. I knew that would be its downfall 😦
While the studio is at fault here Ayer handing the script in 6 weeks, not including the ‘will have say in final cut’ clause in his contract, acting like a child during the premiere and now to save his butt saying that this cut is his cut is just offensive to me. The worst part is how Leto and his fans were deceived being led to believe he has supporting part, cutting his performance down to cameo yet still involving him in marketing. Just disgusting all around and not even extended cut can wash away this bad taste
Bad taste is right. Leto deserves better than this…
You’re certainly correct to say the film lacked coherence and structure and that’s because the studio got the grubby little mits on it. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Personally, I felt DC should have devoted a movie to the major characters, like Marvel, before making a ensemble movie
DC has a lot of work to do to clean up their name…
This is disappointing to hear, but i’ll try seeing it with an open mind. Looks like DC really need to get their act right.
I think you’re review knocked it out of the ballpark. A very thorough and insightful review, I couldn’t have said it better. It was choppy, and poorly managed. Studios ruin everything don’t they? And they don’t get that we actually WANT a darker version.
The harley/joker thing was a huge let-down. Yeah, how could they not get that part right? It wasn’t just a lighter version but a seriously watered-down movie that didn’t nail anything. I like the fact that you said it tried to hard to be cool. I’m not a big fan of Leto’s joker but I’ll never know for sure if that’s really the case because as you said, they cut alot of his scenes. It’s frustrating to know that we couldn’t even get enough material to form an impression of Leto’s character.
Great review as always 😊 😊
Thanks!!!
Excellent use of gifs. 🙂
Thank you! Gifs are my specialty 🙂
I did not see this movie yet, but this review, with no spoilers, is great!
Thank you so much!