From IMDB:
It feels good to be bad... Assemble a team of the world's most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government's disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren't picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it's every man for himself?
Reviews 316 user | 332 critic
From Rotten Tomatoes:
From director David Ayer ("Fury," "End of Watch") comes "Suicide Squad," starring Oscar nominee Will Smith ("Ali," "The Pursuit of Happyness"), Oscar winner Jared Leto ("Dallas Buyers Club"), Margot Robbie ("The Wolf of Wall Street," "Focus"), Joel Kinnaman (Netflix's "House of Cards") and Oscar nominee Viola Davis ("The Help," "Doubt"). It feels good to be bad... Assemble a team of the world's most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government's disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren't picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it's every man for himself?
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language)
Genre: Action & Adventure
Directed By: David Ayer
Written By: David Ayer
In Theaters: Aug 5, 2016 wide
Box Office: $135105000
Runtime: 123 minutes
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
TOMATOMETER 26%
Average Rating: 4.7/10 | Reviews Counted: 247
Fresh: 63 | Rotten: 184
AUDIENCE SCORE 72% liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5 | User Ratings: 86,881
Genre: Action & Adventure
Directed By: David Ayer
Written By: David Ayer
In Theaters: Aug 5, 2016 wide
Box Office: $135105000
Runtime: 123 minutes
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
TOMATOMETER 26%
Average Rating: 4.7/10 | Reviews Counted: 247
Fresh: 63 | Rotten: 184
Critics Consensus: Suicide Squad boasts a talented cast and a little more humor than previous DCEU efforts, but they aren't enough to save the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing.
Average Rating: 3.8/5 | User Ratings: 86,881
SUICIDE SQUAD IS CURRENTLY PLAYING IN CINEMAS WORLDWIDE, IF IT ISN'T CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHEN IT PLAYS NEAR YOU.
I actually saw Suicide Squad on the 4th of August but couldn't be bothered to write down my thoughts till now...
Yup I saw it full day before it opened in the US. I also heard about how the movie was basically panned by literally every critic that was invited for free to watch the movie in order to create some positive buzz. Which they didn't. So I sort of had it in my mind that this was going to be a repeat of what happened when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) hit the cinemas, it too got slammed by the critics. The fans were up in arms about that and hit back at the critics for their generally negative reviews and the same happened with Suicide Squad, it got bad enough that someone started a petition to shut down Rotten Tomatoes.
One of the few times Deadshot has his mask on and then immediately takes it off. ©Warner Bros. Pictures
Now like I said before I was sort of expecting this to be just like what happened when BvS came out, that I would try to go without expectations and see what's what. At the end of BvS although I agreed with most of what the critics hated about it I actually did enjoy it and you can read my review of it here. So I was thinking this was pretty much going to be the same experience, that I was going to walk out of it at the end actually enjoying the movie despite what the reviewers say. But before we get to that... Also a note to all you DC fans out there, I am by no means a harcore DC Fan nor do I have an in depth knowledge of the characters in the DC Universe. I am a casual fan. That is all.
See that lady there? She's not just a government worker she's also a bad ass. ©Warner Bros. Pictures
So Suicide Squad, a bunch of bad guys who are recruited by a woman named Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) who works for a secret department in the government. Her reason for recruiting them? In case another meta-human or monster or someone as powerful as Superman goes nuts and decides to destroy the world she hands a handful of somewhat powerful bad guys and meta-humans whom she can terrorise and threaten into doing what she wants. To assist her with her tasks in handling these criminals is Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) a military man who is head of a special task force specializing in black ops.
Captain Boomerang. About as cool as his name is. Only throws one cool boomerang. ©Warner Bros. Pictures
The bad guys who for the most part are only familiar to fans of DC Comics are not really all that big in terms of being bad guys in the DC Universe with the exception of course of The Joker (Jared Leto). There's Deadshot a.k.a. Floyd Lawton (Will Smith) the assassin who is rumored to have never missed a target. Harley Quinn a.k.a. Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie) who was once a psychiatrist working at the notorious Arkham Asylum and was tasked with trying to make The Joker less insane but who instead fell in love with The Joker and contracted a little of his insanity. Digger Harkness a.k.a. Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) an Australian criminal who got bored of robbing Australia and decides to come to the US and who's claim to fame is his fancy boomerang based tools and weapons.
Chato Santana otherwise known as El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) a meta-human with the ability to control fire and do other things who ends up a pacifist in prison after one of his outburst killed his own family. Killer Croc who was once a man named Waylon Jones (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) but who's genetic condition makes him look like a crocodile and is shunned by society, he escapes to live in the shadows and the sewers where his mind slowly deteriorates and he begins to believe himself more animal than man.
Guess why she's part of the team? As a bodyguard to a man who's supposedly the best of the best. ©Warner Bros. Pictures
There's also Tatsu Yamashiro or Katana (Karen Fukuhara) a Japanese woman trained from childhood in the martial arts who carries a sword named the Soultaker which traps the souls of those whose lives it takes including her own husband. The Enchantress an ancient with who inhabits the body of Dr June Moone (Cara Delevingne) after she discovers her altar deep in the forests of South America.
