Joel Kinnaman Addresses Harsh Reviews of First 'Suicide Squad' Movie

Joel Kinnaman is looking back on the release of the first Suicide Squad movie.

Back in 2016, the first Suicide Squad movie directed by David Ayer was released and was met with harsh reviews.

While promoting the upcoming The Suicide Squad, which is directed by James Gunn and will be released on August 6, the 41-year-old actor opened up about the first movie receiving the negative reviews from critics.

If you forgot, Joel played Special Forces officer Rick Flag in Suicide Squad, and will be reprising the role in the sequel.

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“I thought the first 40 minutes of the [first] film was f–king great, and then there were conflicting visions and it just didn’t end up being what we all hoped it was,” Joel shared with Variety. “It didn’t feel like the movie that we hoped we were going to make, and this is something very different.”

“It’s just a different universe,” he added. “It’s a James Gunn universe. It’s a very hilarious and depraved place.”

As for the upcoming The Suicide Squad, Joel teased that it’s “insane.”

“It just takes it to another level. It’s an insane film,” Joel said. “At the same time, it was very much the movie that I thought it was going to be because the vision was so clear from the beginning. While we were shooting it, it was so clear what we were doing. It’s so entertaining. I’m of course hopelessly biased, but I found it to be one of the most entertaining films I’ve ever seen.”

“From A to Z, it’s so well paced, it has such a drive and such comedic timing. It’s funny along the way the whole time, effortlessly,” Joel continued. “But then I think what really surprised me was I was struck by was how well it flowed, but also how he was able to create these little bubbles, these little moments of emotional depth and visual and emotional poetry. And I felt like it really transcended the genre, and it became something bigger.”

Joel concluded, “And then it’s also very silly, and ridiculous in many ways and super violent. Just gory almost at times. And it has shocking moments, but they are very comedic. At the end of the movie, it’s completely normal seeing this giant shark just standing gnawing on a person’s head, and some of the people just having a conversation next to it… When you’re one hour and 50 minutes into Suicide Squad, that’s going to feel completely normal. It’s so irreverent.”

In a recent interview, James teased a huge action-packed scene for this character!