Critical reaction to The Suicide Squad proves Henry Cavill knew what exactly he was talking about when discussing the DCEU's missteps back in 2017. The DCEU's mixed fortunes have been the subject of much discussion, and though the division began with 2013's Man of Steel, it was Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice that really set the bat among the pigeons. Not only did the 2016 effort perform below expectations at the box office, but reviews took aim at the plot, casting, tone and ridiculous "Martha" moment between Bruce and Clark. In response to the Batman V Superman reaction, Henry Cavill said in a 2017 interview that the "right mistakes have been made."
Cavill's quote meant that DC and Warner Bros. had learned from the likes of Man of Steel and Batman V Superman, listened to the critiques and reactions, and adopted the DCEU's future approach accordingly. Cavill's comments initially seemed wise in the wake of Wonder Woman, with Patty Jenkins' 2017 movie an undoubted franchise high point. Unfortunately, Henry Cavill's interview didn't say evergreen for long. His optimistic comments came precisely one month before the release of Justice League, which gave him a very silly mustache and triggered a controversy that still rumbles on today. But while Joss Whedon's Justice League massively undermined the point Henry Cavill was trying to make, the recent release of James Gunn's The Suicide Squad proves he was right all along.
By the time DCEU's Superman actor made his comments (during a 2017 The Rake interview), Suicide Squad had become one of the franchise's biggest critical misfires. Despite making plenty of cash and giving the world Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, reaction to Suicide Squad made Batman V Superman's poor reviews look positively glowing by comparison. 5 years later, a sort-of sequel emerged in the form of James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, and virtually every major criticism from the original 2016 film has been addressed, proving Cavill's notion of DC learning from its mistakes was true (despite the Justice League debacle).
Suicide Squad was subject to mass studio interference pushed upon director David Ayer, but James Gunn says he was given a largely free hand over The Suicide Squad. Despite the violent premise, the first film also felt decidedly tame, light on deaths and stingy with gore. The Suicide Squad fixes that problem, more than living up to its R-rating and killing off more characters than it spares. With a misused Joker and Batman, 2016's Suicide Squad felt too bogged down in franchise setup to tell a decent story, but James Gunn effectively ignores preexisting canon, doing as he likes within the confines of DC comic lore to craft a more exciting misadventure for Task Force X. Finally, Suicide Squad was plagued by iffy CGI, particularly in the final battle. While Starro the Conqueror wasn't brought to life with practical effects (you'll be amazed to hear), the giant starfish is far more interesting and effective than Enchantress and Incubus were. Through all of these fixes, we can see how DC learned the "right mistakes" from Suicide Squad to make The Suicide Squad a much better movie.
And, hopefully, this will continue into DC's cinematic future. With The Flash, Black Adam, Aquaman 2 and Shazam 2 all on the slate, there's plenty to be excited about if the franchise continues to address the ghosts of DCEU past. The Suicide Squad is certainly encouraging in this regard, and even though the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt at the box office, positive reaction to James Gunn's beautifully twisted DCEU debut proves Henry Cavill's optimism wasn't misplaced... in the long term, at least.