This is Rick Flag. He's supposed to be a kick ass military type. But in this one he's just a boyfriend looking to save his girlfriend. ©Warner Bros. Pictures
The one thing all the bad guys have in common is that they've faced Batman and been bested by him with most being sent to Arkham Asylum. Katana on the other hand has actually worked with the Batman and the Enchantress, well she's the wild card here, she has never crossed paths with Batman but she has crossed paths with Superman. Also the Enchantress seems to be whatever DC comic writers want her to be in any particular story arc it seems. Oh, there's another recruit to the Suicide Squad named Slipknot (Adam Beach) who doesn't stay long and acts as a convenient reminder to the others what happens when they try to make a run for it.
Killer Croc the man-beast who once went toe to toe with Bane, the same Bane that broke the Batman. ©Warner Bros. Pictures
So the story which you probably already know by now is about Waller recruiting these bad folks to do her bidding in trying to save the world. She also claims that they can help America with other things as well and as an example sends the Enchantress to Iran to grab a secret file. Oh yeah, also Rick Flag is in love with Dr June Moone and Waller uses that to her advantage as leash to control Flag and the Enchantress.
Anyway, it would seem that the Enchantress has plans other than being Waller's lap and guard dog and hatches a plan to release her brother Incubus (Alain Chanoine) and then once she's gotten her heart back from Waller to destroy mankind and rule the world.
So here's a list of pros and cons from where I sat...
The Pros:
1) Will Smiths's Deadshot. I think he did a pretty awesome job. It's still Will Smith of course but he does a pretty good Deadshot.
2) Margot Robbie is pretty good as Harley Quinn.
3) Viola Davis is amazing as Waller.
4) Jared Leto was pretty crazy as Joker.
5) DeLevingne was quite creepy as the Enchantress.
6) The visual were pretty good.
7) The action was pretty good.
8) Batman's cameos were awesome.
9) The Flash's one cameo wasn't too bad.
1) Will Smiths's Deadshot. I think he did a pretty awesome job. It's still Will Smith of course but he does a pretty good Deadshot.
2) Margot Robbie is pretty good as Harley Quinn.
3) Viola Davis is amazing as Waller.
4) Jared Leto was pretty crazy as Joker.
5) DeLevingne was quite creepy as the Enchantress.
6) The visual were pretty good.
7) The action was pretty good.
8) Batman's cameos were awesome.
9) The Flash's one cameo wasn't too bad.
Crazy mafia boss made to look like The Joker or The Joker has decided to become a little bit more civilized and sophisticated? ©Warner Bros. Pictures
The Cons:
1) The story suffers much in the same way as BvS. Too many cool moments but not enough of a story. It has more characters that BvS and for the most part we don't get to really sink our teeth into each of them with the exception of Deadshot, Harley Quinn and El Diablo but even then their stories don't really get us to be more invested in their characters.
2) The dialogue is filled with lines that are meant to sound like cool soundbites and nothing more.
3) The interaction between the squad hardly makes us feel like they are actually working like a squad or are actually beginning to work together.
4) Deadshot who looks awesome with his mask on only puts it on like twice in this movie and for like a few seconds before taking it off. Was there like a clause somewhere in Will Smith's contract?
5) Harley Quinn although cool ends up being somewhat pathetic what with her constantly obsessing about Joker. There are moments where you actually glimpse the Harley Quinn that fans love but they quickly disappear.
6) Jared Leto's Joker is a little too extreme at times but it doesn't ruin it as much as seeing the Joker act and look more like a crazy mafia boss. I mean The Joker hanging out at a club and he has a well mannered and dapper looking assistant? Really? I've read of my fair share of Batman comics where he goes toe to toe with The Joker and in none of them did he act like a mafia boss or looked like one. This Joker what with his flashy and stylish clothes and his well dressed assistant, his fancy cars and a posh apartment doesn't look feel like The Joker.
7) Captain Boomerang was a bit of meh. Killer Croc doesn't look like Killer Croc. Looked too tiny and skinny to me.
8) The music is much to obnoxious and at times makes you wonder whether you're watching a bunch of music videos which just happened to find itself part of a movie.
9) The Enchantress's minions looked like an after thought. The looked to me like tar balls come to life.
10) The Enchantress when she transforms at the end looked a little too Disney to me for some reason and her motivations and her plan to destroy mankind made no sense to me. Also not a fan of the weird dancing and gyrating. Couldn't take her seriously when she started doing that.
11) The final battle was somewhat ridiculous. Here's an ancient witch who is assisted by an equally bad ass brother and they are defeated in the most ridiculous way by a bunch of not all that powerful humans and one somewhat powerful meta-human. Granted El Diablo's show down with Incubus was pretty cool but he did that by becoming a fiery Incan? Aztec? skeleton demon thing but then his fire dies out and all they do next is trigger a huge bomb which apparently stops not only Incubus but the Enchantress too.
