Locked SUICIDE SQUAD v.3 (Dragonlord's Review)

Update: August 3, 2016

Dragonlord's Review of SUICIDE SQUAD (No Spoilers)

Bottom Line: Suicide Squad's first half is fun, peppy entertainment but loses steam in the second half and transforms into X-Men: Apocalypse mix with Ghostbusters in the third act.



DC Extended Universe's third offering - Suicide Squad - is bold and commendable due to the risk of making a feature film about a group of bad guys that are mostly unfamiliar to the general public. Two years ago, it worked for the kooky but lovable characters in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Warner Bros. is hoping lightning strikes twice. They even positioned Suicide Squad the same month (August) when GotG was also released.

From the amazing cast assembled, to the electrifying trailers, to the impressive marketing campaign, the film has captured the public's attention and will likely be rewarded with a huge opening weekend. But will this turn out to be another Batman v Superman where bad word-of-mouth from critics and fans alike cut the film's legs after the first week.

The story revolves around a group of (super) villains recruited to Task Force X, a black ops government strike team created by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assigned to handle metahuman threats. Their first mission is to retrieve a valuable package from Midway City that is under siege by a powerful otherworldly entity.

Task Force X is comprised of Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Slipknot (Adam Beach) and El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), with Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) as their field leader and Katana (Karen Fukuhara) as his bodyguard.

The first act of the film is mostly a set-up to introduce the various villainous characters and their backstories, complete with lively visual stats and graphic designs. There's a fun, peppy energy to the first half but things slowly get bogged down at the second half once they reach the city.

If you are tired of seeing superheroes battle countless faceless drones, you are going to be majorly disappointed with this one since the Task Force X goes up against faceless, like literally faceless, foot soldiers. The first wave of resistance the team encounters is fine as we finally get to see our anti-heroes in action but it quickly gets old the second time it happens.

These faceless, generic zombie soldiers are shot, stabbed, sliced, decapitated and get their heads blown up repeatedly. And that's the reason why they went with the faceless route because they can't get away with that kind of violence in a PG-13 setting. But it still would have been more effective and scarier if these zombies had a human face but with dirty makeup similar to the creepy Enchantress.



The actual mission is where the film stumbles with its plodding plot, contrived character actions, and overall poor execution. By the time it reaches the third act, the film has transformed into a eerie facsimile of the endings from X-Men: Apocalypse and the original Ghostbusters movie.

Among the missteps writer-director David Ayer made was the choice for the big bad, Incubus, which was too powerful. You immediately question the effectiveness on how the mostly non-metahuman Task Force X can go up against a god. It's ridiculous how Incubus easily and efficiently dispatched the human soldiers early on but resorted to slapping and kicking when facing Task Force X. It's also a mistake was Task Force X being accompanied by a squad of soldiers because it lessened the tension knowing there's backup for the team. Another blunder is going with the generic end-of-the-world mission scenario rather than going for something smaller in scale.

Taking into consideration that I'm not a Will Smith hater, I enjoyed his performance as Deadshot. A hitman known for not missing a shot, Deadshot had some terrific action moments. Would have liked for the actor to tone down his Will Smith-ism mannerisms but it's the lesser evil as proven with Independence Day: Resurgence since that film greatly suffered without his star-power charisma.

Margot Robbie was fantastic as Harley Quinn, radiantly bringing Paul Dini and Bruce Timm's creation to life on the big screen. Aside from providing the sexiness factor, Quinn was the welcomed comic relief.

Jai Courtney was surprisingly decent as Captain Boomerang. He got the look and obnoxiousness right but it's just unfortunate that he wasn't given a lot to do. Courtney's Boomerang could have easily been one of the memorable characters but he was stuck with some forgettable lines and severely lackluster action scenes (Nick Tarabay's Captain Boomerang in The CW's Arrow/The Flash had a much cooler boomerang action scenes).



The normally wooden Joel Kinnaman was pretty good as Rick Flag. Viola Davis was terrific as Amanda Waller. Jay Hernandez as El Diablo was notable as the character's powers was one of the best displays of pyrokinesis I've seen in cinema. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's Killer Croc was just adequate and his lines were inaudible. Too bad, the character could have been a breakout star like Drax in GotG if given more quality lines and scenes.

