"Suicide squad": Is everything so bad?

DC Comics about Supergrasts was released. Review

On August 4, a fantastic militant “Suicide Squad” directed by David Aira, shot according to the DC Comics comic book, was released on August 4. A new picture is another act in the confrontation between DC Comics and Marvel, which is increasingly reminiscent of the war of Pepsi and Cola. At the request of Superposits, at the request of "Medusa", the film critic Yegor Moskvitin tells about the film.

Left without Superman, American officials decide to collect a “suicide squad” - a gang of gifted and terribly charismatic villains, at different times hidden by Batman (Ben Affleck) behind bars. According to an agent from the special services of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), this half -dozen will be able to extremely effectively fight the enemies of the state. Indeed, in case of disobedience to the prisoners, you can always blow your heads, and in case of success - a little bit lifelong dates. The team is selected by the best outsiders of the DC Comics universe-Killer-Kostya-Nicony-Nico-Noro-Nor-Smile (Will Smith), crying with crocodile tears of Cannibal (Akina-Agbage), a supermodel-chalopter (Cara-Cara-Caracan), a hot Latin American (Jay Ernandes), a pious. The feminine (Adam Beach), a ridiculous Australian bandit (Jai Cornnet) and the crazy girlfriend of Joker Harley Quinn (Margo Robbie). Joker himself (Jared Leto) from time to time appears in the frame to steal the heart of the audience. The villains hunt for even greater villains, joke a lot, fight dirty and behave so defiantly that the tape almost clutched the “adult” rating. Behind the scenes the music of the highest spheres - “Bohemian Ropsody” Queen, the evil rap early Eminem and American ballads. The performance lasts - sparing comics by the standards - two hours.

It would seem that the event of the year, but critics are scary “Suicide Squad”, and comic book fans see a conspiracy in this and demand to close the site with Rotten Tomatoes reviews. So what and when did it go wrong?

Let's start with good news for those who are tired of the dominance of comics on the screens. Despite the huge number of premieres and plans, the opinion is increasingly sounding that in a few years this wave will come to naught. The production of films based on graphic short stories is becoming more and more expensive. The ensembles of stellar actors turn out to be inactive than any trade union. Competition forces to spend on marketing beyond measure; And the new tradition of moving half a film after test views with focus groups ruins the studios. The production budget of the Suicide Squad is equal to $ 175 million, but all expenses for its creation and promotion are estimated at 400 million. This means that it will pass by the breakest point no earlier than gathering 800 million at the box office.

Remember, one Russian businessman said that those who do not have a billion may walk where? So, so far “Polonsky Test” has not passed “Batman vs. Superman” (2016), nor “Steel Man” (2013), not one of the old films in the universe DS Comics. And out of thirteen films from the competing Studio Marvel, only four - Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Era of Altron (2015) and “First Avenger: Confrontation” (2016).

In addition, except for Warner Brothers, which oversees the DC comics and Marvel’s empires, which decided to film their novels on their own, there are also Fox and Sony on the market. The former at one time pulled the right to “X -Men” and their derivatives like “Dedpool”. The latter patiently educate Spider-Man. Thus, four corporations are fighting for the attention of the audience, and the viewer, to put it mildly, gets tired of the abundance of boyfriends. Businessmen and authors also feel this, and their nerves are pouring. For example, the director of the Suicide Squad David Air, who lived the last six months in a personal hell (details - below), took and shouted from the scene on the film’s prerequisite: “F*ck marvel !!!” It sounded as desperately as the famous “to the devil’s line” from the “Game of Thrones”.

And now - no less good news for those who are not ready to abandon the movie comics. “Suicide squad” is not so bad as Western media write about it. The film became a victim of universal excessive hopes; The fans are a little sorry, but the audience who survived over the year of advertising bombing should be satisfied.

Firstly, the concept of a detachment of anti-Heroes is much more interesting than any revived iconostasis. All good guys are similar to each other, but it’s more interesting to watch bad. In this deck, the Joker is every card. Secondly, when the line reaches the Joker himself, the picture sharply changes the genre. Instead of a kid's walk with pistols, “Suicide Squad” turns into a bloody ballad about love in the spirit of “Bonnie and Claid”, and this is really interesting. A familiar villain becomes a hero-lover, not the largest actor Jared Leto prudently leaves comparisons with Jack Nicholson and hit Ledger, and Harley Quinn from the decoration of the film turns into his acceptance. Alas, the romantic line in the Suicide Squad is more dashing, but Warner Brothers are already preparing a picture entirely dedicated to this incredible duet.

