Even before the first trailer hit the web last year, anticipation for Suicide Squad was sky-high, and it’s not hard to see why.
After all, this was a movie that seemed to offer an interesting twist on the superhero flicks that have inundated multiplexes for the past several years.
While those films still make major bucks at the box office, moviegoers seem to be growing wary of effects spectaculars with near-three-hour runtimes in which flying men in tights brood over the existential quandaries that accompany superheroism.
Squad promised something more fun and frivolous, but at the same time more sinister.
It also offers Jared Leto as the Joker, one of the most buzzed-about performances in recent memory.
Oh, and Margot Robbie in hot pants doesn’t hurt, either.
Sadly, it seems this is a classic case of all sizzle and no steak, as just days before the film’s release, this Squad is getting more side-eyes than Taylor Swift’s problematic chick clique.
Check out some of some of the many (many) unfavorable reviews below:
“Everyone started making a movie before they really knew what they were doing. You need adults in charge, and there are no adults in charge here. The result is, yet again, a total sh-tshow.” – Will Leitch, The New Republic
“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.” – Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
“Suicide Squad is a so-so, off-peak superhero movie. It chases after the nihilistic swagger of Deadpool and the anarchic whimsy of Guardians of the Galaxy but trips over its own feet. – A.O. Scott, New York Times
“The year’s most muddled piece of storytelling.” – David Edelstein, New York Magazine
There you have it.
Sadly, it sounds like Squad is the cinematic equivalent of a leap from a tall building.