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anxiouspotatorants · 3 years

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It is time. It is finally time for the new Suicide Squad rant (and spoilers will be plentiful):

As someone who was into DC Comics and comics in the mid to late 2010s and had so much hype for the first Suicide Squad movie only to be let down, I was so nervous for this one. I knew it was going to be a roller coaster, but whether I would come out happy or disappointed was up in the air. Having just seen it I will say this: I have no idea if this was a good movie-movie. It was insane. The comedy. The violence. The high emotion. I’m still trying to take it all in. But one thing I do know is that this is an amazing Suicide Squad movie. Gunn and co took the best parts of the comic concept and went batshit with it and that is how this property should be handled (in my opinion). Screw edgelordisms, we need full on insanity free of aiming for shock-value or sexy brutality we want chaos baby.

Starting the whole movie as they did, with Savant as the POV for a mission (or part of the mission) that just goes to hell immediately and kills off so many before the title arrives is the perfect way to start this movie. Like the second I realized this was how they were doing it I was just smiling from ear to ear, this is the spirit of the property.

Part of me wishes we got more Amanda Waller, but what we had was impeccable. Then again, this is Viola Davis we’re talking about, and if she was born to play any character in a superhero story, it is Amanda Waller.

And points to her tech team, introducing them with the death bets was just a lovely way to show how regular this is and how awful everyone is in this movie.

I’m not going to pretend like Deadshot and Bloodsport didn’t have the exact same character- and plot premises… but I will say that Bloodsport felt better executed.

I love that they kept some of the past members and not just Harley. Rick Flag got to have a full personality and interactions with his team members and to be a true leader and it made me so happy for someone who initially did not give a single shit about his character. The Harley friendship? The Dubois friendship? The friendship with that guerilla leader? Amazing. The one American soldier in fictional media I genuinely like. You go Mr Flag.

The new members were… they were insane in the best way. Gone are the shitty stereotypes and present are some of the wackiest creations to ever grace the mainstream movie-sphere (aka the slightly less normal comic creations): A man who has to shoot out polka dots two times a day so as not to die from a space virus. A giant child murdering weasel. A guy who detaches his limbs and slaps people with said detached limbs. King Shark. The second person to command rats with a fancy gadget. They are all crazy and all weird and all more or less morally repulsive people and I love them.

The amount of times I did a double take over the soundtrack I swear. Jessie Reyez? The Pixies? It was so much fun to pick up on once I did.

Was the depiction of a vague Latin American country stereotypical? Yes. Was the secret American involvement predictable and felt mildly patronizing from a non-American, part Latina point of view? Yep. But damn it if I didn’t have a good time with those stereotypes and laugh my ass off at how well executed some were. I don’t know if it was meant as parody, but that one secretary has me thinking so — and if so I am pleased.

Speaking of Latino dictators Harley’s one day romance with one of the villains was something I never knew I needed. Like it was so perfect for Harley that when it happened I almost hit myself for not realizing that this kind of plot should be a normal thing for Harley. And the end of it? Perfect not only in this standalone movie, but also in conjunction with the first and with BoP.

The Taika Waititi cameo??? Oh my god??? I did not expect that and I love it?? Sir, What We Do in the Shadows is impeccable.

Rick Flag’s death actually surprised me. It shouldn’t as this is Suicide Squad, but I kind of expected him to be on Harley’s level of unkillable (because let’s face it, no one kills Harley). What I will say is that his death was good and his final words and actions made me love him all the more. I hope this spawns more Rick Flag content, or at least inspires me to look at what already exists, if he already is as this movie made him (it’s been ages since I read one of the Suicide Squad reboot comics okay).

Starro. How can a villain be so wacky and so terrifying at the same time? I did not expect a literal alien starfish to have more terrifying powers and a more tragic plot execution than Enchantress. But here we are. And that damn star just wanted to be floating in space, and instead it was stuck getting revenge by killing and puppeteering human corpses. Wow that thing was creepier the more you think about it.

I don’t know what I think about Polka Dot Man. I loved watching him on screen but also damn those mommy-issues were on a new level. Not just in his backstory but how he literally sees her in every person around him that was insane. Very funny but like also the kind that makes you laugh just because you’re uncomfortable and don’t know how else to releive the tension.

When Waller got knocked out by a staff member I immediately thought «oh my god Amanda Waller is going to kill half the staff for this», so I’m mildly surprised and disappointed that I didn’t get to see that happen. But also I should maybe expect something like this in a potential future Suicide Squad movie. We can’t have everything in a movie as packed as this.

Peacemaker was very horrible and worked really well. Don’t really have much to say about him, not because I didn’t enjoy him but because I already feel like the film itself has said it for me. But the planting and payoff for his death? Chef’s. Kiss.

