In early August, DC released its third film in its extended universe: Suicide Squad. Upon the film’s announcement back in 2014, fans of DC Comics have been excited for this movie more than most other films in the DC Extended Universe. And after 2013’s Man of Steel received mixed  reviews from critics and 2016’s Batman Vs Superman Dawn of Justice was attacked by critics and fans alike, many thought that this film would be the saving grace of the DC Extended Universe in their attempt to catch up to Marvel. However, this was not the case and instead Suicide Squad received mostly negative reviews from critics and has a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 26%. Most film critics gave the film a bad review. This puzzled many fans of comic book movies and some film fans who thought more positively of the film, or at least that it wasn’t as bad as critics had claimed. While the film had quite a few faults to it, there are also a few hidden gems that many critics overlooked.

One big reason that the film didn’t stick with critics could be due to the fact that the lead characters are lesser known than other DC characters that have gotten their own films. Unlike Man of Steel or Batman vs Superman, movies that had DC’s two most recognizable heroes in the lead, as well as other well known characters, such as Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor playing major roles, this film centered on characters such as Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and Captain Boomerang who are not as engraved in popular culture as DC’s big three. So while some fans may recognize the main characters in Suicide Squad, as well as their character traits, backstories, personalities etc, most members of the mainstream audience won’t. This leads to the average movie critic to be lost as far as characters. This also has generated some criticism of the character Harley Quinn and her relationship with The Joker. This is due to the fact that many non comic book fans are not familiar with the comic book history between those two characters.

Another big fault with the movie was due to DC’s current production schedule. With DC trying to catch up to Marvel, DC is trying to put out as many movies as they can in a short period of time which can lead to troubles behind the scenes. When DC first announced their cinematic universe, they also released set releases for 11 films which has lead to DC working on several films at once, and to some films having shorter production and editing times than others. It has also caused DC to have to look too far ahead into the future. For example, Suicide Squad director David Ayer said that he only had about 6 months to completely write the film’s script and after wrapping up filming, after early 2016’s Batman Vs Superman received a largely negative reaction, DC ordered a series of reshoots to try and make the critical reaction to the film more positive in such a short amount of time. With these last minute edits, many critics felt that the plot was poor and it played a large part in the bad reviews.

While there are many things wrong with the film, there are a few things that critics had overlooked during their reviews. During the film there were many great performances from the cast and since many of these characters have never gotten a film release before. Many of the cast members did a good job being the the characters’ first portrayal in film. The film didn’t rely on big name characters to bring audiences in; unlike previous DC films that rely on the likes of Superman and Batman to bring in audiences. This means that in future comic book movies we may see them center on characters who are not as well known. The film also features a lighter tone that DC’s films have mostly had for the past 10 years while at the same time not completely copying the feel and style of the Marvel films.

So while Suicide Squad isn’t a perfect film, it is better than many critics claim it is, and even though DC’s films are 1 for 3 critically, there are still fans that will support films like these despite the critic’s reception.