Suicide Squad (2016, David Ayer) non-spoiler Review

I concede I probably was more forgiving than I expected. Part of that may be due to the relative unfamiliarity of the characters. Batman and Superman have a more solid iconic status in my head than the likes of Deadshot and Captain Boomerang. Quinn I knew from the animated series and little else. So, that probably helped.

Also, while I agree that this film is a mess, it was such an improvement over the two Superman films that the bar to impress had been moved pretty low. As much as I do like Cavill as Superman, he was given so little to do in those films that it became frustrating. This film at least gave a couple of the actors something to play with. And, yeah, Robbie carried the film for me as well. Without her and Leto (in about half of his scenes) this probably would have been unbearable.

Though I will disagree with half of you comments about Captain America. I agree that he is a dull character in the comics. But, part of what has impressed me about the Marvel films is how they managed to make him exciting by putting him in interesting situations without changing any of the exact traits that make him so dull. In fact, it is that bland idealistic goodness that becomes the central drive of the moral conflicts of his films. If DC was going to take any lessons from Marvel about how to handle Superman, that should have been the one.

 

Seriously, when you look at that line up, are these films really necessary? Justice League would be the only film that would be of interest imho. Now this is just me, but a Aquaman movie? Pass. I gotta wait 4 years for a Green Lantern? Pass.

All these films are not solid ideas or even guarantee successes. This is not Harry Potter series or Lord of the Rings. Star Wars series these are not. People waited a full year to watch another installment of LOTR. People salivated over another Christopher Nolan Batman entry. Come on, who is tossing and turning waiting for Flash or Shazam? For crying out loud The Flash has been in TV series on and off now for years. People got their fix.

But to the Harley Quinn movie and second Suicide Squad. Right there leans to my personal view made in an earlier post. Quinn(Robbie) was the driving force behind Suicide Squad. And the "want" for Poison Ivy in the second film (I've heard this by not just you, in fact fans wanted her in the first film), again "my view" that fans want a sexy/hot comic book character on screen. And sex sells. Now this is obviously not the majority but I got friends that only see the Avengers films(and repeatedly watch) because of Scarlet Witch and Black Widow. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the eye candy too, but for me they are not the driving force to those films. I will admit, Margot Robbie as Quinn was a draw for Squad for me. Still would have seen the film regardless but I'm comfortable in saying it was definitely a major plus.

 

I agree Bagio, of all those I only want to see Wonder Woman and Justice League. That said, if you asked me a year ago, it would have barely been Justice League. Batman vs Superman sold me as did the Wonder Woman trailer, so maybe those other ones will be cool too?

I thought Ben Affleck at one point said there's a standalone Batman movie coming that won't be an origin story, but an original story. Maybe Harley and Mr. J will be in that?

 

As a Batman fan naturally I have a favorite villian. That villain is Poison Ivy. It started with her relationship with Harley in the Animated Series and grew with several comics and the Arkham games. She is a complex character who can be written as a siren, seductress or eco terrorist. She can kill with a kiss, by releasing spores or completely decimating buildings with vines. She's brilliant and arguably Batman's biggest threat though since she struggles with her humanity, she tends to help him more often than not. No man or woman can resist her and not even Superman is immune to her spell. It doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous (New 52 aside). Hell, 50 years ago she was created with inspiration from Bettie Page.

I have no interest in Shazam because he's a lame character and I'm the one guy on this planet who isn't enamoured with The Rock. Wrestling does nothing for me. The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg are no different to me than Thor, Captain America or the Hulk. That said, no one gave two shits about Iron Man until Robert Downey Jr. made the character relevant. Gal Gadot seems to have a handle on Wonder Woman. She isn't just eye candy. From the Justice League trailer, the Flash looks interesting and Aquaman looks one dimensional. In fact, that's the type of intensity Killer Croc should have had in Suicide Squad throughout.

I agree that none of these films have the anticipation that the Dark Knight Trilogy had, therefore expectations should be in check. Batman has a ton of villains that people who aren't even fans are familiar with. The same cannot be said for any of the other heroes. I didn't want WB to go down this road with the Justice League, but I am determined to enjoy it just the same. Once it's over, someone else will take over the Batman franchise and hopefully do as good a job as Nolan did.

 

Yes, the rumor is the solo Batman film will have him trapped in Arkham Asylum with all of the Rogues Gallery. Similar to the Rocksteady game, that would definitely include Leto and Robbie.

 

Hey man...never hurts to be honest. If you hate it, you hate it. I haven't seen it yet. I am kinda on the fence. I will probably wait til it comes to my cheap $3 theater.

 

• Wonder Woman – June 2, 2017
• Justice League Part One – November 17, 2017
• The Flash – March 16, 2018
• Aquaman – July 27, 2018
• Batman Movie
• Wonder Woman 2
• Shazam – April 5, 2019
• Justice League Part Two – June 14, 2019
• Superman Movie
• Batman Movie
• Cyborg – April 3, 2020
• Green Lantern – June 19, 2020

When/if The Flash tanks, I think/hope this list will get revised. You guys really all that into The Flash? Unless he gets over huge in JL pt 1, I can't see that film doing all that well. I would equate him to Ant Man's appeal. That one turned out to be quite good but it had Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas. Flash has some kid and this guy directing:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0266622/?ref_=tt_ov_dr
Seems like an obvious choice based on his action-packed resume.

Put those crossed out ones on TV like Marvel did with its less popular characters (maybe not Green Lantern, but I'm still bummed about the Ryan Reynolds film).

 

Fuck you I want to see an Aquaman movie...especially with THAT Aquaman. He looks awesome.

Oh and let's stop with the "action packed resume" comment. A lot of the director's DC and Marvel pick are not the obvious choices and usually they deliver.

Patty Jenkins is far from an action director but WW looks fantastic.

 

WEE-OW!

 

Are you hitting on me?

 

WEE-OW!

 

Ya know, the TV show has done such a good job with the character, I am actually interested in the film. Add that I really loved Ezra Miller in "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and the interest does get a bit closer to excitement.

 

He was great in Perks of Being a Wallflower too. I liked his scene in the Justice League trailer.

 

Yeah personally I'm really interested to see what they do with the Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg in their films.

 

SS breaking all kinds of August weekend and mid week records

 

Ditto ZD.

 

As of the 18th Suicide Squad has made over 500 million box office World wide.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...e-squad-crossing-500m-worldwide/#46b8ec4d7dcb

 

I'm really stupefied looking at that ridiculously overstuffed calendar of upcoming DC releases. I haven't seen Suicide Squad, and I've been reluctant to even post about BvS. I hated it as much as I could ever hate a Batman movie. Here's the really scary question for me. If DC can't make Batman or Superman movies better than the Man of Steel or BvS, how unbelievably dull and awful are some of these other flicks going to be? Aquaman? The Flash? Shazam? Cyborg? Jesus wept.

I'll never argue against the production of any movie if it's driven by artistic inspiration. But when you start to assemble a calendar like that one, it's clear that you're producing pure product. And considering how bloated the budgets are for the recent DC films, I don't think it's remotely possible for them to stay in the black with that type of schedule. I pray the cycle burns itself out soon, because I'm rapidly reaching the point where I have zero interest in any new superhero movie. A lengthy moratorium would serve this genre well. Maybe several years down the line someone like Nolan will come along and breathe new life into it.

 

I thought BvS was pretty bad - It's watchable - but compared to the Marvel movies it is in a much lower class. I haven't seen Suicide Squad yet but I have not heard good things from those that have.

 

Does anyone else think WB missed the boat by not casting Gary Busey as the Joker at some point?