Suicide Squad Review Roundup

Suicide Squad is the next installment in DC's Cinematic Universe, which had a recent, disappointing entry in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. David Ayer's baddie-filled romp releases to theaters later this week, but you can find out what the critics are saying right now. So far, the reception is mixed.

The DC movie follows a team of villains, who were pulled together as a task force to take care of extremely dangerous jobs in exchange for leniency in their prison sentences. It features characters like The Joker (Jared Leto), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and Deadshot (Will Smith). Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5.

We've collected a selection of reviews and compiled them for easy viewing below. For a wider view of the critical reception, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

• Film: Suicide Squad
• Director: David Ayer
• Distributor: Warner Bros.
• Release Date: August 5
• Rating: PG-13

GameSpot

"Despite the mostly predictable ending, Suicide Squad is the movie the DC Cinematic Universe needs right now. It retains the already established dark tone of its predecessors while injecting some much-needed moments of humor and humanity. And it feels all the more impressive that the characters who finally get that tone across are traditionally the franchise's villains. Who would have thought a bunch of bad guys could bring so much hope to the superhero genre?" -- Tony Guerrero [full review]

Variety

"Like Deadpool earlier this year, it's entertaining insofar as it allows the characters to crack wise and act out, though they can only go so far within the confines of MPAA guidelines and the rigid DC mythology. On paper, this could have been the antidote to an increasingly codified strain of comic-book movies, but in the end, it's just another high-attitude version of the same." -- Peter Debruge [full review]

Telegraph -- 2/5

"When you compare Suicide Squad to what James Gunn and Marvel Studios achieved in Guardians of the Galaxy--low-profile property, oddball characters, make-it-fun brief--the film makes you cringe so hard your teeth come loose. But it's a slog even on its own crushingly puerile terms." -- Robbie Collin [full review]

IGN -- 5.9/10

"Suicide Squad is a decidedly different flavor than Batman v Superman. It goes for subversive, funny and stylish, and it succeeds wildly during the first act. But then the movie turns into something predictable and unexciting. It plods on, checking off boxes on a list of cliched moments and meaningless plot points, making you wonder where all the razzle-dazzle went. The movie feels thin, and with such little meat on the bone, it almost makes you appreciate how overstuffed Batman v Superman was (despite that being its downfall)." -- Joshua Yehl [full review]

The Guardian -- 3/5

"It's a clotted and delirious film, with flashes of preposterous, operatic silliness. But it doesn't have much room to breathe; there are some dull bits, and Leto's Joker suffers in comparison with the late Heath Ledger." -- Peter Bradshaw [full review]

Forbes

"Suicide Squad takes the superhero genre in a new direction, letting the bad guys be bad guys even while they're forced into service for supposed 'good.' It's crowd-pleasing genre entertainment with delightful performances, eye-popping visuals, fun Easter eggs and super-cameos for the fans, and a promise that the DCU will offer a wide variety of approaches and characters in the coming years." -- Mark Hughes [full review]