History YMMV / SuicideSquad2016

** [[spoiler:Joker seemingly goes down with the helicopter during the third act... and unsurprisingly returns unharmed at the end.]] Then again [[spoiler:[[JokerImmunity this is the Joker we're talking about.]]]]

** His reputation took another hit in the wake of [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/youve-got-stop-jared-leto-fumed-new-joker-movie-1247699 reports]] that he was... less than thrilled about DC making ''Film/{{Joker 2019}}''.

** Jared Leto has gone from playing the Joker to playing [[Film/Morbius2020 a "bat-man"]].

* CriticProof: Despite the critical bashing it received, the film smashed records for an August opening and was able to keep its number 1 spot at the box-office for three weeks in a row. It wrapped up its run around $750 million. For comparison, direct competitors ''X-Men: Apocalypse'' and ''Doctor Strange'' (all three films from separate studios released within a few months of each other) got significantly stronger reviews (52 and 72 on Metacritic, to ''Suicide Squad's'' 40) and similar production budgets, yet only grossed $544 million and $677 million respectively. ''Suicide Squad'' also had [[http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Suicide-Squad higher]] [[http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Doctor-Strange-(2016)#tab=summary home]] [[http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/X-Men-Apocalypse#tab=summary video]] sales than either, by more than 2-1 in the case of ''Doctor Strange'' and 3-1 for ''Apocalypse.'' This is all without having been released in the huge, superhero loving Chinese market as well,

** It's possible to see the Suicide Squad as more authentically courageous and moral than they were supposed to be seen as. Unlike Batman's vast fortune and Superman's powers, most of the squad are poor, exploited by the state (and subject to torture and beatings in confinement); the powers that they have cursed them with insanity/skin diseases and mutation; they're entirely blameless for the collateral damage of the film [[spoiler:caused in fact by Amanda Waller's incompetence and underestimating the Enchantress; and yet, when they are given a chance to walk away after learning the truth, they heroically step up and risk their lives for virtually no reward, and El Diablo shows more guilt about the violence inflicted by his actions than both Batman and Superman -- and in the end they get locked up once more ''and'' screwed over by Waller.]].

** Yet ''another'' rivalry has sprung up with fellow Hair and Makeup nominee ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'', [[{{Trekkie}} whose fans]] feel that the styling effects of ''Beyond'' were far more impressive than ''Suicide Squad'''s and [[AwardSnub much more deserving of the Oscar win]]. Even more putting off for them was the fact that the Oscar reel of ''Suicide Squad'' focuses mostly on the hairstyling done for Harley Quinn and Enchantress, rather than the actual make-up prosthetics used on characters like Killer Croc and El Diablo [[note]]many of the film's harsher critics praised the latter two as the ''only'' convincing effects used in the entire film, especially when compared to all the ConspicuousCGI and it's [[SpecialEffectsFailure distractingly unfinished look]][[/note]].

** For a real life example, Jared Leto ended up becoming this. Leto was criticized by many for his use of MethodActing where he went out of his way to torture his cast mates by sending them strange and gross “gifts”, which caused many to call him a tasteless AttentionWhore who gave method actors a bad name. Then there’s his actual performance, which was already poorly received when the film released, but as time’s gone on, even people who initially praised his work have done a 180 and ended up panning it. Once the film was released, Leto would go on to earn even more criticism for acting like a poor sport over his reduced role in the final cut, with many saying that his petty behavior came across as unprofessional. Then, after came out and was a huge hit, word got around that Leto was so upset about another Joker movie happening so soon after his debut as the character that he tried to stop the movie from happening, which made him look like a selfish ass. Things only got worse as Creator/JoaquinPhoenix was showered with praise for his performance, quickly overshadowing Leto’s recent work as the character, and even winning the Academy Award, in comparison to Leto’s Razzie nomination. All in all, many agree that Jared Leto is going to have a hard time living down playing this role.

* WTHCostumingDepartment: The Joker's over-the-top appearance in this incarnation has not been well-received. His tattoos have been pointed out as an especially egregious example of this trope, as they've been derided for being too silly and on the nose, particularly the "Damaged" one.

