Predicting The Rotten Tomatoes Scores Of 2016's Superhero Movies
3. Suicide Squad
On the surface, Suicide Squad has a lot going for it; an A-List cast, some awesome characters, and a premise which is very much a new one in the world of superhero movies. Unfortunately, that may not be enough to save it. While writer/director David Ayer has done some great work with the likes of End Of Watch and Fury, the one movie he's made which could be considered fairly close to Suicide Squad in terms of the general premise - Sabotage - was absolutely terrible. That too had a great cast, but the characters ended up being cardboard cutouts, with only one or two of the bigger names standing out from the crowd. Is that going to be to be the case with Suicide Squad? It's certainly possible, especially when you look at the distinct difference between the actors playing popular villains like Deadshot and Harley Quinn and then those taking on some of the more obscure Task Force X team members like Karen Fukuhara's Katana and Adam Beach as Slipknot (who?). If we're going to get more of the same terrible lines and over the top action which plagued Sabotage, it might be worth worrying about Suicide Squad. The unusual approach taken to many of the characters is something which could also upset fans (The Joker's tattoos have been extremely controversial), and critics are likely to also find issue with them if they're not well defined and too much time is spent making them "dark" and "gritty" caricatures of their comic book counterparts in a bid to ground Suicide Squad in reality. If Suicide Squad has one saving grace, it'll be Jared Leto's Joker. Maybe. Following in the footsteps of Heath Ledger isn't going to be easy, and he's sure to face comparisons from the critics who understandably fawned over the late Dark Knight star back in 2008. If he's gone too weird or dark with his take on the iconic villain though, he may end up alienating viewers. Funnily enough, Suicide Squad is the one ensemble movie I'm not worried about characters getting neglected in. You can tell by who's playing who which characters are going to be getting the spotlight, and those are the most interesting ones in all honesty. I've enjoyed a lot of Ayer's work, but I'm not sure I have faith in him being able to pull this off, especially as he also penned the screenplay (an area in which he has a spotty track record). For that reason, Suicide Squad probably won't be a total write off, and some will love it more than others, but strong performances are unlikely to save it from a Rotten score. Predicted Score: 49%
