It seems as if the popularity of film criticism has decreased considerably in the past few years. That is not to say that film reviews are not in demand, YouTube would prove anyone wrong on that front. However, when it comes to professional writers sharing their opinions on the newest releases, recently they seem to disconnect from what the audience thinks. Weekly box office reports compared and contrasted with online audience scores of movies show that either audiences like what they like or maybe the critics forgot how to go and enjoy a movie.
I say that because critics can hate a movie all they want but if it holds appeal to just enough people it will make money. Now that sounds like common sense but look at the "Transformers" movies. They are critically obliterated yet movie number five is currently in production because they consistently make a billion dollars worldwide. And to an extent, I understand. I myself may not be a fan but I can understand why people enjoy them or like them as guilty pleasures. So lets take "The Secret Life of Pets" for example. This movie came out just a few weeks ago and then became one of the summer’s biggest animated releases. Most critics will agree that it is a forgettable film with its moments yet when it opened that first weekend, it made an unbelievable amount of money.
So much money that it is only behind "Finding Dory" at the domestic box office. That’s big news for an original property and it means that audiences everywhere absolutely adored it. Currently, there are plans for a sequel and thus a new franchise is born, lets just hope it doesn’t go the "Ice Age" route.
The film I really want to touch upon though is "Suicide Squad." I believe this movie is worth an in depth look just because of how anticipated it was. Everyone was looking forward to this movie. Its trailer were some of the best of the year and given DC’s and Warner Brother’s previous track record, it seemed like things were finally going to be set right. But then the review embargo lifted, and things were not looking good. Now this film was always tracking for a big opening weekend regardless of reviews, but it will need to be well received by wide audiences for it to have legs at the box office.
Right now, it is being bashed on review sites such as Rotten Tomatoes with professional critics simply not liking it. Then there are fans of comics and movies like Kevin Smith who actually enjoyed the film. I feel as if this will be the biggest test to see if that disconnect between critics and audiences truly exists, or if the critics were right and this movie does suck.
There was a time when movie reviews were wildly popular, going as far as hit television shows in "At the Movies." The show that Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel put on was interesting because people around the country truly wanted to know their opinions on movies. Nowadays, that fascination with someone else’s opinions seems to have decreased, with audience reception often being higher than critical perception. This seems to be commonplace now and one has to think, has critics simply forgotten how to enjoy a mindless movie?
In the case of "Suicide Squad," I feel the main issue at hand is that they are trying to take superhero movies too seriously now in a post "Dark Knight" world. However, "Suicide Squad" is so obvious not to take too seriously, its marketing campaign will tell you that. The superhero genre feels as if it must mimic every superb movie that came before it instead of crafting new original ideas.
The "Dark Knight" is interesting because it changed the landscape of current mainstream film making, it was realistic and gritty. Audiences went for it and I would even go far as to say the turnaround happened two years prior in "Casino Royale." Audiences and critics were going wild for realistic takes on old properties. The cartoon-ish action that preceded the decade was gone, out of style and in came a wave new, dark presentations.
It is this idea that I think is killing "Suicide Squad," because while audiences enjoy it, it is the critics who have come to expect more mature fare. Or, simply, it is a bad movie. I just feel that recently, the professionals have forgotten how to just turn off their brains and just let a movie be what it is.
