This week on Now Conspiring, we have a clash of opinions here to review and sort of politely discuss the latest DC comics/Warner Bros. film, Suicide Squad. Our conversation is spoiler-free at first, but we jump into a full-spoiler conversation at the time marked in the show notes.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK (and you’re required to answer this): What would you do to fix Suicide Squad?
Let us know your thoughts (and your favorite podcast moments) in the comments, which we may read on next week’s show! Also, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook so you can send us direct messages and get podcast updates crazy fast. And be sure to subscribe on iTunes and/or Stitcher, where you can also rate/review the podcast if you like it!
SHOW NOTES
00:00:00 – Featured Review (Spoiler-free): Suicide Squad
00:31:37 – Spoiler Talk: Suicide Squad
01:12:40 – Feedback: we answer your questions and comments from last week.
01:24:26 – Coming Soon: we talk about which movies we want to see next weekend.
This week’s cast:
Jon Negroni, Kayla Savage, Adonis Gonzalez, Maria Garcia, and special guest, Will Ashton.
I would fix Suicide Squad by putting more emphasis on the Joker. I think this movie should’ve had the main plot involve The Joker and his relationship with the Suicide Squad instead of whatever this movie ended up with.
Although this is slightly relating to Batman v Superman, but its more DC Extended Universe. Jesse Eisenberg would’ve been an amazing Joker based on his performance in Batman v Superman.
First of all Jon who hurt you last week and why were you taking it out on Adonis?(though it was funny. Sorry Adonis)
I agree with you guys about a lot of the things you said about Suicide Squad. Basically I would just get rid of the enchantress all together and make Joker the main villain instead of some weird useless sub plot that no one needed or liked. I honestly don’t think that he added anything to this movie the way it is now. I didn’t understand any of the scenes that involved him and they weren’t really need. If they were going to have him in the movie then they should’ve made him more important than he was.
And confession time I have never seen Guardians of the Galaxy it’s the only Marvel movie that didn’t come out this year that i haven’t seen but after this weeks podcast I’m going to try and watch it this week because it seems pretty relevant and it’s better to watch it now then never
Hi guys! Thanks for producing yet another excellent episode. It’s been way too long since I last commented. I meant to leave my thoughts on the Ghostbusters episode (in short: I really, really, really enjoyed the film!) but life has kept me off the internet most of the time.
On to Suicide Squad. Now, where do I begin?
I’ll start by saying that if Warner Bros. had spent half as much money and time on developing a good script as they did advertising the film, they may have had something truly unique. Instead, we got a bloated, half-assed blockbuster with underdeveloped characters, a annoying soundtrack, that’s not nearly as clever or cool as it thinks it is. I’ve seen plenty of films that go down the “style over substance” route, but Suicide Squad took that to a whole new level. The rushed, choppy editing and no story left me with a sour taste in my mouth. It’s clear that I did not love this film. Was such a disappointment.
How would I fix Suicide Squad?
Get back to the writing board. Honestly. Was there a story or a theme in this film? Send the squad in to stop, say, Joker’s big plan to, I don’t know, nuke the city? I can picture a great scene in which Harley discovers that she’s stopping her beloved puddin’ and she has to pick between helping her squad or join Joker again.
Take the whole thing apart and piece it back together much differently. The flow was all. Over. The. Place.
Ditch Enchantress (or better yet, ditch Cara Delevingne and her bizarre dance moves).
Have Joker be the main villain, or don’t have him at all.
Make the whole thing much more grounded and dark but with enough light moments for us to care for these guys. I know they’re horrible people, but you can root for them when you show a bit of humanity.
Make it fun, not funny. There’s a big difference.
Re-score the film. Commercial tracks rarely make for good film scores, unless the songs have meaning (like in GOTG), which they didn’t in SS.
I could go on and on about what I’d change about the film but that would take up too much time on the show. Overall: there is a good film in there somewhere, you can tell by the few calmer moments with the characters. I’m just so disappointed how WB handled this film because it was a golden opportunity to do something different and do it well. I just can’t wait for someone to Fan Edit this film and do these seemingly interesting characters justice.
Final note: I have yet to read a Suicide Squad comic book, but I wonder if the source material is as good as people say it is? The film was a hot mess.
They should have had Ivy as the villain. She’s powerful, but not otherworldly and enough for a Suicide Squad. That would have established a relationship between Ivy and Harley for the Harley solo movie. Also, I agree with Will that they should have had some type of rapport going into the film. Either they have worked together, OR Waller had some type of Villain Hunger games and those 6 are all that’s left. That way they have bonded.
Hey guys! Another great podcast, as usual.
For the most part, I agree with what you guys say about Suicide Squad. It’s a fun movie, with a few glaringly obvious flaws. I laughed a couple times, I cringed a couple times.
In regards to the question of the week: I had a major problem with the villain. Enchantress was poorly developed and I really couldn’t stand her. The end battle in particular really bothered me. It felt predictable, forced, and maybe even a little corny. I would definitely change that.
Why won’t my comments post?
Of course THAT time it worked!
Ok here goes…
Hey Jon!
I just watched Up and noticed that in the credits we see Carl and Russell going to see Star Wars in theater! How can this be!?!?
(unless Carl was dead the whole time…)
Also what did you guys think about the Cursed Child?
BTW my answer to the question of the week will be up by tomorrow.
Suicide Squad was perfect, and I won’t allow you to keep criticizing it!
We stopped a week ago.
I would fix Suicide Squad by changing the villain to Amanda Waller. Hear me out. So one of the things that makes the Suicide Squad comics great is the fact that no matter what the team goes up against, Waller is still the big bad wolf. Maybe in the sequel they could shed some light on that fact. I do have an idea of what the sequel should be but I don’t want to make this comment too long.