But maybe it doesn’t matter at this point, because you as Warner Bros. know about the ace up your sleeve: Ultimate Editions. Almost immediately following the release of Dawn of Justice, you start unveiling that, well, there is actually a better cut of the movie. It’s got a nice and edgy R rating like that critically acclaimed and financially successful surprise that everyone loves, Deadpool. It gives some explanation as to what the hell was going on in your movie in the first time around. And above all else, it’s the movie the director wanted to put out in the first place. Ultimate Edition is secretly code for Actual Edition. And when your film drops on home media, you’ll have the chance to see this Actual Edition.
In an alternate universe, there’s a version of me that didn’t spend 20 dollars on iTunes for the digital copy of Batman v Superman because there never was an Actual Edition. But I don’t live in that universe sadly. I spent that money on a version of a movie I found to be disappointing initially and after watching the Actual Edition still find to be disappointing if not ever so slightly more coherent. But the important thing is that I spent that money, on top of the 12+ dollars I spent for a ticket originally when the film released. And as we know, money is the reason these movies are ultimately made.
I wasn’t the only one. Batman v Superman continues to do well on home release, with 70% of purchases being Blu-ray. Unlike the DVD copy, this version comes with the Actual Edition. Blu-ray, on average, costs around five dollars more than the DVD, which for almost every other film (with the exception of Star Wars), is the more popular format in terms of sales. Digitally, if you want you can rent the film for five bucks! Oh wait, that’s for the Theatrical version. The Actual Edition? You can only buy it. And it’ll cost you four times as much.
Now, we can argue that Warner Bros. would have made a lot more money on Batman v Superman if they’d just made a movie that most people liked. By a lot of estimates, Dawn of Justice stood to make a lot more in its box office release than it did. This is further compounded by the drop off in week 2, and the fact that I went to go see Captain America: Civil War 5 times compared to Batman v Superman’s 1 theater trip. But here’s the thing. There are a ton of people who actually enjoyed Batman v Superman the first time around. Like with Suicide Squad, if you were happy with Dawn of Justice, more power to you! Warner Bros. is going to get your money from your five tickets. And they’re for sure going to get your money when they release their Actual Edition. Warner Bros. at the end of the day gets to double dip, because they know whether you liked Batman v Superman or not, you re highly incentivized to buy it on home media.
Suicide Squad opened to massive numbers on Thursday night. Bigger numbers, in fact, than Batman v Superman. Let’s not forget that this is a movie with a character who’s weapon of choice is sharpened boomerangs. My gut tells me it’ll see a massive drop in its second weekend, much like Dawn of Justice. But at that point it won’t matter. Because it’ll already have made a ton of money, and will continue to make a ton of money. All press is good press, and the harsher reviews the more likely people will want to prove the critics wrong by going to see this film. It’s the ultimate (edition) form of reverse psychology. And when the movie beings to slip out of the cultural zeitgeist, Warner Bros. will have the opportunity to plug the Actual Edition for home release.
The question ultimately remains of how long they can get away with this, and if an “Ultimate Edition” of Suicide Squad will actually work. They’re not going to get my money a second time, and I’m inclined to not go see any more DC films unless there is a strong critical response. If you feel like I do, I urge you to do the same. As long as they can get away with it, the studio will continue to do a disservice to these characters. Because maybe making a bad movie means making more money.
Before I begin, I want to preface with this: I know it’s going to do nothing to dissuade or satiate the readers here that loved Suicide Squad. I can hear you already typing away about how I’m wrong and how DC’s latest release it still a fun movie despite all its faults. If you enjoyed David Ayer’s take on Task Force X, more power to you. I’m glad you spent 12+ dollars on your movie ticket and had a good time!
I, however, did not. Not even close.
So I just want to say that this article is not designed to change your mind in any way, shape or form on how you should feel about Suicide Squad or DC films in general, but to start a conversation about why objectively Warner Bros. seems to be doing a disservice to a cast of great characters and a part of me is beginning to suspect it’s all a part of their plan.
It’s early in the morning, and I can’t sleep. I got out of my screening of Suicide Squad hours ago, and my brain won’t stop asking the question “How was that movie as terrible as it was?”.
For me, seeing Suicide Squad was one of the worst experiences I’ve had at the movies in a long time. Thinking back, the last time I hated sitting in a cinema as much as last night was when I saw M. Night Shyamalan's dumpster fire on screen known as “The Last Airbender”, and that one hurt a lot more because I am way more attached to Aang and the gang, than I am Deadshot and company.
Nevertheless, I was excited about this unique comic book movie, whilst still trying not to set the bar too high as I had been burned twice before now with both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. This was a different director, one who has proved his competency with both End of Watch and Fury. The cast was stacked with the likes of Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared Leto all starring and the stakes, at least initially, were a lot lower. Aside from The Joker and to a lesser extent Harley Quinn, these characters are all small fry compared to Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. I thought that at the very least, this movie would be the best film so far in the DC cinematic universe. Ultimately, I think it’s actually the worst for a number of reasons. From terrible editing and unimaginative action scenes to the asinine decisions character’s make that goes completely against their thinly outlined personas, only existing to move the story along. A story which has about as much rhythm and natural flow as Harley Quinn in a straight jacket bouncing off of padded walls. At least with Batman v Superman, I could see that there was a good film under the nice thick layer of bad film… With Suicide Squad, I’m gonna have to dig deep, and frankly, I don’t have the energy.
This isn’t a film review, this is an article designed to understand how, and more importantly why, we got to this point. The answer may be a lot more simple, and ultimately a lot more disappointing than we comic book fans would think. Maybe Warner Bros. just doesn’t actually care, because, at the end of the day their business isn’t to make good films. It’s to make money and maybe they can make more of that if they actually make bad films.
Let’s rewind the clock a little back to March, right after the release of Batman v Superman. If you need a refresher on how critics felt about that movie, click me! Warner Bros. is worried about the reception their tentpole film of the year is receiving and are panicked about their next one: Suicide Squad. Reportedly, they scramble to try and address the criticisms levered against Dawn of Justice by aggressively focus testing and recutting their next DC film. A film which has been a nightmare during production thanks to such a rushed schedule. They brought in multiple editors, including the people that cut the trailer and try to splice together the director’s original vision with what they perceive to be the corrected flaws of Batman v Superman. When the dust settles, you have the camel that was a horse designed by committee and what an ugly freaking camel it is.