Harley’s wardrobe was beautiful. Ratcatcher 2’s combat outfit felt like a steampunk plague dream. Bloodsport’s mask was supercool. Rick Flag’s t-shirt was amazing. But the best little outfit was the Mafalda-keychain and her red dress, hands down. Oh and King Shark’s fake moustache finger moment.

King Shark is shaped like a friend I don’t care how many people he ate alive on screen he looks so huggable. It feels like wanting to pet a bear. You know it will kill you but damn it look at those paws and those cute eyes!

I really need to give it to not just James Gunn but the entire production team for this movie. The aesthetic was perfect. The story was the right blend of whimsical and violent. The finished product was a literal rollercoaster and I mean that in a good way. If superhero movies have to be like amusement parks, I hope they’re more like this one and BoP.

I’ll finish on the note that while I think this movie was great and hopefully a step in the right direction for the DCU/DCEU (as in stop trying to play Marvel’s game and just do your own thing/ let your creative teams run wild and free), it is not the first step. Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey and the production team for it took a step first, and they deserve due credit and attention. If you loved this Suicide Squad movie and haven’t watched BoP yet, do so. Because they really are in the same ballpark while doing things in slightly different ways. And any good DCEU movie deserves more attention so the studios know that creativity and risks should be rewarded. I want more DC movies like this, not necessarily in genre but in creative risks. I want a Black Canary rock movie. I want Alfred in a reverse heist movie alone in the batcave against Gotham villains. I want Gotham Academy on screen play by play from the comics. I want a fully animated psychedelic-like Khalid Nassour as Dr. Fate movie. I want elevated horror movie Constantine. I want weird ass Lois Lane journalist movies with a heavy side of Superman. And I want DC movies I didn’t even know I wanted.

Support creativity in mainstream comic movies. Help me become a DC fan and happy about it again.

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aspiestvmusings · 6 years

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Hi,do you think scorpion was canceled just because of the ratings? Or was there something else we don’t know about?

Hi,

You answer your question within your question. But let me get to the point after this long detour… (if you wish to read JUST the answer, scroll down to the very end… to get to the “answer”…)

Think about it.

The show was moved into the Monday night comedy block…and yet it was originally supposed to be a drama with a comedy heart. It is also a “family show”, yet it was moved to the end of the Monday night line-up, airing at 10PM timeslot. The shows ratings and viewer numbers started to go down (as they do with almost every single network show as seasons go by)… And though we may never know what the Nielsen box owners think and what the regular/random tv viewers think about the show… we know that most online fans thought the shows writing suffered over the seasons, and that the hearty dramedy kinda fell into its own trap… choosing quantity over quality, choosing to go too far over the line. Becoming kinda ridiculous… even for a comic book superhero fun show. We know only what other vocal fans online think about the shows “progress” over the years. We do not know what most viewers think, but we know what many (online) fans do.

Think about it.

The official TV (spoiler) news & sites (and the network itself in their press releases) are referring to the shows lower-than-before ratings/viewer numbers and the fact that it just wasn’t working for them (on Monday nights…) and did not perform as well as they expected it to do. (writing an analysis on the possible reasons why that was so, and making suggestions what could have been done… by network, byt showrunners/writers to make it better… would take more time and energy than I choose to spend on this issue.)

They did not choose alderman Sly’s tactic…and coming up with solutions that make everything better… (Sly is making West Altadenia better with his street-lights & anti-bullying programs). They chose to not give other options a try, and instead start from clean slate. Taking the risk with new shows -since key demo that they’re after is younger audience, who just weren’t engaging with the show - they essentially (to put it in very rough terms) chose to replace the oldies with fresh and young faces. The network is obviously trying to attract younger and newer audiences… and are using “new, fresh, “hip” shows as their tactical plan. Only time will tell is this works or not. (I’m not the type of customer, but who knows about the regular US viewer and their preferences… in mindless medium?)

But obviously they did not care about the syndication deal/money enough to give it even a short 10-13 episode final season (remember: we’re at episode 94…or so…), so the show was only 6 or so episodes away from 100th episode,, and syndication deal. They also obviously did not want to move it to any other night either. It wasn’t working as part of the Monday night lineup, but they obviously couldn’t fit it into any other night either. In my personal opinion, which does not reflect anyone else, the show lost its way… it was still officially a drama, but it had become a comedy basically. And the kind that laughs at itself/its own jokes. It wasn’t the best of boths anymore, it was neither really… lately… not a comedy, not a drama, so harder to fit into any nights programme.

NOW…IF I WOULD BE THE ONE MAKING THE RENEWAL/CANCELLATION DECISIONS…

If you’d ask me, I’d say that a show which has gotten lost…and so far off the tracks that it (its showrunners/writers) can’t find the original path anymore.. because they’re not even willing to… is (to quote Happy Quinn) not good. A show which has become so inconsistent, and which is trying to fit too much content into too little space (too many plotlines, and not enough time spent on any of them), is not on the favourites list… when making decisions what to keep and what to let go. A show which promotes itself as being about team of geniuses, who are a family and each others support system (THEM against the world), but which has such poor scientific quality… is not very believable. Even for a show that’s supposed to be light and just-for-fun entertainment the content became “too silly”.