The mysterious Katana (Karen Fukuhara) was perfect in the way she was depicted and in the way they gave her some remarkable action scenes. She doesn't have much lines but her presence is utterly magnetic. Her backstory wasn't as fleshed out as the others but it only added more mystique and allure to the character. The Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), with the dirty look and heavy makeup, was effectively creepy early on but became a joke after she cleaned herself up.

One of the most talked-about castings in years, Jared Leto was respectable as the Joker but nothing truly outstanding or unique. In fact his performance reminded me of another character from a different movie or TV show (can't pinpoint it for now). The Joker wasn't really necessary to the story and could possibly have been disruptive to the film's rhythm. Keep his flashback scenes but they should have omitted him out from the actual story until the very end. The twisted romance story between the Joker and Harley Quinn was kinda sweet though.

Another evidence the film is trying to emulate the irreverence spirit of Guardians of the Galaxy is the bombardment of fun, eclectic old songs that accompanies every characters' intro and every scene involving the Squad early on. Didn't really mind it as it adds to the frenetic pace of the first half but could be off-putting to some.

Overall, Suicide Squad is not DCEU's saving grace but it's not a horrible film either. There are many enjoyable moments and a few tweaks of the script could easily made this into a really good comic book movie. Watch out for a mid-credits scene.

Preliminary Rating: 6.5/10

Spoiler: Musings and spoiler thoughts on suicide squad

El Diablo declaring that the Squad was his new family felt forced. It's not as believable because their camaraderie wasn't clearly established on screen like they needed a few more scenes to reach there.

Felt Captain Boomerang should have died before the team went to the bar to further drive home the stakes. Besides, Boomerang wasn't very memorable at all. So no loss if he croaked.

Amanda Waller's security protocols in guarding Enchantress' heart was weak. There were so many instances where Enchantress could have grabbed her heart.

I'll add more later.

Link to previous threads:
Suicide Squad Official Thread v.1
Suicide Squad Official Thread v.2

 

Update: August 7, 2016

SUICIDE SQUAD Breaks August Opening Record with $135.1M But Drops Sharply Saturday



David Ayer's Suicide Squad may have opened to an August-best $135.1 million at the North American box office, but bad reviews and so-so audience reaction are already taking their toll.

After pulling in an impressive $65.1 million on Friday, it looked like the Warner Bros.' tentpole, playing in 4,255 theaters, would debut to $145 million-$150 million. But traffic slowed dramatically throughout Saturday, or 41 percent day-over-day, a far steeper drop than other successful superhero movies (The Dark Knight also dropped 41 percent, but the movie was impacted by the Aurora shooting.)

It can't be denied that Suicide Squad posted one of the best openings of the year to date — thank a savvy marketing campaign, including a high-profile stop at Comic-Con — as well as wrestling the August crown from Marvel and Disney's likewise offbeat superhero film,Guardians of the Galaxy, which debuted to a surprise $94.3 million in 2014 on its way to earning better-than-expected $773.3 million globally, including $333.2 million domestically.

The big question heading into the weekend was whether the latest film in Warner Bros.' growing DC Extended Universe could beat another irreverent superhero offering: Fox and Marvel's Deadpool, which posted a three-day debut of $134.2 million over Valentine's Day/Presidents Day weekend in February, a record for an R-rated film. Deadpool's four-day holiday gross was $152.2 million on its way to grossing $773.3 million globally.

Suicide Squad — boasting a friendlier PG-13 rating — has been ravaged by critics and currently suffers a 26 percent rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That's one point behind the 27 percent rating for fellow DCEU title Batman v. Superman, which debuted to a hefty $166.7 million in March, but fell off more quickly than expected in the following weeks.

Now, Suicide Squad's ultimate playability is also in question after receiving a B+ CinemaScore from North American audiences. While it's better than the B awarded to Dawn of Justice, movies have much better legs when receiving some variation of an A score.

Box Office Report: 'Suicide Squad' Opens to Big $135 Million But Drops Sharply Saturday

 

Update: August 4, 2016

SUICIDE SQUAD Unlikely to Be Released in China, Yet to Receive a Release Date



David Ayer's Suicide Squad is set to hit theaters around the globe this weekend, but the world's most populous nation — and No. 2 movie market — probably won't be joining the party anytime soon.

The Warner Bros. tentpole has yet to receive a release date in China, and sources close to the decision-making process in Beijing say it appears increasingly unlikely to get the official nod.

