So Suicide Squad has just hit theatres and the reviews are divided, with some saying that the film is completely terrible and others saying that the film is exactly what Warner Bros. needed to boot up the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU) after the disaster that was Batman v Superman.
Should we really be surprised?
There were great expectations put on this film by both fans and critics to be a lot of different things that it was almost a sure thing that the film would fail in at least one area. Prior to release, Suicide Squad was being touted by fans as the film to finally kick-start the DCCU into motion after Batman v Superman failed to do so, which definitely put a lot of pressure on Warner Bros. to attempt to do everything possible to meet the fans’ high expectations for the film.
The film’s great marketing campaign also did seem to suggest that the film would be something in the vein of the DCCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy or a more toned down version of Deadpool and a lot of people were very hyped for the film’s release because of this. A lot of people who aren’t generally fans of comic book films were even looking forward to the film’s release as the trailers made it look fun and interesting.
The dark tone that Warner Bros. seems determined to make the signature of DC films also had to be present within the movie; a very large contrast to the tones that accompanied Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool.
Suicide Squad is also the first live-action comic book film to feature the Joker since The Dark Knight; a film that has made many people think that no actor will ever be able to live up to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the character without even yet seeing the new portrayal. The press release images of Jared Leto really proved this point.
Quite simply put, after having watched Suicide Squad it is easy to see that it doesn’t really live up to all of these expectations. However, this does not mean that it is a terrible movie, rather just one in which many fans (such as myself) were somewhat disappointed because they wanted more from it.
It was the film’s inability to fulfil all of these expectations, I feel, that led to the polar reviews, where some claim the film to be great and others claim it to be a convoluted mess.
Suicide Squad isn’t like Batman v Superman, in which the story is so convoluted that if you’re not concentrating for every second of the runtime, you’ll definitely lose the plot completely. However, it certainly seems that many critic reviews are making it out to seem that way.
In this I’m not saying that Suicide Squad has a solid story with no cracks (to be honest with you, I don’t think any comic book film will ever present such a story), as there are definitely some cringe worthy moments scattered throughout the film. I do not think, however, that it will be a completely difficult task to know what is going on in the movie at any given moment.
The castings were all pretty great. Margot Robbie was everything that I wanted in a live-action Harley Quinn, Will Smith was a pretty good Deadshot and at this point, I kind of believe that Viola Davis could be cast in any role and be good.
I also definitely wanted to see more of Jared Leto’s Joker (hopefully, we’ll get to do so in the upcoming solo Batman film.) His Joker wasn’t at all the same as Heath Ledger’s and that was great as I didn’t want it to be.
It is fair to say that most characters had very limited screen time, which is always a problem with films that focus on a group of protagonists rather than one or two. I don’t believe that the film always handled this very well with some characters only getting a limited number of lines.
There wasn’t as much humour in the film as I thought there would be, but then too much humour would not have been befitting to the dark tone. This is one of the bigger complaints that has been raised by many critics and fans who expected the film to be more akin to Guardians of the Galaxy or Deadpool. I do think that if the film had a higher film rating (16 instead of PG-13) there would have been greater opportunity for darker humour to be inserted into the film. It is important to remember that Suicide Squad is centred around a group of immoral villains and there is a lot of comedic material that could have been drawn from this that would not be possible to put in a movie catering to younger audiences. Perhaps Warner Bros. should have pushed the boundaries a little bit here.
Overall, although I was somewhat disappointed by the film, I did indeed like Suicide Squad and if I had to give it my own rating, I would say it’s a solid seven out of 10. However, because I’m a huge DC fangirl I know that perhaps my fanaticism has clouded my judgement by allowing me to look past things that I possibly wouldn’t in other films.
Nevertheless, most of the people I have spoken to about the film who aren’t comic book fans have also agreed that the film isn’t terrible and is actually rather enjoyable. Not all of them have the same likes and complaints that I do and this fact has kind of brought me back to the conclusion that I get after reading any review for a video game, film or album; basically, if you want to know whether you’ll enjoy something or not, you are going to have to check it out for yourself.
Have you watched Suicide Squad? If so, what did you think of it? Please feel free to share your opinions down below.