Can’t relate to a genius, who is being (science) dumb. Can’t relate to a team of geniuses who instead of their initial goal to add new EQ layers to their IQ become unrecognizable and forgetting their hearts… whenever it’s needed for the plot. Can’t take seriously empathetic geniuses who have forgotten their own struggles, and who instead of adding EQ and becoming more empathetic towards each other/everyone just become meaner towards anyone different than them…and anyone, who is like them in the past. Can’t be interested in watching a show which promotes itself as one thing, but in it’s core is (read: has become) another thing :(

ETA: This is sadly the fate of most network shows, cause networks & writers don’t know any other way to “develop” these personal storylines. And over time quantity wins over quality - most shows suffer from trying to fit too many plots into the show & dropping old/ongoing plots when new “better” ideas come to mind and/or when they think something isn’t working (instead of finishing the “notworking” plot before moving to new one, it’s kinda left unfinished).Maybe the statistics are right, and this is what the average US TV-viewer wants. Maybe the supply meets the demand. Maybe I’m just having a hard time believing how not-smart oriented network tv is.

A show that uses drama for only dramas sake. And not in the usual TV show style. But extra… A show that has it’s socially challenged characters bully each-other, and not get called out on it. A show that is so inconsistent, and so “aimless” that it is unacceptable even if taking into account that it is a lighthearted fiction entertainment program on network TV. They all were past the level they were dragged back to… to empathize the IQ vs EQ main theme of the show. When there were other ways….. when it could’ve been done honouring their development. The back & fort became so inconsistent… it didn’t fit the low-EQ slow learning curve and 1 step forward/2 steps back style… it just became… weird.

If I was the person making decision I’d given the show another chance (but only if a deal with the showrunners was made that they’d up their game. And after everything I’d given then a short 13-episode final season (if there was no room for full season), and moved the show to a different night…. or maybe even to be aired during summer. But a final deal only if the show would present their plans for what’s next in detail, and there would be sure signs of improvement in quality of storytelling, and a clear path.

But… I’m me, and I measure TV shows differently than networks do. I look for the quality of content, the writing and consistency. I do not care about adds, revenue, ratings, and viewer numbers. I’m a terrible business person. The networks are looking at different things than I do when making renewal/cancellation decisions. So their cancellation decision was reached by looking at other things… not the plotlines I consider the “deal breakers”

IMPORTANT: THIS IS ALL PURE SPECULATION THOUGH…

BECAUSE NEITHER I OR YOU (OR OTHER FANS HERE) WORK FOR CBS/THE SHOW. WHICH MEANS THAT WE’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE DETAILS AND REASONS BEHIND THE DECISIONS. IT’S A BUSINESS DECISION.

…and to get back to your question….

Think about it.

IF there would be something else (besides the lowering ratings/viewer numbers and the other reasons started in official press news) that we don’t know about then how am I supposed to answer your question if I (because you & I are part of the “we” aka “fandom” that you are referring to in your ask) don’t know about any other possible reasons behind the decision to not renew the show. So… it is impossible for me to answer as I can’t tell you something that I don’t know (about), can I?

PS. THIS, JUST LIKE MOST SPOILER/TV QUESTIONS I GET, HAS BEEN ALREADY ANSWERED IN MY PRIOR POSTS. SEE: HERE (post + tags) As I always say… IF and when I have anything to say/add/comment on any TV related stuff, I will make my own post, and the answers are always found in my posts. And it’s not that I don’t want to answer, it’s just that I don’t have anything to say. All I’ve had to say, I’ve already expressed on this blog.

And we can speculate as much as we want, and we can ever have ”inside info” (know more than the official statements say), but… we still can’t say anything, and can’t say anything for sure… And as I originally said… I do expect there to be some rumours.. as there always are after fan-fave show cancellations, but I won’t take part in commenting on those. At least that’s my position right now. But yes, it seems to me (based on what is known… that) there was more to the decision than just the thing mentioned in the press release. Maybe I am wrong, and the studio/network made the decision purely based on the things they mentioned, but everything points to those other (not mentioned) things also playing a part. But… those are only “need to know” and we, the fans don’t need to know (read: are not supposed to know about those other things)

PS. I do plan to write one more post… regarding the show and the series/season 4 finale. But I need time to really sit down and write the thoughts down. But in short… after I re-watched the finale (back-to-back with the Pilot)… I actually think this was a quite fitting book-end ending. Sure…not the happy ending most expect. But it was still kinda “coming a full circle” ending. From the Walt/Janice opening scene in Pilot to the Walt/Paige end scene in Finale. To the introduction and forming of the team.. to the “dismantling” of the team.

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