I honestly can’t imagine anyone was actually wondering why I haven’t written about the Suicide Squad movie, but on the off chance anyone was, I just decided to sit this one out. The initial previews made me kind of keen to see it, but the initial spate of negative reviews put me off going opening weekend. And what little residual interest I still had in seeing it was promptly poisoned by the “discussion” about it online. Once again, it seems as if Hollywood didn’t produce so much a motion picture as a multi-million dollar Rorschach test. The opinions being expressed were so extreme and diametrically opposed that it was hard to believe everyone saw the same movie. Ghostbusters is a prime example of this phenomenon.
I honestly don’t think I’ve become so much sick of genre movies in general, and superhero movies in particular, as I am tired of the endless contentious conversation which invariably follows in their wake. It used to be enough we went to the movie and maybe bought its’ merchandise, but now it seems we’re expected to be active participants in the promotion of a movie. First, you need to find some way to overreact to the initial announcement; there’s sure to be some aspect of the project which will provoke a freak-out in somebody, especially if it’s some sort of sequel or remake. Particularly if the casting is in anyway controversial.
For instance, the recent announcement that in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, Mary Jane Watson would be played by biracial actress Zendaya Coleman.* The online responses to this news were about what you’d expect, one part nerdy slavish devotion to continuity, one part “I’m not a racist” racism. But the only comment that counts comes from the co-creator of Spider-Man, which appeared in a piece by Steve Tilley in The Toronto Sun, “Spider-Man: Homecoming’: Stan Lee endorses Zendaya as Mary Jane Watson.” If the title wasn’t enough of a hint, in an interview Stan Lee is quoted as saying “The color of their skin doesn’t matter, their religion doesn’t matter. All that matters is that that this the right person for role.”
Then comes the build-up, where it becomes vitally important to not just see and comment on the latest trailer but ruthlessly study it for any sign of potential weakness. Every new image and detail from every subsequent trailer, domestic and international, is carefully scrutinized until the movie is finally released. Whereupon it’s immediately set upon by a plague of critics and pundits who ruthlessly tear it apart; every flaw is exaggerated and no opportunity to find offense is overlooked. Then, when it has been decided that its contents have been gnawed on sufficiently, its box office is examined; did it meet or exceed expectations? If it was a disappointment, why? How did it do internationally? Will it be released in China? Then, just went you think the cycle is over, scenes that didn’t make it into the final movie start popping up everywhere online, helping you get worked up for the impending release of the DVD. After all, if you didn’t like the movie, well, maybe it just wasn’t long enough. In the case of a “controversial” movie, to be “fair,” you probably should see a version where those scenes are put back in to create a new, much longer, director’s cut. Like they’re doing with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition).
Considering the number of scenes I’m told were in the trailer but not in the movie, and the way Jared Leto is complaining about his scenes as the Joker being cut, I would not be one bit surprised if there also isn’t a Suicide Squad (Ultimate Edition).
Which brings me to what passes for my point; it’s completely unrealistic to say I won’t be writing about comic book related movies in the future. That’s just not how modern “Geek Culture” works. But I can definitely try to care less about them and to be less of an active unpaid participant in the promotional process. Because I want to be a movie fan, not an unpaid intern, and in this particular movie, this is definitely where I came in.
* That was last week’s casting outrage, this week’s is that Chinese actress Jona Xiao has an undisclosed role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. I can't begin to guess who she’ll play (I mean that literally, I stink at guessing), but it’s a pretty safe bet that it’s going to piss somebody off.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.