According to people familiar with the matter, China Film Group, the state-backed distributor that handles the import of all foreign films, hasn't put the movie on its internal release calendar, which is typically set at least two months in advance. "They think this is not a good film to release in China," a Chinese executive said without elaborating.

Chinese DC fans have been speculating online for months about whether Suicide Squad would get past Beijing's censorship committee. Thanks to its friendlier PG-13 rating, the movie had raised hopes that it would escape the fate of Fox's similarly toned "anti-superhero" hit Deadpool, which was effectively precluded from release in China due to its violence and graphic language.

Not surprisingly, Warner Bros. tweaked Suicide Squad's local-language title. In Chinese, it's "X特遣队," which translates to "Special Task Force X" (X marks the suicide, it would seem). Many have wondered whether the movie's dark and anarchic tone would still rub the censors the wrong way, though.

China's official censorship guidelines state that stories "propagating passive or negative outlook on life, worldview and value system" are disallowed. Exactly how that applies to comic book baddies turned snarky world saviors remains to be seen.

The Chinese box office has become an increasingly important piece of the international distribution map for the big six Hollywood studios. Suicide Squad cost at least $175 million to make. The biggest Hollywood films in China so far this year are Disney's Zootopia at $235.5 million, Legendary Entertainment's Warcraftwith $221 million and Marvel/Disney's Captain America: Civil War with $190.4 million.

'Warner Bros.' 'Suicide Squad' Unlikely to Get China Release - Exclusive

 

Update: August 3, 2016

SUICIDE SQUAD's Rushed Production and Alternate Cuts Revealed



Warners chief Kevin Tsujihara announced the Suicide Squad 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. "[David 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."

In Ayer, Warner Bros. enlisted a director who had never made a giant, effects-packed action movie. Hiring filmmakers who lack such experience is the trend, and it's often out of necessity. "There are a lot of people who don't want to direct those movies and that's a huge problem," says one producer with franchise experience. Seasoned directors are expensive, meaning studios turn to those with less experience, relying on instinct that they will be up to the job.

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 Batman v Superman. "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.

By the time the film was done, multiple editors had been brought into the process, though only John Gilroy is credited. (A source says he left by the end of the process and that the final editor was Michael Tronick.) "When you have big tentpoles and time pressure, you pull in resources from every which way you can," says this source. "You can't do it the way it used to be, with one editor and one assistant editor."

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.) Getting to that place of consensus, however, required millions of dollars' worth of additional photography.

Other sources describe a fraught process — one cites "a lot of panic and ego instead of calmly addressing the tonal issue." Clearly all wasn't sitting right with Ayer, who in June suddenly dropped his longtime agent at CAA and defected to WME, though the agency won him back in a day. "He was under a lot — a lot — of pressure," says one person with knowledge of the situation, arguing that Ayer was exhausted and needed time to process conflicting ideas.

On the day of the premiere, one insider fretted about whether Suicide Squad would mirror BvS' huge opening and weak legs. Another veteran says the goal is survival: "The movie's got to do $750 million, $800 million to break even. If they get anywhere close to that, they'll consider it a win."

'Suicide Squad's' Secret Drama: Rushed Production, Competing Cuts, High Anxiety

 

Update: August 2, 2016

DC Fans Start Petition to Shut Down Rotten Tomatoes Over Negative DC Movie Reviews



If you follow movie news or movie reviews at all – if you’re reading this, chances are that you do – you’ve almost certainly heard by now that the first wave of reviews for Suicide Squad are not exactly glowing. Todd McCarthy, Variety’s erstwhile top critic and noted film-book author, dismissed the movie on several levels, while New York Magazine’s David Edelstein criticized the film’s “muddled storytelling.” The mostly negative appraisals mixed with a not-ignorable amount of positive reactions to come up with a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it certified rotten. And that’s when the tizzies began.

A petition has been posted to Change.org demanding that Rotten Tomatoes be shut down over all of this. It’s really hard to concisely explain just how intensely idiotic all of this is.

