Suicide Squad- Yay or Nay?

[BengalHawk62]

Doesn't look like the Suicide Squad, a movie I've had high hopes for, is getting much love from movie reviewers.  Damn, I was really looking forward to this one too.  Might just have to be another DVD rental now.

After months of unsettling stories about Jared Leto’s unusual penchant for gift-giving and Margot Robbie’s hot pants, “Suicide Squad” finally opens in theaters nationwide on Friday to much fanfare.

But as the first reviews for the “Batman v Superman” follow-up have begun to roll in, it’s become clear that the movie’s marketing machine has disguised what one critic called “a dizzying, deranged hot mess.” Reviews so scathing, mind you, that “Suicide Squad” die-hards have been fooled into thinking a petition to shut down Rotten Tomatoes is something that actually exists. 
Read a collection of some of the most brutal below: 
Vanity Fair: 

Quote:“Suicide Squad” is bad. Not fun bad. Not redeemable bad. Not the kind of bad that is the unfortunate result of artists honorably striving for something ambitious and falling short. “Suicide Squad” is just bad. It’s ugly and boring, a toxic combination that means the film’s highly fetishized violence doesn’t even have the exciting tingle of the wicked or the taboo. (Oh, how the movie wants to be both of those things.) It’s simply a dull chore steeped in flaccid machismo, a shapeless, poorly edited trudge that adds some mildly appalling sexism and even a soupçon of racism to its abundant, hideously timed gun worship. But, perhaps worst of all, “Suicide Squad” is ultimately too shoddy and forgettable to even register as revolting. At least revolting would have been something.

BuzzFeed: 

Quote:Harley Quinn is an embodiment of all the conflicting things this frankly disastrous new movie, choppily written and directed [by] David Ayer, is attempting to do. She’s meant to be fun in her I’m so cra-azy way, but she’s also a woman in an abusive relationship the movie has no idea how to handle. She’s supposed to be strong, and in the literal sense, she does bash things with a baseball bat. But she’s also a psychological prisoner who has surrendered her sense of self. She’s a goth icon who talks like a 1930s gangster moll and who owns a gun reading ‘love’ and ‘hate’ on the barrel, but in her deepest heart, all she wants is to be a housewife in curlers, looking after the kids while her green-haired hubby heads off to work. She’s anarchic, but not really, and a good time, but not really, and she’s ****** up, but not really — or at least, not really in a way the movie’s ready to take time to explore. Sure, Harley is a tricky character, but she’s been shaped into an intensely sexualized mascot for a film that yearns for edginess, but can’t get over the rounded curves of its female lead.

The New York Times: 

Quote:A series of tactical skirmishes with faceless minions — semi-zombies that can be slaughtered en masse, without a second thought — leads to a big final showdown. Spoiler alert: It’s essentially the final showdown from ‘Ghostbusters’ and at least a half-dozen other recent blockbusters, with a few differences of what I guess we should call nuance. You can safely duck out of the theater and spend a good 20 minutes on the claw machine or Instagram, slipping back in to catch the final song and the sequel-teasing extra scene during the end credits.

Vulture:

Quote:How early will the fanboys who flock to see “Suicide Squad” — smug in the knowledge that they’ve won the day, that Hollywood is now desperate to cater to their tastes above all others’ — admit that they’re watching the year’s most muddled piece of storytelling? Will they say, “Enough!”? Or will they vent over the damage to their favorite characters and promptly move on to debating who should direct the next stupid, overblown “Suicide Squad” movie?

ScreenCrush: 

Quote:After one of the crummiest summer movie seasons in recent memory, asking one film to redeem four months of tepid blockbusters might have been a suicide mission in and of itself. But “Suicide Squad” doesn’t even come close. From the first scene to the last, it’s an absolute mess, one whose harried pacing, jumbled narrative, and blaring soundtrack of radio hits suggests a desperate post-production attempt to reconfigure what Ayer got on set into something palatable and poppy. The movie opens with a shot of the logo for Belle Reve Prison, which serves as the Suicide Squad’s home base; the facility’s slogan is “’Til Death Do Us Part.” The direness of this movie, along with the staggering number of films yet to come in the DC cinematic universe, makes these words feel like the ultimate threat.

 The San Francisco Chronicle: 

Quote:If you know someone you really can’t stand — not someone you dislike, not someone who rubs you the wrong way, but someone you really loathe and detest — send that person a ticket for “Suicide Squad.” It’s the kind of torment you can wish on your worst enemy without feeling too guilty, not something to inflict permanent damage, just two hours of soul-sickening confusion and sensory torment.