* MemeticLoser: Of course, despite his MemeticBadass status, there were plenty of viewers who joked about just how unimpressive Slipknot’s role in the film was, given it consists of him being the only member of the squad introduced with no backstory aside from his ability to “climb anything”, having zero personality, and being killed off mere minutes after he’s introduced.

* ActorShipping: There was a little bit between Creator/JaiCourtney and Creator/KarenFukuhara given some thought they had a nice chemistry together in interviews.

** The film sets up an AbhorrentAdmirer dynamic between Captain Boomerang and Katana that only pops up about twice. They apparently shot more scenes between the two, including Boomerang trying to kiss her and getting immediately rejected. Given some thought there was strong chemistry between Creator/JaiCourtney and Creator/KarenFukuhara, some thought that having more interactions between these characters could’ve resulted in decent laughs. The fact that Fukuhara won’t be reappearing alongside Courtney in Film/TheSuicideSquad, it looks like we won’t be getting it.

* UnexpectedCharacter: The team's inclusion in the DCEU was unexpected for a studio that usually fields A-listers like Franchise/{{Batman}} and Franchise/{{Superman}}. With the exceptions of the Joker, Harley Quinn and Deadshot, most of the cast consists of relatively obscure DC villains.
** The Enchantress is one of the less well-known members of the Squad, despite a number of brief stints with the team.
** A lot of people had pinned Karen Fukuhara as Plastique, rather than Katana.
** This will also be the first time in a live action film a [[WolverinePublicity fan-favorite]] like Joker is merely a secondary antagonist.
** Joker's NumberTwo, Johnny Frost, had previously only appeared in Brian Azzarello's Joker one-shot comic.
** Killer Croc is a fairly well-known Batman villain, but he has never been associated with Task Force X before. Notably, King Shark was originally going to be in the film and IS associated with the team, but was replaced by Croc because he would have [[SerkisFolk had to be full CGI]].
** Slipknot makes his adaptational debut here, having previously been a comics-only character with only a few dozen appearances across 30+ years. When announced, he had a lot people scratching their heads wondering who he was. What ''wasn't'' unexpected however, was that [[spoiler:he was used as the SacrificialLamb to show the nano bombs are real, given his obscurity to the public.]]
** Franchise/TheFlash appears early in the movie to apprehend Boomerang and his only appearance so far in the DCEU was a trippy dream sequence in "Dawn of Justice".
** There is an demonic entity also named Incubus in DC Comics that also was an obscure Suicide Squad enemy. How obscure are we talking about? His number of appearances in total can be counted in ''one hand'' and even the most hardcore comic book fans would be forgiven for thinking he was created solely for the movie.

