The review embargo for Suicide Squad has been lifted - and, as Mr. Sunday says, this is the best movie in the DCEU. However, this doesn't say too much when the other movies are Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, two of the most divisive superhero flicks ever.
The main problems stem from the number of characters presented on screen - almost all of them for the first time. In this way, even if a huge chunk of the flick is devoted to backstories, there isn't enough time for all of them. As The Wrap notes, the characters barely fit in a poster, let alone in a movie.
According to Screen Crush, this barely feels like a David Ayer movie. And that’s a shame, especially since the director (Fury, End of Watch) actually knows how to capture the essence of an antihero. Besides Harley Quinn, the other characters feel very one-note, lacking any personality traits. In the end, the website notes that Suicide Squad is bland, boring, and incoherent.
And the same point is shared by Vanity Fair, Playlist, and others.
Another problem with the movie, besides its pace and the poor characterization, seems to be the entire premise of the movie: bad vs. evil. Thus, as Mr. Sunday notes, it is hard to believe how some of these villains grow a conscience at some point in the movie and decide to do their best against the evil.
Unfortunately, from these reviews, we do feel that Warner Bros. isn't over the Martha way of leading a DC film into the final act.
The Joker is underused - which is a shame, considering how much everybody talked about him (and so is Captain Boomerang, who could have been a hit). And, apparently, one cannot make a movie about morally corrupt characters PG-13.
However, Suicide Squad also has its good parts - and the best part is that it feels like a comic book movie, with its colors and characters and action. And we guess that, from this point of view, it must be a comic book flick, especially since characters like Captain Boomerang are included (you know, he is just a drunk who throws boomerangs but, in some way, is a threat to superheroes).
Another positive thing about Suicide Squad is the cameos - both of them are extraordinary, with Ben Affleck once again proving that he is indeed a Batman for the modern age of comic book movies.
At this moment, Suicide Squad is aiming towards a $140 million (or bigger) opening weekend. It scores, at this moment, 48 on Metacritic and 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. Will this hurt its box office success in the long run?
If we are to look at Batman v Superman, it will. At this point, this is the third DCEU flick that fails to be a hit with the critics. Hopefully, it will be a hit at the box office and, hopefully, this will be another turning point for Warner Bros. - to once again learn from its mistakes.
Suicide Squad will be released in a couple of days, on the 5th of August.
Check out Mr. Sunday’s review below:
