Below are my quick, spoiler-free thoughts on Suicide Squad. But first, just before I went in to see Suicide Squad, we got the very strong numbers from Thursday night, with $20.5 Million domestically and it set several records in other countries. (Unfortunately, it looks like SS will not be showing in China, similar to what happened to Deadpool. This is probably a loss of about $70-80 Million in their worldwide total.) That $20.5M number is the largest for an August release and 13th largest ever. This, plus the strong presale numbers (locked in before the reviews were released), bodes well for the opening weekend.
Even if Suicide Squad has a similar Friday to Sunday drop as did BvS, the $20.5M Thursday still predicts a domestic opening of $122.9 Million! That would set a new August record by almost $30 Million. (BvS had $27.7M on Thursday and $166M for the weekend.) If it maintains a bit better than BvS, it could approach or clear $130 Million.
Quick Reaction:
I really enjoyed the movie, but it didn't hit me at the deeper levels that I appreciate in movies and novels. I do think there's an interesting theme to explore upon multiple viewings about love being a humanizing force that can connect people (they don't have to love one another, but if they recognize the love in the other, that can be the basis of a bond) and if one still has love, they still have a reason to live and are, in some sense, redeemable. But I'll have to give that more thought.
The movie definitely presents some memorable characters, some memorable scenes, and it has a unique visual style (if not a unique action/choreography style). I found myself fully engaged in the first 15-20 minutes with some very comics-inspired set-up, and I also really like from the bar scene onward, including an emotionally effective denouement. But in some of the middle sections, it flirted with generic action territory where the momentum seemed a bit forced.
I really liked Harley and Joker's storyline, and Will Smith worked well as Deadshot, in my opinion. It's hard to say much more without getting in to details, and I like to process movies for awhile, so I'll wrap it up here, but right now I feel like I could list a lot of things that I thought worked well about the movie but I could also list quite a few things that I thought were a bit off the mark. For example, Katana was underutilized and one villain (Waller) was much better than the other.
Overall, based on my first viewing and only a little bit of process time, I give Suicide Squad a 7/10, and I can't really see it going much higher than an 8 for me because I don't give many 9's or 10's (I've probably only given 25 out of 1000+ movies) and to reach that level, I would've needed to see some more literary motifs and more fully developed themes.
Addendum: I got to see it a second time and I caught many more foreshadowings and setups, so I'm increasing my rating to 7.5/10.
Was BvS one of the films you gave a 9 or 10 for?
ReplyDeleteYes, after third viewing, my BvS rating settled in to a 9.8/10 (or 10/10 if I have to round to a whole number). That places it right in the mix of my all-time favorites --- The Big Lebowski, Dr Strangelove, Dial M for Murder, etc.
DeleteHey Sam, do you think that their will be a director's cut for the film in Blu-ray like with BvS ultimate Cut?
ReplyDeleteI haven't followed all the news on this regard, but just my personal guess is that they'll have a few deleted scenes included on the blu-ray but not a whole new cut of the movie.
DeleteSS was the fun ride it was advertised as. No more,no less. It's meant to be a side track outside the primary JL story line and for that it worked. The only nitpick I have with it is the magic element which is someone I don't really like in most mediums, such as it being the weakest parts of Game of Thrones.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was an enjoyable ride and a good side story in the universe. I also agree with you that magic is always a bit risky. I liked the witchy parts but not all the elements of the villain (e.g., when Enchantress got her heart back).
DeleteSam I feel the same way you do about Suicide Squad. I really liked and would give it a 7.5/10. It was a lot of fun and I want to see it again. I still feel that the overly negative critical reviews are ridiculous and will likely haunt all DCEU movies. That is not to say that there aren't any legitimate criticisms. But the internet hate train is just brutal for a fans of these movies.
ReplyDeleteBTW have you seen this link? I don't think it shows any intentional bias but it is a little interesting. http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article93975472.html
ReplyDeleteWould you say Waller was the main villain from what I'm hearing she sounds like the actual antagonist pretty much everything seems to trace back to her, the other villain sounds like little more than another victim who suffers because of waller's manipulations.
ReplyDeleteLacking screen time or not how was joker in the movie was he a more humorous joker, a more psychotic joker somewhere in between where does he fall between was he scary?
Yes, I think Waller is the villain. There is obviously another character who is the one that they need to stop physically, but Waller is the villain and the counterpoint to the themes of friendship and love that the characters are exploring.
DeleteJoker is more scary than funny -- he creeped me and my wife out, for sure. I'd call him a psychotic mob boss Joker. It's not his movie, so he didn't get full development, but he was intriguing and a force of nature in each scene he was in --- couldn't take my eyes off him.
Sam are you planning on doing a video review eventually?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm recording a general reaction with Jason Book tonight -- hopefully post it tonight as well, or maybe Monday. And I also am pretty deep into writing my first podcast episode on Suicide Squad. So that will come, probably Monday night.
DeleteCool, looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThe misogyny bothered me and the sloppy-feeling editing, but the acting of the leads was charming and strong. One of the better villain storylines I've seen in a super-hero movie lately, although the lead villain mostly posed rather than acted. I was really fearing the portrayal of the Joker, but it was almost restrained, and mostly seen through Harley, appropriately. I don't feel like they ever figured out what to do with Croc, Slipknot or Captain Boomerang. I wanted more Katana - she was interesting and undeveloped.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to hear more of your thoughts.
Here's the beginning of my thematic analysis -- http://comicandscreen.blogspot.com/2016/08/jlu-scene-by-scene-suicide-squad-themes.html. I'm curious about your reference to misogyny. I saw some male chauvinism, but they were from Deadshot, Boomerang, etc., who are meant to be counter-role-models. If the issue was the sexualization of Harley, then I would just point out that Margot Robbie was involved in the character design and she said Harley uses her looks as a game and to manipulate men, so it's an active choice rather than an objectification.
Delete