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'Suicide Squad' Can't Possibly Be THAT Bad, Can It?

By Brian Richards | Social Media | August 4, 2016 |

By Brian Richards | Social Media | August 4, 2016 |

This Friday will see the release of Suicide Squad, the third film to be released as part of the DC Extended Universe after Man Of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice. And those who may not have enjoyed those first two films and was hoping that Suicide Squad would come along and be the saving grace that promised them a good time at their friendly neighborhood movie theater…may just have to keep waiting until the release of Wonder Woman next year, if some of these early reviews are to be believed.

Since the review embargo was lifted this past Tuesday, it seems that many critics haven’t had too many kind things to say about Suicide Squad. To be fair, some critics (including Bilge Ebiri of The Village Voice as well as our own Kristy Puchko) liked and enjoyed what they saw.


Other critics seemed to like and enjoy Suicide Squad less.


A lot less. And very determined on letting everyone know how much they didn’t like it.




So much so that at least a couple of people made it clear that some critics really should knock that shit off.

The animosity towards Suicide Squad coming from many a critic only upset many a fan of DC’s films, who once again saw them getting the sort of hostile treatment that would never be shown towards anything made and released by Marvel.

Some of these fans were so upset about the critical lambasting that they decided to declare all-out war on, of all things, Rotten Tomatoes and create a petition to have the website shut down. Granted, the creators of this same petition seemed to have overlooked the fact that Rotten Tomatoes (as well as DC Comics and DC Entertainment) is owned by Warner Bros., the movie studio that released Suicide Squad, but then again, who needs logic and common sense when you’re calling for the destruction of a website that simply collects and aggregates movie reviews, not writes them.

Things didn’t get any better yesterday when The Hollywood Reporter posted an article about the behind-the-scenes drama that seems to explain a lot in terms of why Suicide Squad has getting the negative response that it has so far.

Warners chief Kevin Tsujihara announced the project in October 2014 as part of a slate of 10 DC films stretching into 2020. 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, 48, had been given more time to work. But another source closely involved with the film says once it was dated, pushing back the release was not an option: “It’s not just that you’ve told the public the movie is coming, you’ve made huge deals around the world with huge branding partners, with merchandise partners. It’s a really big deal to move a tentpole date.”

A source with knowledge of events says Warners executives, nervous from the start, grew more anxious after they were blindsided and deeply rattled by the tepid response to BvS. “Kevin was really pissed about damage to the brand,” says one executive close to the studio. A key concern for Warners executives was that Suicide Squad didn’t deliver on the fun, edgy tone promised in the strong teaser trailer for the film. So while Ayer pursued his original vision, Warners set about working on a different cut, with an assist from Trailer Park, the company that had made the teaser.

In May, Ayer’s more somber version and a lighter, studio-favored version were tested with audiences in Northern California. “If there are multiple opinions that aren’t in sync, you go down multiple tracks — two tracks at least,” says an insider. “That was the case here for a period of time, always trying to get to a place where you have consensus.” Those associated with the film insist Ayer agreed to and participated in the process. Once feedback on the two versions was analyzed, it became clear it was possible to get to “a very common-ground place.” (The studio-favored version with more characters introduced early in the film and jazzed-up graphics won.)

Depending on how much of this was true, the thought of Warner Bros./DC performing so much editorial interference, especially after how much they boasted about letting their directors do their own thing when making their films in comparison to how Marvel Studios operates when working with directors didn’t sit well with many and only increased the number of “What kind of fuckery is this?!” comments coming from many people about Suicide Squad:

Despite all of this, there are still many people who are very much interested in going to see Suicide Squad, myself included.

And if the box-office is impressive enough to drown out all of the naysayers, that will be more than enough to make Warner Bros./DC happy for now.

That being said, I do share this sentiment when it comes to Wonder Woman and the hopes that Warner Bros./DC will leave director Patty Jenkins and her editors alone, and that they do not fuck this up:

And if all of that wasn’t clear enough in expressing how many fans feel regarding Wonder Woman and every other film to come in the DC Extended Universe, I’ll just let RuPaul have the last word:

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