The petition’s description reads:

"We need this site to be shut down because It's Critics always give The DC Extended Universe movies unjust Bad Reviews, Like

1- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016

2- Suicide Squad 2016

and that Affects people's opinion even if it's a really great movies"

Rotten Tomatoes’ algorithm isn’t perfect but even if it was, it’s worth remembering that these are personal opinions expressed by individuals, not some widespread sanctioned condemnation spearheaded by Rotten Tomatoes and Marvel Studios on the low. This really should be self-explanatory, but just because you are not in agreeance with the critical consensus does not mean you’re wrong or right.

What’s worse, many of those who are kicking up a fuss haven’t even seen Suicide Squad yet but feel like they must stand up and defend their beloved DC brand against an entirely imagined anti-DC narrative they’ve concocted.

DC Fans Start Petition Demanding Rotten Tomatoes Be Shut Down Over Negative DC Movie Reviews

 

Update: August 2, 2016

Critics' Reviews for SUICIDE SQUAD

Rotten Tomatoes: 27% Approval Rating (48 out of 175 critics like it)

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.



Entertainment Weekly - Suicide Squad kicks off with fizzy, punk-rock ferocity before turning flat and spiraling into familiar formulas. For DC, which blew it with Batman v Superman last spring, Suicide Squad is a small step forward. But it could have been a giant leap. B-

Newark Star-Ledger - Admitted, even with its flaws, at least "Suicide Squad" is trying to give diehard fans the kind of comic-book movie they've been waiting for this summer – bizarre characters, great costumes, fistfights and firepower and the usual leave-a-city-in-ruins ending. But, sorry, as far as movies about superhero supergroups go? The Guardians, and the Avengers, still have these jokers beat.
2.5/4

New York Daily News - The biggest problem with the movie is that, despite all the villains, the main antagonist — wisely hidden in the advertising — is as ridiculously silly as something out of "Ghostbusters 2." Fans will probably appreciate "Suicide Squad" for trying something different — and it gets bonus points for diversity — but the weaker characters and generally weak plot keep it from being one of the better comic book movies. 3/5

James Berardinelli - This movie feels all-too-much like Batman v Superman while unspooling with the inelegance of X-Men: Apocalypse. It gets props for kinetic energy, bursts of suspense, and a couple of bravura performances (Will Smith & Margot Robbie). But pretty much everything else is either mediocre or substandard and that makes it hard to champion this bloated and cheerless monstrosity. 5.9/10

Rolling Stone - 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. Forget Batman v Superman — at least it tried. This botch job makes Fantastic Four look good. 1/4

 

Update: August 1, 2016

SUICIDE SQUAD Now Tracking for Record-Breaking $140 Million Opening Weekend



Suicide Squad keeps building momentum going into its debut this Friday, with tracking figures now setting its opening between $130 million and $140 million — though studio estimates are currently set on a much more conservative $125 million.

Just over a week ago, experts set its opening at roughly $115 million, which would easily break the all-time opening record for August. But then, just a few days later, prognosticators moved up their estimates to $125 million.

Now reaching for an even bigger figure, David Ayer‘s DC Comics movie is looking to beat Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory, which opened in June to $135 million and become the third-highest grossing opening of 2016.

But remember, reviews come out tomorrow and that could affect estimates. If Suicide Squad doesn’t reach Dory heights, it would need to surpass Fox’s $132.4 million debut for Deadpool to secure its position as the fourth-highest grossing movie of the year.

Whether reviews are good or bad, the Warner Bros. movie should have an easy time surpassing the August record set by Disney-Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which opened at $94.3 million in 2014.

Despite the sterling projections, Suicide Squad should still open below Disney-Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War — which bowed to nearly $180 million in early May — and also Warner Bros. previous DC Comics movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which opened with $166 million in domestic grosses in March.

Still, anywhere above $130 million is a huge number, particularly for a new franchise launch, and comes during a summer that’s in desperate need of bigger box office receipts.

‘Suicide Squad’ Now Targets Record-Breaking $140 Million Opening

 

Update: April 10, 2016

Insane 2nd Theatrical Trailer for SUICIDE SQUAD Released



Suicide Squad has unleashed a new trailer, with the ruthless villains joining up Dirty Dozen-style to take on a mysterious threat. A common complaint from the critically savaged Dawn of Justice was that the blockbuster lacked any humor. As a result of that criticism, the latest Suicide Squad trailer crams in the laughs in an effort to show that the film has its own light, but very violent tone.

