So, Suicide Squad is out tomorrow and, well, it's fair to say that there seems to be a theme with the DCEU films early critical receptions (i.e. they aren't what Warner Bros. want). Like Batman vs. Superman, early reviews are criticising the film for having a poor plot and not knowing what to do with all of the characters they've assembled.
However, this seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the production of the movie was fraught with problems, an overly tight production period, the script having to be finished within 6 weeks and conflict over the tone of the film in the edit between the director and the studio which led to two different versions of the film being pre-screened, neither version apparently being much like what the marketing campaign would have you believe. Added on to that is a rotating cast of editors trying to balance between the studio and the directors demands, a director unused to making large effects driven blockbusters and the huge pressure the studio has been under after BvS's underperformance (in terms of studio expectations that is), you get the feeling that this film a) wasn't all that fun to make if you were in a high up position in the production and b) could really put a dent into the DCEU if it doesn't live up to the studios expectations. Two high profile "flops" (I say flops, because Warner Bros. was/is expecting $1 billion from both of these films and BvS didn't achieve that) in a row will be hugely embarrassing for WB and DC, especially considering how consistently Marvel is hitting their targets. Obviously Justice League will make shed loads of money, so that may remedy the situation a bit, but things may look bleak otherwise for the DCEU. But we'll just have to wait and see on that front.
On a related note, if anyone would like to do a review of Suicide Squad upon its release for the blog (like Worf did for BvS back in April) then feel free to do so and email it to me at jr19759@hotmail.co.uk. I want to see if we can get movie reviews going for as many of the new releases in the DCEU, MCU, Star Wars and Star Trek franchises as possible and I probably won't be able to go and see as many of those films on release as I'd like, so if anybody wants to help out on that front, it would be very much appreciated.
