Suicide Squad , the DC Comics movie starring villains like Harley Quinn and Deadshot, has received terrible reviews. People are saying the film isn’t even so bad that it’s good. It’s a sad sight to see, especially since the DC Comics extended universe needs a win. Now that the opening weekend has passed, let’s reflect a bit. Is this really a surprise?
Let’s begin with David Ayers, the writer and director of Suicide Squad . What has he done that was actually good? From what I can remember, it’s three things: Training Day, End of Watch , and Fast and Furious . Fury wasn’t too bad either, but it isn’t really “famous.” But this is also a man who did Sabotage, S.W.A.T., Dark Blue , and U-571 . It’s a mixed bag, which should have sent up warning signs. Especially when this movie started being broadcast as having some humorous elements to it, which isn’t his forte. Honestly, he’s better known now for putting Suicide Squad’ s actors through ridiculous and stupid “method acting” situations than he is for his directorial and writing skills.
Next, remember the reshoots. In April, Warner Bros. had reshoots scheduled and done for Suicide Squad. That’s for a movie which was later released in August. Such major work being done four months before a film is due to be released? That is never a good sign. Ever. And there it was. We should have seen reshoots as a big red flag.
Casting was too, if you think about it. Let’s compare Suicide Squad to The Avengers , another ensemble piece. Suicide Squad’ s biggest and most reliable stars are Will Smith, Viola Davis, and Jared Leto. Except the only one of those three to get major screen time is Smith. Leto barely appears in the movie, and his parts hardly hold up to the hype and “crazy person” method acting rumors that led up to it. Viola Davis is amazing, but again isn’t in the biggest role in the movie and is basically playing through characters she’s already mastered in other media, like How to Get Away with Murder . After those three, it comes down to Margot Robbie, whose claims to fame thus far are Neighbours, Pan Am, and Wolf of Wall Street. She’s been in a few big productions, but she’s hardly large enough to carry a film yet.
In comparison, The Avengers had a huge cast of established stars attached. Robert Downey Jr., Scarlet Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Clark Gregg, and Tom Hiddleston were all part of the project. Each of these people alone would be interesting to watch interact, but all at once? Oh, and it had Joss Whedon, someone who knows comic books and similar media, in charge. It was a serious investment, the likes of which Marvel and Walt Disney Studios was willing to make. DC Comics and Warner Bros. weren’t willing to do the same, and it shows.
Perhaps most telling is the lead up to Suicide Squad. Let’s look at the other movies. Before this, we had Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman . Neither were huge hits. Man of Steel wasn’t bad, but Batman v. Superman has seen more hate than love. In fact, the latter even altered Warner Bros.’ plans for DC Comics movies from here on out. It was hardly encouraging and didn’t do much to inspire confidence. If the previous two movies in the DC extended universe ranged from only okay to not at all good, did we really think Suicide Squad would do a complete 180?
We shouldn’t be so harsh on Suicide Squad , is what I’m saying. This movie has had more red flags than a 30-year-old blind date who was dropped off by their mom, looking nothing like their picture, and carrying a hatchet. We knew what was going to happen here, is what I’m saying. We can’t now suddenly act surprised and shocked when this isn’t a cinematic masterpiece. We should instead look for things about it that are okay, like Smith, Davis, and Robbie’s performances, and then let this ship sink. Since it did make $135.1 million its opening weekend, maybe there’ll be a chance of it getting a sequel that will actually do its characters justice.