* MemeticMutation:
** "So that's it then. We're the patsies. We're some kind of Suicide Squad." The last line in particular gets used a lot, with "Suicide Squad" being replaced with the title of another work for the sake of the TitleDrop.
** [[https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7669/17378855426_6b975fb83f_b.jpg "The Fresh Prince of Belle Reve"]]
** Looks like Boomerang jumping out of a body bag and punching out the first guy he sees is becoming one too, same with him lifting his eyebrows in amusement.
** "[X] is Jason Todd!" as a way of mocking the absurdity of the pre-release EpilepticTree that this movie's Joker would be Jason Todd.
** Many people who found the on-set stories of Jared Leto's {{method acting}} more funny than scary have made up [[http://www.dailydot.com/parsec/suicide-squad-jared-leto-joker-fake-quotes-david-ayer/ similar]] [[https://www.buzzfeed.com/kmm9394/tumblr-is-trolling-jared-leto-and-its-hilarious-i9ur?utm_term=.bqK86YV2y#.opegpOKm2 stories]] about the cast and crew being terrified by anything Leto does.
** "This is Katana. She's got my back. She can cut all of you in half with one sword stroke, just like mowing the lawn. I would advise not getting killed by her. Her sword traps the souls of its victims." [[labelnote: Explanation]]Flag's introduction of Katana. The poor exposition and awkward line delivery been compared to the opening of The Dark Knight Rises opening and used similarly to Baneposting.[[/labelnote]]
*** Similarly, as detailed above, Flag sarcastically proclaiming "here comes Slipknot, the man who can climb anything", though not just for its clumsy exposition -- given that the character otherwise receives ''no'' character development to speak of, and his abilities are never shown in detail, many fans have jokingly taken this description as gospel, and claim his skill set is that he can climb [[BeyondTheImpossible ANYTHING]].
** When Slipknot was first revealed for the movie, due to his relative obscurity and the fact that he shares his name with a very well-known metal band, making references to Music/{{Slipknot}} when he was brought up was very commonplace.
** Suicide Squad has an Oscar, let that sink in/Suicide Squad has more Oscars than X [[labelnote:Explanation]] After the movie won the Academy Award for Best Makeup, critics of the film started using these phrases to express disbelief that a movie whose quality has been so hotly debated managed to win an Academy Award (albeit a technical Oscar, and a minor one at that) while other, much better received films [[AwardSnub didn't even get nominated]]. Similarly, it also sprung jokes about how the win means that Marvel is officially screwed.[[/labelnote]]
*** Also born out of this is a stereotype of DC fans pedantically insisting the movie's Oscar win be mentioned every single time it's brought up.
*** That's "Academy Award-Winning Suicide Squad" to you!/You mean, "Academy Award-Winning Suicide Squad"?
** “She was fearless, and crazier than him. She was his queen, and God help anyone who disrespected his queen.” A misquoted line from Waller's introduction of the Joker and Harley Quinn, which was soon used in parody edits of unlikely pairings.
** "Fuck Marvel!" David Ayer repeated the fans' shouts of "Fuck Marvel!" at the film's premiere and, although he quickly apologized, his quote was still brought up as a sign of the FandomRivalry spilling into the actual creators on DC's side. However, some disgruntled Marvel fans have started picking up the quote to criticize the Marvel for firing ''Guardians'' director James Gunn and Star Wars author Chuck Wendig. The dismissal of Gunn and Wendig have outraged many for making it seem like Marvel is caving to alt-right trolls who targeted the two creators for their liberal views.
** DAMAGED [[labelnote: Explanation]] One of the Joker’s tattoos. Wildly mocked for its cringiness [[/labelnote]]
** Gang Weed [[labelnote: Explanation]] An ironic meme group which parodies edgy gamers and incels which prominently uses Leto’s Joker, although the Heath Ledger Version is more associated with the meme [[/labelnote]]

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: The film was [[CriticalDissonance blasted by critics]] for its pacing and [[{{Narm}} embarrassing]] performance by Creator/JaredLeto as ComicBook/TheJoker. However, they all praised Creator/ViolaDavis's scary charisma as Amanda Waller (which is enough to make the IntroDump first 25 minutes compelling), Creator/WillSmith's portrayal of ComicBook/{{Deadshot}} (who is warm enough to make his hitman character charming), and Creator/MargotRobbie as ComicBook/HarleyQuinn (who was very funny, had NoStuntDouble including for the sequence where she had to ''run across the ceiling in stiletto heels'', and acted well enough that her over-the-top NightmareFetishist [[TheMadHatter Mad Hatter]] character was convincing). The movie's portrayal of Harley even made her into a BreakoutCharacter or an EscapistCharacter, far more popular than anything else about the movie. Some also complimented Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, who has an actual character arc and provides a subdued performance that conveys how it's a tragic one.

* WTHCostumingDepartment: Two words. '''The Joker.''' His over-the-top gangster-wannabe appearance in this incarnation has ''not'' been well-received, especially his tattoos, which have been derided for being too silly and on the nose (particularly the "Damaged" one).

** Jared Leto's Joker. Depending on the review he'll be cited as the best or worst thing about this film. And then there's his major CreatorBacklash about how much of his material was cut from the film, so that he refuses to even watch it (which goes all the way around to getting him some popularity from the anti-DCEU crowd). That said, as time went on, Jared Leto's Joker has fallen more into [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] territory, especially after the release of the new Film/Joker2019 movie with Creator/JoaquinPhoenix.