1) The story suffers much in the same way as BvS. Too many cool moments but not enough of a story. It has more characters that BvS and for the most part we don't get to really sink our teeth into each of them with the exception of Deadshot, Harley Quinn and El Diablo but even then their stories don't really get us to be more invested in their characters.
2) The dialogue is filled with lines that are meant to sound like cool soundbites and nothing more.
3) The interaction between the squad hardly makes us feel like they are actually working like a squad or are actually beginning to work together.
4) Deadshot who looks awesome with his mask on only puts it on like twice in this movie and for like a few seconds before taking it off. Was there like a clause somewhere in Will Smith's contract?
5) Harley Quinn although cool ends up being somewhat pathetic what with her constantly obsessing about Joker. There are moments where you actually glimpse the Harley Quinn that fans love but they quickly disappear.
6) Jared Leto's Joker is a little too extreme at times but it doesn't ruin it as much as seeing the Joker act and look more like a crazy mafia boss. I mean The Joker hanging out at a club and he has a well mannered and dapper looking assistant? Really? I've read of my fair share of Batman comics where he goes toe to toe with The Joker and in none of them did he act like a mafia boss or looked like one. This Joker what with his flashy and stylish clothes and his well dressed assistant, his fancy cars and a posh apartment doesn't look feel like The Joker.
7) Captain Boomerang was a bit of meh. Killer Croc doesn't look like Killer Croc. Looked too tiny and skinny to me.
8) The music is much to obnoxious and at times makes you wonder whether you're watching a bunch of music videos which just happened to find itself part of a movie.
9) The Enchantress's minions looked like an after thought. The looked to me like tar balls come to life.
10) The Enchantress when she transforms at the end looked a little too Disney to me for some reason and her motivations and her plan to destroy mankind made no sense to me. Also not a fan of the weird dancing and gyrating. Couldn't take her seriously when she started doing that.
11) The final battle was somewhat ridiculous. Here's an ancient witch who is assisted by an equally bad ass brother and they are defeated in the most ridiculous way by a bunch of not all that powerful humans and one somewhat powerful meta-human. Granted El Diablo's show down with Incubus was pretty cool but he did that by becoming a fiery Incan? Aztec? skeleton demon thing but then his fire dies out and all they do next is trigger a huge bomb which apparently stops not only Incubus but the Enchantress too.
So the good doctor goes nuts becomes The Joker's main squeeze and takes up pole dancing at a club. Interesting career change. ©Warner Bros. Pictures
I've probably got a lot more to grip about but I'm not going to bother. You've probably read all the other reviews and heard them all already anyway. I really wanted this to be a fun movie but it wasn't. Whatever good moments it had was drowned out by all the bad ones. Just when you think there's something good you're immediately let down by what comes next. It makes sense now why they kept the details of the story under wraps for so long. If the fans had heard about it they would have made their opinions heard and since even without fans input they went to numerous changes and reshoots imagine what would happen if they told the world about what Suicide Squad was all about.
Anyway, regardless of how bad the critics reviewed or maybe it's because of how bad they did review it Suicide Squad is making the studio behind it a lot of money which means that in some ways we will all be the ones to blame when they keep making bad movies because we've just proven to them that they've made the right decisions. That maybe they know more about what fans want that what the critics know. They don't. The fans want to see their favorite comic characters come to life and be part of a good story. It doesn't have to be an over complicated one or one filled with so much awesome special effects and loud music. It just has to be a good story with good character development told really well. Not a two hour montage filled with poster worthy shots of our favorite superheros or supervillains spouting cool soundbites.
As much as I hate to say this because watching a Marvel movie has become somewhat predictable due to its three story arc formula, I wish DC would take a page from them. I want DC to take control of their characters more and have more say about what the studios do to them and with them and what stories they put them in. It's done wonders for Marvel. Meanwhile DC is still trailing. Maybe there's a curse on them. The original Superman movies started off pretty well but with each subsequent movie that followed it sort of started to get silly and childish. Same thing with Batman after Tim Burton gave us his interpretation of the Dark Knight. Then of course there's that horrible Superman reboot that everyone's already forgotten, the one I only remember because I thought Kevin Spacey did a pretty good job as Lex Luthor. And who can forget the atrocity that was Green Lantern, even Ryan Reynolds couldn't save that with his good looks.
The only time that a DC comic character did not suffer a slow horrible sequel death was when Christopher Nolan took on Batman. And maybe when Tim Burton had him too. The studios allowed Nolan to work and give us his vision of what the Dark Knight should look like. They let Tim Burton give us his gothic interpretation of Batman. Too bad they can't do that anymore. Hard to say who's to blame these days.
So I did not enjoy Suicide Squad as much as I did Batman v Superman. I was hoping to. But I didn't. I know that some folks probably did enjoy it. Anyway, I am going to give this movie a 2.5 out of 5. Here's to hoping that the next movie in the DC Universe is better than the last one.... and if they manage to make the next one worse than this one then a whole bunch of people in DC need to get their heads examined because the studios are ruining the characters that they've so lovingly created and the fans have fallen in love with for so long. They've done an awesome job with the animations but somehow something horrible happened in the translation to the big screen.
So here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet.
0 comments:
Post a Comment