SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 5, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Two new films open this weekend, “Suicide Squad” and “Nine Lives,” the second of which was not made available for critics to see.
“Suicide Squad” is poised to take over the top slot from Matt Damon’s “Jason Bourne” in a big way.
The new film, starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto, is predicted to pull in $133 million in its debut weekend.
“Suicide Squad” is having a bit of controversy as fans are petitioning Rotten Tomatoes to shut down over negative reviews.
The petition reads in part, “We need this site to be shut down because It’s Critics always give The DC Extended Universe movies unjust Bad Reviews, Like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad and that Affects people’s opinion even if it’s a really great movies….”
At this writing, the Rotten Tomatoes score is at 30 percent fresh.
The predicted weekend box office chart, according to Pro Box Office is this:
| Suicide Squad | Warner Bros. | $133,000,000 | |
| Jason Bourne | Universal | $23,500,000 | |
| Bad Moms | STX Entertainment | $13,100,000 | |
| Star Trek Beyond | Paramount | $12,380,000 | |
| The Secret Life of Pets | Universal | $11,350,000 | |
| Nine Lives | EuropaCorp | $6,500,000 | |
| Ice Age: Collision Course | Fox | $5,490,000 | |
| Lights Out | Warner Bros. (New Line) | $5,400,000 | |
| Nerve | Lionsgate | $5,200,000 | |
| Ghostbusters (2016) | Sony / Columbia | $5,060,000 |
The Review:
Suicide Squad
Starring: Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jared Leto and Viola Davis
Rated PG-13
In the film, a government official assembles a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated super-villains and provides them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal to send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity.
“Suicide Squad” is a very watchable yet uneven film.
Director/writer David Ayer spends most of the first part of the film (about 35 minutes) introducing characters and their abilities, and then rehashes that same information again in different briefings Viola Davis keeps having.
Pacing is another problem with “Suicide Squad,” as there doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency in whatever these anti-heroes come up against. Every time there is a fight, the characters go into a kind of battle banter, and say clever things while disposing of the bad guys. It’s very reminiscent of the TV Show “‘The A-Team,” but without the joy or the absurdity needed to make these moments work.
And (No Spoilers) it needs to be said the danger they are up against, which is the entire plot of “Suicide Squad,” is a poorly-written device that makes no sense when you think about it.
There is some good in the film, Margot Robbie offers a stand out performance as Harley Quinn, the Joker’s main squeeze. Robbie take what little Ayer has written for her and turns it into a terrifically well-balanced executed performance.
Likewise, Will Smith as Deadshot, is memorable, but Smith isn’t stretching here either as we’ve seen him play similar roles.
Jared Leto’s Joker is a solid performance, but it’s played too dark and too introspective for the viewer to really enjoy. It lacks any maniacal fun.
All in all, “Suicide Squad” will probably entertain audiences when they see it, but when those audiences leave the theater and begin their drive home, most will stop at the light and say “hey… wait a minute…”
“Suicide Squad” gets a C and is rated PG-13.