** Similarly, there were complaints about Harley's redesign being too sexualized or different than her 90s harlequin outfit. [[spoiler: There is a scene with Harley in her traditional harlequin outfit with the Joker, and she {{squee}}s in delight when the suit is returned to her by Waller, even if she ends up wearing her redesigned outfit.]]

** [[spoiler: Harley escapes with Joker in the helicopter. Waller orders Deadshot to shoot Harley in exchange for letting him go free, and Deadshot seemingly complies. Who actually thought he was really going to kill Harley at that moment?]]
** [[spoiler:Joker seemingly goes down with the helicopter during the third act... and unsurprisingly returns unharmed at the end.]] Then again [[spoiler: [[JokerImmunity this is the Joker we're talking about.]]]]

** A common complaint about the movie was that they completely wasted Slipknot as a character, being that [[spoiler: he only shows up for three minutes to get himself killed by the nano bombs trying to escape after Captain Boomerang convinces him the bombs were a bluff.]] However, they may not realize that the scene where [[spoiler:Slipknot tries to escape after being convinced by Captain Boomerang had been [[MythologyGag lifted straight from the comics, in a scene that is nearly identical to the one played out twenty-eight years later]]. In both cases, Boomerang was just trying to see if the bombs were real.]] There is one crucial difference, however: [[spoiler:[[DeathByAdaptation Slipknot survived the detonation in the comics]].]]

* TheScrappy: Many fans and critics feel that Enchantress was the weakest part of the movie, thanks to a combination of [[FlatCharacter poor characterization]], [[GenericDoomsdayVillain generic and vague motivations]] and some occasionally cliche dialogue about darkness and world domination, along with simply being so powerful that she leaves little room for an interesting conflict. Not to mention that she's horribly out of sync with the rest of the movie; watching her battle the Suicide Squad is a little bit like watching Film/{{the Dirty Dozen}} fight [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Rita Repulsa]]. Cara Delevigne's overacting doesn't help on this count.

* SpecialEffectFailure: The bizarre CGI effects used for the Enchantress' empowered form. While her usual form is a creepy-looking practical costume with makeup, her empowered goddess form seems to be almost entirely CGI for some reason, despite being just a simple ChainmailBikini. At times, it appears to be Cara Delevingne's face awkwardly pasted onto a CGI body and headdress, giving her the appearance of a bobblehead. The CGI body also inexplicably has [[MostCommonSuperpower breasts some three times larger than the actress']], even after appearing in practical costume with natural proportions. It moves the effect from "bad" to "unignorable."
** [[spoiler: Slipknot's]] head exploding looks very fake and sanitized, most likely to avoid bumping up the rating. Not only is there [[BloodlessCarnage absolutely no blood]] during or after the explosion, the actual explosion is only on screen for a split second (probably to hide how fake it looks), and his headless corpse is only shown from one angle were we can't see the stump.

** It is never fully explored how or why El Diablo can [[spoiler:change into an Aztec fire god/demon,]] or how he even got his powers in the first place. This would have been very interesting if it had been explained at all, [[spoiler: and given his death, probably never will be.]]

** Some looking forward to seeing Slipknot in action were disappointed. [[spoiler: He dies in his second scene, and didn't even get a cool introduction]].

** [[spoiler: Slipknot.]]

* WTHCostumingDepartment: Two words. '''The Joker.''' His over-the-top gangster-wannabe appearance in this incarnation has ''not'' been well-received, especially his tattoos, which have been derided for being too silly and on the nose (particularly the "Damaged" one), and are widely considered SnarkBait.

* SnarkBait: [[SnarkBait/DCExtendedUniverse Here]].

** It is never fully explored how or why El Diablo can [[spoiler:change into a Aztec fire god/demon,]] or how he even got his powers in the first place. This would have been very interesting if it had been explained at all, [[spoiler: and given his death, probably never will be.]]

** Will Smith is an African American playing a Caucasian Floyd Lawton. In one of the recent issues of Suicide Squad Most Wanted, a marksman named Will Evans is called upon the Suicide Squad as a back up for Deadshot and ends up impersonating him. Said "Will" is also a Afro-American.