Thirdly, a sharp humor (which, alas, we were completely handed over in trailers), the emphasis on the development of heroes, and not on the attractions, and the General Soundtrack is quite aimed, but they repel young people, but they attract an older public. A whole quiz is hidden for the film experts here, starting with jokes about Hannibal Lecter and, it seems, never ending.

There are enough flaws in the film. The enemies of the detachment here are deprived of both motivation and charisma. The tape is slowly accelerating, and finishes in boring decorations. The emphasis on the most striking characters and the most expensive cinema stars prevents half of the ensemble, and following the comic canon (first a long acquaintance, then the grand battle) only harms such an original story. But most importantly, the film lacks determination. He never decided what he wanted to be - a hopelessly gloomy and terrible action movie or a cheerful run before going to bed. And it is, oddly enough, the viewer is to blame.

“Suicide Squad” is the first of the three films in the DC Extended Universe universe, shot not by Zak with a snider, a monumental visionary who gave us not only “300” and “Keepers” (2009), but also “Man of Steel” (2013) and “Batman against Superman” (2016). The new director David Air, the author of the gloomy military epic “Fury” (2014) and the nervous policeman “Patrol” (2012) - clearly equal to the snider. In the spring, his teacher suffered Fiasco with Batman against Superman, personnel permutations began in Warner Brothers, and pressure on the “suicide squad” increased. This situation was best described by the American The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the publication, the Warner Brothers bosses were disappointed in the gloomy concept of Snyder and Air and gathered a focus group. The audience did not like the film: they expected something cheerful and bright, but fell into the usual neounour. A cruel joke with the “Suicide squad” was played by his own humor: the very first trailer was before the comedy that the audience began to wait for the same intensity from the entire film. After the focus groups, the producers went to an unheard of step. They hired the company Trailer Park, mounting commercials to re -glue the film. Then a test viewing of both versions was arranged - the gloomy directorial and comedy new - and the cheerful “detachment” won the sad. Expensive urging began, and David Air on the nerves replaced his agent. But in the best traditions of the Hollywood series "Handsome" - the very next day he returned to the old team.

The film should be held in production longer, and, according to The Hollywood Reporter insiders, the authors have asked for this studio since the end of 2014, when the tape announcement took place. It turns out that the deadlines were settled from the very beginning, but the transfer of the premiere would have entailed huge problems with numerous partners from around the world. After all, the summer blockbuster is not only a film, but also a whole supermarket of by -products. As a result, David Air wrote a script in just six weeks. Previously, he did not have experience on summer film -appraises - not to consider such a “training day” (2001). It is worth noting that the studios also turn to unsettled authors and directors not from a good life. Real mastodons are either busy a hundred years in advance, or they put tough conditions, or simply afraid of blockbusters. For example, Joss Whidon, who put the main hits of Marvel, recently stated that he was taking a vacation to do "something small for the soul." Last time, this something was a film adaptation of Shakespeare.

Even with an endless margin of time and a dream team, the “suicide squad” would still have to solve a difficult task - how to successfully play on the comedy territory of Marvel, preserving the serious intonation of DC Comics? The successful trilogy of Christopher Nolan about Batman once drove Warner Brothers into a stylistic trap. DC Comics films have chosen night, darkness and sinister fog, while the ironic adaptations of Marvel decided to be funny and brave knights of day and light. All his dark stories Marvel reasonably delegated the Netflix channel, which shoots noir TV shows according to the Daredevil and Jessica Jones, and for cinemas left only the brightest and funny spectacles like “avengers” bursting shawarma.

The box office showed that the audience still choose the bright side of the power, and DC Comics began problems. How to become more fun and brighter without scaring off old fans? Like Coca-Coles, which branded red, Marvel film comics appropriated all bright colors. To play in foreign territory, the “suicide squad” had to go to humiliating tricks. For example, neon colors and acid spots prevail in its color scheme. This is such a compromise: the action still takes place at night, but it has already become lighter. The same thing with humor and heroes - they stuck halfway between the stereotypes about DC Comics and the stereotypes about Marvel. And the stereotypes of the mass viewer are much more important than the exact knowledge of the fans, when the stake is billions.

Why is this all this analysis of the good, in general, the film is so important? Because the problems of the “suicide squad” in the coming years will become the problems of all spectators - both those who love comics and those who are worried that comics are driving from cinemas everything else. Cash fees do not keep up with the growth of investments, which means that the bubble can burst. The directors fall into the bondage; Focus groups interfere with creativity; All the most vulgar nightmares of the advertising industry described in the “99 francs” of Begbeder are applicable to the cinema. And no one - neither the spectator, nor producers, nor authors - know what he wants. Except Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn wants to dance, dance and coffee machine.

Egor Moskvitin