So Suicide Squad has just hit theatres and the reviews are divided, with some saying that the film is completely terrible and others saying that the film is exactly what Warner Bros. needed to boot up the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU) after the disaster that was Batman v Superman.
Should we really be surprised?
There were great expectations put on this film by both fans and critics to be a lot of different things that it was almost a sure thing that the film would fail in at least one area. Prior to release, Suicide Squad was being touted by fans as the film to finally kick-start the DCCU into motion after Batman v Superman failed to do so, which definitely put a lot of pressure on Warner Bros. to attempt to do everything possible to meet the fans’ high expectations for the film.
The film’s great marketing campaign also did seem to suggest that the film would be something in the vein of the DCCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy or a more toned down version of Deadpool and a lot of people were very hyped for the film’s release because of this. A lot of people who aren’t generally fans of comic book films were even looking forward to the film’s release as the trailers made it look fun and interesting.
The dark tone that Warner Bros. seems determined to make the signature of DC films also had to be present within the movie; a very large contrast to the tones that accompanied Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool.
Suicide Squad is also the first live-action comic book film to feature the Joker since The Dark Knight; a film that has made many people think that no actor will ever be able to live up to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the character without even yet seeing the new portrayal. The press release images of Jared Leto really proved this point.
Quite simply put, after having watched Suicide Squad it is easy to see that it doesn’t really live up to all of these expectations. However, this does not mean that it is a terrible movie, rather just one in which many fans (such as myself) were somewhat disappointed because they wanted more from it.
It was the film’s inability to fulfil all of these expectations, I feel, that led to the polar reviews, where some claim the film to be great and others claim it to be a convoluted mess.
Suicide Squad isn’t like Batman v Superman, in which the story is so convoluted that if you’re not concentrating for every second of the runtime, you’ll definitely lose the plot completely. However, it certainly seems that many critic reviews are making it out to seem that way.
In this I’m not saying that Suicide Squad has a solid story with no cracks (to be honest with you, I don’t think any comic book film will ever present such a story), as there are definitely some cringe worthy moments scattered throughout the film. I do not think, however, that it will be a completely difficult task to know what is going on in the movie at any given moment.
The castings were all pretty great. Margot Robbie was everything that I wanted in a live-action Harley Quinn, Will Smith was a pretty good Deadshot and at this point, I kind of believe that Viola Davis could be cast in any role and be good.
I also definitely wanted to see more of Jared Leto’s Joker (hopefully, we’ll get to do so in the upcoming solo Batman film.) His Joker wasn’t at all the same as Heath Ledger’s and that was great as I didn’t want it to be.
It is fair to say that most characters had very limited screen time, which is always a problem with films that focus on a group of protagonists rather than one or two. I don’t believe that the film always handled this very well with some characters only getting a limited number of lines.
There wasn’t as much humour in the film as I thought there would be, but then too much humour would not have been befitting to the dark tone. This is one of the bigger complaints that has been raised by many critics and fans who expected the film to be more akin to Guardians of the Galaxy or Deadpool. I do think that if the film had a higher film rating (16 instead of PG-13) there would have been greater opportunity for darker humour to be inserted into the film. It is important to remember that Suicide Squad is centred around a group of immoral villains and there is a lot of comedic material that could have been drawn from this that would not be possible to put in a movie catering to younger audiences. Perhaps Warner Bros. should have pushed the boundaries a little bit here.
Overall, although I was somewhat disappointed by the film, I did indeed like Suicide Squad and if I had to give it my own rating, I would say it’s a solid seven out of 10. However, because I’m a huge DC fangirl I know that perhaps my fanaticism has clouded my judgement by allowing me to look past things that I possibly wouldn’t in other films.
Nevertheless, most of the people I have spoken to about the film who aren’t comic book fans have also agreed that the film isn’t terrible and is actually rather enjoyable. Not all of them have the same likes and complaints that I do and this fact has kind of brought me back to the conclusion that I get after reading any review for a video game, film or album; basically, if you want to know whether you’ll enjoy something or not, you are going to have to check it out for yourself.
Have you watched Suicide Squad? If so, what did you think of it? Please feel free to share your opinions down below.