The trailer is set to Lesley Gore’s classic “You Don’t Own Me,” as covered by Grace, a singer/songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. The new trailer also features The Sweet’s 1974 glam classic “Ballroom Blitz,” which further adds to trailer’s excitement and reinforces the Squad’s irreverence. Also featured in the new trailer: Batman pops up and lots of Jared Leto's Joker, though it's still unclear what role he plays in the film. Suicide Squad hits theaters August 5th.



New 'Suicide Squad' Trailer Boasts Joker, Batman, Laughs and Ballroom Blitz
________________________________




Update: April 8, 2016

Rumor: Batman's Screen Time in SUICIDE SQUAD More Than Previously Expected



Batman's role in the upcoming David Ayer-directed Suicide Squad might just be bigger than we thought.

On Heroic Insider, hosts Umberto Gonzalez and Daniel Alter go over a rumor via an unnamed source that his presence in the film is much more than just a cameo.

"The film tested recently,they had test screenings, and according to sources, check this out, there is a lot more Batman in the movie than they are letting on."

They mention that the lineup of Suicide Squad is basically a who's who of Batman villains, which would lend this theory some credence. We already know he's in the film, via footage that showed him on top of Jokers car, but that probably won't be the only time we see him in the film.

Being that Ben Affleck's take on Batman was one of the main positive points of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, it's doubtful that Warner Bros. would miss an opportunity to utilize that to their benefit.

Rumor: Suicide Squad To Have More Batman Than Expected

 

Update: March 31, 2016

SUICIDE SQUAD Reportedly Getting Reshoots to Add More Humor [Updated]



Warner Bros. is being more proactive with their DC cinematic universe, starting with Suicide Squad, and is reportedly going to great expense to get it right. The expense comes in the form of pricey reshoots that are meant to inject the film with more moments of levity, as opposed to the dire tone of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.

A source told BirthMovieseDeath reporter Devin Faraci that "Every joke in the movie is in that trailer" (referring to the most recent trailer with the "Bohemian Rhapsody" song), and due to the ecstatic response those received, Warner Bros. instructed the team to put more moments like those in the final film.

The reshoots have already started, and they're going to add significant cost to the budget. If the movie goes over well with audiences, however, it will be well worth the investment. If the report is true, Warner Bros. seems to be taking a much more active approach going forward, and that could effect Zack Snyder's upcoming Justice League film.

Warner Bros. Reportedly Reshooting 'Suicide Squad' to Add More Humor

[Update #1: Actor Jai Courtney (who plays Captain Boomerang) says the Suicide Squad reshoots are to inject more action into the film. "I wouldn't say we're going back to make it funnier. There's some additional action stuff we've been doing which is pretty dope...Don't believe everything you read." There's three possibilities here, Jai Courtney is performing spin control duty for WB, the reshoots are truly just for more action or a combination of the two, where the film's gaining some levity along with more action sequences.]

[Update #2: A new report states that the reshoots will last for 3 weeks with 2 days in Los Angeles and the rest in a studio. The crew on the set reportedly revealed that the studio "made him [David Ayer] do reshoots" because it was too dark.]

 

Update: January 19, 2016

New Trailer for David Ayer's SUICIDE SQUAD Released



Warner Bros. has released the first genuine trailer for Suicide Squad. Written and directed by David Ayer, the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice follow-up explores a very different corner of the DC Cinematic Universe, as it revolves around a group of villains who are enlisted by the government to carry out high-risk missions in exchange for commuted sentences.

The first official trailer paints a different, more colorful, much more playful picture of the film. Thanks to some good editing, the Bohemian Rhapsody music cue works better, and every villainous hero gets a little (some very little) moment to shine. Margot Robbie‘s Harley Quinn is going to absolutely own this movie. She’s pitch perfect bubbly-crazy with some real menace behind her silly antics. The trailer doesn’t disappoint.

The film stars Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevigne, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Adam Beach, Jay Hernandez, Ike Barinholtz, Common, Scott Eastwood, Karen Fukuhara, and Viola Davis. Suicide Squad opens in theaters on August 5, 2016.



First Official ‘Suicide Squad’ Trailer Lets the Villains Out to Play

 

New thread now open.

 

I didn't watch the new trailer but I just listened to it to see if El Mayimbe's scoop that it would feature the song "Ballroom Blitz" was correct (it was). And just from the sound of it, the trailer feels awesome.