The DC comics film is not as bad as it’s said to be, as far as fans are concerned.

 

The DC comics film, which gathered an ensemble cast of superstars to play a motley crew of supervillains, scored an approval rating of only 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers have lambasted it for “giving villainy a bad name” (The Detroit News’ Adam Graham), and said it “should have been kept locked away” (The New Yorker’s Anthony Lane).

 

But while a chorus of scathing reviews often puts a nail in the coffin of the movie’s box office draw, it’s not the case for Suicide Squad – at least in its opening week. It’s so far grossed more than US$380 million worldwide against a production budget of US$175 million, according to Box Office Mojo’s latest figures. The movie also stole the box office crown here, showing that it has no lack of fans in Singapore. The UrbanWire spoke to some of them to find out what they like about the much-criticized film.

  1. Interesting flip

 

What drew most audience to the cinemas is Suicide Squad’s imaginative flip of the superhero script. In this story, the supervillains who have given the superheroes a hard time in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) take center stage instead, as they are convened by the government to neutralize a threat that only the most appalling individuals with next to nothing to lose could face.

 

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Members of Suicide Squad

 

Many comic hero fans are excited to see the supervillain ensemble, which includes Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Bomerang (Jai Courtney), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and others.

 

“These ‘heroes’ are actually really bad people,” said Leana Tang, 23, nurse. “The plot of the movie is definitely very interesting.”

 

  1. Great acting

 

There’re a number of standout performances in this film. Particularly convincing is Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn, as she brings the sexy, naughty and mentally unsound character to life. Will Smith is also likeable and charismatic as Deadshot, the deadly mercenary who’s also a gentle dad.

 

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Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn

 

Fan Matthew Russell Lyon, 18, adored Robbie’s acting: “Everything about her from her origin, to her personality is straight out of the comic books!”

 

Jai Courtney and Jay Hernandez have some scene-stealing moments, so does Cara Delevingne, whose character Enchantress certainly leaves a mark with her destructive power and utter hatred for human beings. Joel Kinnaman, on the other hand, is slightly weaker as Colonel Rick Flag, the leader of the suicide squad. Not surprisingly. It’s definitely hard to have a commanding presence in the face of so many dangerous and despicable villains.

 

If you’re a fan of the DC Universe, you should find this movie worthwhile. The fresh plot and great acting should more than make up for its thin story and choppy directing.

 

If you decide to catch Suicide Squad, look out for cameos byBatman, Joker and The Flash. And do stay until the end of the credit roll.