Suicide Squad

watched this last night.
HAM.
Hammy Acting
Hammy Dialogue
Hammy Action
Hammy Characters

everything was just shoved in willy nilly "lets give Captain Boomarang a pink stuffed toy and not explain any of it". The action scenes were boring and too much like a dance routine. Also very unbelievable (yes comics blah, everything around that though). The plot, yeah of course its just sh*te and makes 0 sense. Harley Quinn, unfunny to the point of annoying and I just didnt want to see her on screen (but ermagerd shes sooo hot derrrr). Joker - f**k me, thats what they settled on? YUP GREAT JOB JARED. LOVED THE CONDOM I GOT IN THE MAIL. YOU ARE GREAT AT ART. I wanted to like it, I actually like Leto (Dallas Buyers Club being tip top), I like the joker (but am not a complete fanboy about it) but this performance just out and out sucked d*ck. He's about as intimating as Po the Tellytubby. Will Smith phoning it in. El Diablo was the best part about the whole thing, even then it wasn't anything really special, just another guy.

Everything just seems rammed into the movie - of which the dialogue runs completely afoul of. There is so much telling and so little showing. Over explanation and even the "funny" quips and such were just so unnatural. Say what you want about Joss Whedon but he does make the quips seem natural (even if I think his characters are far too interchangable). The bad guy? Who cares. Ive seen a million of these chump bad guys in Marvel and DC. same story, bla bla bla. I include Loki in this btw, well acted, little bit charming, but f**k all threat and nothing really going on. It was also long, plodding and when you got to the action scenes you just did not care. Oh look, its weird plant zombie things. wow. oh look they are cutting through them like butter. shocking. Like if you are going to make a film like this, AT LEAST MAKE IT FUN. For all of how terrible something like Jupiter Ascending is, at least when action happened it was fun (and exceptionally stupid) but with SS? Nope. Flippity flip flip shoot shoot bat bat bat, sword, shooting again, bit of sh*t dialogue, bat. Like come on, give us some energy or fu*king something. not fun, not funny (in any way it intended), not inspiring, not important.

What it is, is a great example of studios panicking and a massive marketing engine. In any other time, this thing would have bombed. But the complete distortion of public reaction and appeal means that sh*t really can fly. Now Im not saying that wasn't true before in the sense sh*t films never did well, but the frequency of complete turkeys that make money hand over fist now is insane. Marketing is changing so fast with the connected world we now live in and I believe its far more personal and individualistic. People protect their values far more vocally now - even if those are poorly thought out or just straight up sh*t, and through that something like Suicide Squad can be a "success". There isn't really much more to say about the film other than how large a pin you can place on it as an example of distortion in media culture.

Fysh wrote: »

Being financially successful and being a well-made film don't have to go hand-in-hand. The Transformers films are easy proof of that.

This is hardly a new phenomenon, either. I suspect the actual amount of audience conversation is what's changed, making it easier to hear from/see people defending "bad" films.

exactly, people defending their values. its far easier to be vocal about liking sh*t things if there are lots of other people out there saying the same thing. And the first Transformers film came out in 06. You could almost probably mark it down as one of the first of this generation and I remember back then people defending it on the internet because they liked it and didn't like being told how sh*t it was.
I personally think Iron Man was another example. A solid 7/10 film which people completely overrated. I honestly believe that the feedback and noise on the internet is creating massive distortions in what people think is 'quality' when it comes to movies. Its so much easier for someone to feel justified in their awful tastes and ignore criticism leading to something like SS being somewhat of a success despite just how terrible a film it actually is

Fysh wrote: »

Going a bit off topic here, but I don't really care if someone feels "justified" in their taste in films, whether I share their taste or not. I detest cultural gatekeeping, so while I can, if asked, explain what aspects of the Transformers films I dislike and think are bad filmmaking, I also don't mind if other people enjoy them and feel no need to lecture those people about how they're "wrong" to like the films.

If nothing else diversity of viewpoints and tastes makes for more interesting conversations around here

its nothing about being "wrong" to like them, its about the lack of perspective. Its the difference between liking something and calling something good. Something can be crap and you can still like it. There are plenty of things that I like that are crap (Alien 3 for example) but its when people confuse the two values. The thing you like can be objectively crap - but people take this very personally and start distorting the truth in order to make themselves feel better about liking something thats crap. Thats when they are protecting their values.
So much absolute sh*te gets away with it now cos little cults of people are able to gather together and back each other up with their values and opinions on a film, song, show etc. So of course more money is made on these and the cycle continues where we get to the point that a film like SS made $742 million despite it being such absolute garbage that by rights it should have tanked completely.

But hey, South Park have already covered this. THE PRESIDENTS A DUCK?