Time Magazine: 

Quote:Harley Quinn’s entrance is the best moment in “Suicide Squad.” After that, you can leave. Robbie is a criminally appealing actress, likable in just about every way, but that intro aside, “Suicide Squad” doesn’t serve her well. It serves no one well, least of all its audience ... Now and then there’s a dash of color, especially when Leto’s Joker appears, with his silvery capped teeth and Day-Glo hair. Leto seems to be channeling, consciously or otherwise, Richard Widmark in the 1947 noir “Kiss of Death”—that’s the one where Widmark’s truly creepy-evil character pushes an old lady in a wheelchair down the stairs. But Leto is so textbook twitchy that he barely comes off as menacing. And his scenes with Robbie have no spark, no lunatic ardor. If you can’t strike a spark with Robbie, something’s terribly wrong.

Rolling Stone: 

Quote:Who stole the soul of “Suicide Squad”? I’d say it’s Ayer’s willingness to go all limp-dick and compromise his hardcore action bona fides for a PG-13 crowdpleaser that would rather ingratiate than cut deep, or even cut at all. My heart sank during the film’s big battle between the Squad and zombie soldiers. You heard me: zombies! The walking dead aren’t the only clichés that eat away at the potential in this material. Superfreaks become supersweeties and “Suicide Squad: Dawn of Dullness” (my subtitle) does the impossible. Forget “Batman v Superman” — at least it tried. This botch job

[Bengalholic]

Man, those are some brutal reviews. Really, I didn't even find the trailers interesting.

[BmorePat87]

I'll see it, but only on discount night. I gave DC a lot of credit with this one, but it looks like another flop on their part. Seems like it never actually gets anywhere and tries to be too much like Deadpool but can't be because it's neither Deadpool nor rated R.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Most critics hate, absolutely loathe these types of movies for whatever reason so whatever they say, take it with a spoonful of salt. They love artsy-fartsy types of movies, Lost In Translation, anyone? Sure, it may have not been a bad movie but Academy Award type? Nope.

Anyway, the only way to know if it's a bad movie is to see it yourself. Fans of the comics will love it while people who never heard of the comic will pass, like me. I'm not going to go see it although I like Will Smith and that girl looks hot on the commercials.

For instance, critics destroyed Warcraft here in the United States but it was the first or second ever grossing video game movie in China. It made roughly $400,000,000.00 I think worldwide. Fans of the game loved it but those who never played the game had no clue what was going on. They had fun but they won't see it again.

In other words, don't listen to critics. They will only break your heart. If you want to see it but unsure how it will turn out, see it during a matinee or wait to rent it out of RedBox.

[CKwi88]

I'm gonna see it. I expect decent action sequences, funny one liners, and Margot Robbie in booty shorts.

I imagine it will meet my expectations.

[BengalHawk62]

I just want to see Jared Leto's adaptation of the Joker. 

We need a movie just about the Joker's story.  Why hasn't that been thought of yet?  A Rated R version, PLEASE!

[Benton]

(08-03-2016, 11:20 PM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: Most critics hate, absolutely loathe these types of movies for whatever reason so whatever they say, take it with a spoonful of salt. They love artsy-fartsy types of movies, Lost In Translation, anyone? Sure, it may have not been a bad movie but Academy Award type? Nope.

I don't think that's it. I think they get tired of the "please everyone" movies. Take Deadpool. Yeah, there were the usual pretentious ones from the New Yorker and publicaitons like that. But it generally got good reviews because critics saw it for what it was: cartoonish characters committing horrible acts of violence to horrible people with bad jokes meant to be bad. There wasn't anything ground breaking, but it was all true to characters and consistent in what it was trying to do.

From what these reviews (and others) are saying, SS is just another generic PG13 action movie without any more substance than the others like it.

[Bengal Dude]

I'll be seeing it on Tuesday. We have a theater in downtown Vancouver that offers up cheap prices on Tuesdays.

[Millhouse]

Ill probbably wait til next week or week after as I had mixed hopes on it without reading those reviews above which dont help. Whenever a movie assembles some of the worst 'bad guys' and then makes the movie PG-13, that just sends a giant red flag to me.

[*Awful Llama*]

Was planning on seeing it, but may have convinced myself to wait for it to pop up on HBO or something. With Kevin Spacey playing a cat, the cineplex is really not a safe place right now.

[CKwi88]

It's alright.

The DC movies just feel forced to me. There's not that smooth progression and build up. It's too much material to take in all at once and it just becomes jumbled.

[HarleyDog]

Traditionally, if movie reviews semi-suck, I tend to enjoy it while some stellar reviews leave me feeling like they must have been on drugs when giving the review. I'll wait a week or so and see what yahoo movie viewers say and base from there. I tend to relate with the mass avg there.

