Now with Suicide Squad just hitting theaters, the critics and fans are at it again with their wildly different opinions. Currently Suicide Squad has a rotten tomatoes score of a lowly 26% with 235 critic reviews and 75% with with 6,592 audience reviews. I also saw the movie and have my own personal thoughts that you can check out on my YouTube channel.
So let's try to break down why critics and fans disagree so much on Suicide Squad.
Differing Questions
This is where we get into the nitty-gritty of how critics and fans can differ so greatly. It all comes down to expectations and the questions they ask.
The best way to describe this is to look at a hypothetical scenario. Let's say that I just saw a movie and two different people are interviewing me, one is a movie critic and the other is a hardcore fan of the comic book franchise the movie was based off of. Let's see the kinds of questions the two would probably ask me and how I would respond to them.
Please keep in mind that when it comes to Suicide Squad I am not completely a fan. Also I am no where near a full fledged movie critic. So while I do personally agree with the responses to these questions, some of the deeper answers are borrowed from other's reviews and thoughts that I read or overheard.
Fan's Questions
- Was it fun? Yes, the movie started off fun and had enough sprinkled throughout to make it overall enjoyable.
- Were the characters fun and good interpretations of the comics? Yes, although Warner Bros. took some liberty in the characterization of The Joker, Harley Quinn, and Deadshot, they still had enough to see the connection to the comics.
- What was the best part? Whenever the characters were interacting with each other. It was just fun to see them all together.
- Was it as good as the trailer? Yes, you can tell that a lot of the fun that was shown in the trailer is present in the actual movie.
- Are you happy you saw it? Yes, seeing these iconic characters come together in the movie was overall just a good time.
- Would you see it again? I think I will. There were a lot of things that happened very quickly that I would like to get a second look at. Also, there are some things that I'm not sure whether I liked it or not and I'd like to see it again to determine my feelings.
For all of these reasons, fans are perfectly justified in giving Suicide Squad the praise they have and the praise that will continue to come.
Critic's Questions
- Does the story follow a typical 3 act style? If so, does each act move the story forward well? It does, but after the first act the story really slows down and the tone changed. Then the third act becomes a typical light and CG show typical of many modern blockbusters.
- How is the acting used to enhance the story? Most of the actors do a good job portraying their characters. However, some of characters have no reason to even be present in the story.
- Were the character arcs realized? Most of the characters end at the same point where they started. By the end the squad doesn't work any more as a cohesive team than at the beginning.
- Was the script unique or interesting? Although their are a few funny moments, most of the script is very predictable or awkward.
- Did the director elevate the script and screenwriting? David Ayer is known for his characters with a dark and twisted back story. While this is hinted at throughout the movie, the humor in the movie often overshadows much of the darker parts Ayer is known for.
- Was the editing used effectively to depict the story? The editing is often choppy and sometimes confusing by using too many flashbacks.
- Was the score or music recognizable or appropriate? No, while trying to be interesting overall it simply adds to the choppy editing and randomness.
As you can tell by how I would respond to these questions it is very easy to see why a critic would give it a lower grade.
Conclusion
I know it is frustrating to see a movie you liked, or hoped to like, get a low critic score. Instead of having a knee-jerk negative reaction, remember that the critics are asked to critique on a vastly different set of standards than your buddy in the next cubicle. Instead, find and stick to reviewers that look for what is important to you and go from there. Dollars speak louder than angry tweets and petitions in pushing studios to make more of what we like.
I know it is frustrating to see a movie you liked, or hoped to like, get a low critic score. Instead of having a knee-jerk negative reaction, remember that the critics are asked to critique on a vastly different set of standards than your buddy in the next cubicle. Instead, find and stick to reviewers that look for what is important to you and go from there. Dollars speak louder than angry tweets and petitions in pushing studios to make more of what we like.
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