[BoomerFan]

(08-04-2016, 10:44 AM)BengalHawk62 Wrote: I just want to see Jared Leto's adaptation of the Joker. 

We need a movie just about the Joker's story.  Why hasn't that been thought of yet?  A Rated R version, PLEASE!

I actually didn't think The Killing Joke was all that bad. I never read the graphic novel though. 

I'm looking forward to Suicide Squad but it will have to be next weekend as a I have wedding to go to in MA this weekend.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

(08-06-2016, 01:11 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: Traditionally, if movie reviews semi-suck, I tend to enjoy it while some stellar reviews leave me feeling like they must have been on drugs when giving the review. I'll wait a week or so and see what yahoo movie viewers say and base from there. I tend to relate with the mass avg there.

Truer words have never been spoken.

[CKwi88]

(08-04-2016, 10:44 AM)BengalHawk62 Wrote: I just want to see Jared Leto's adaptation of the Joker. 

We need a movie just about the Joker's story.  Why hasn't that been thought of yet?  A Rated R version, PLEASE!

From Suicide Squad there's no reason to believe that Leto's joker won't be every bit as good as Ledger's.

They're wildly different takes on the character, but equally good.

[Aquapod770]

Chris Stuckmann is my go-to guy for movie reviews. Gave it a C. I'll wait till it comes out on redbox to pick it up now. All the hype up to it really made me lower my expectations.

[*wildcats forever*]

It's Margot Robbie! I'd watch her read the phone book. Seriously .... sorta

[JustWinBaby]

(08-06-2016, 11:53 PM)wildcats forever Wrote: It's Margot Robbie! I'd watch her read the phone book. Seriously .... sorta

Margot Robbie in hot pants.....wait, there was a plot?!?

[coachmcneil71]

(08-07-2016, 01:23 AM)JustWinBaby Wrote: Margot Robbie in hot pants.....wait, there was a plot?!?

She twitches that little booty around more than Bree Olson riding a sybian.....

[BmorePat87]

(08-03-2016, 11:20 PM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: Most critics hate, absolutely loathe these types of movies for whatever reason so whatever they say, take it with a spoonful of salt. They love artsy-fartsy types of movies, Lost In Translation, anyone? Sure, it may have not been a bad movie but Academy Award type? Nope.

Anyway, the only way to know if it's a bad movie is to see it yourself. Fans of the comics will love it while people who never heard of the comic will pass, like me. I'm not going to go see it although I like Will Smith and that girl looks hot on the commercials.

For instance, critics destroyed Warcraft here in the United States but it was the first or second ever grossing video game movie in China. It made roughly $400,000,000.00 I think worldwide. Fans of the game loved it but those who never played the game had no clue what was going on. They had fun but they won't see it again.

In other words, don't listen to critics. They will only break your heart. If you want to see it but unsure how it will turn out, see it during a matinee or wait to rent it out of RedBox.

I disagree. Marvel movies kill it.

Cap 1: 80%, Cap 2: 89%, Cap 3: 90%. Avengers 1: 92% , Iron Man: 94%, Guardians: 92%.

There are four in the 70's and two in the 60's, but even a 66% is considered "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes ratings. 

Fox has done well with their X-Men franchise. As others have said, Deadpool got awesome reviews (84%), X-Men days of Future Past got a 91% and First Class 86%. Apocalypse was garbage and got garbage reviews (48%). Of their older stuff, X-Men Origins and the 3rd one got bad reviews, but the first two got in the 80s. 

What we're seeing that, for the most part, Fox and Marvel studios are making extremely well received movies in the last 10 years. Even 4 of the 5 Sony Spider-Man movies got good reviews.

Suicide Squad isn't getting bad reviews because it's a comic book movie. Apparently it just sucks as a movie. Apparently DC is doing a bad job at starting their new film universe, and there are a lot of underlying reasons for that. It seems like they're trying to play catch up instead of letting it fall together organically. Man of Steel- 55%, BvS: 27%, SS: 26%. It's almost like...

(08-05-2016, 11:34 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: The DC movies just feel forced to me. There's not that smooth progression and build up. It's too much material to take in all at once and it just becomes jumbled.

Hell, look at the fan ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. While they're higher (66%-75%), they're nothing compared to the 84-92% ratings on Marvel films.


Also, Warcraft was garbage. I played WoW on and off for 8 years and I played WC3. I loved the lore of the series. I don't think it was the worst movie I saw this year, but it left a lot to be desired. It set up the possibility of a good WC2 inspired sequel, but if you didn't already know the WC 1 and 2 lore, the movie was hard to follow. Too much thrown onto the screen. That's bad story telling.