Suicide Squad has yet to hit cinemas, but the cast of bad guys have already taken a beating from critics who stamped it with very low review scores.
There were some saving graces in the film, including the team's ruthless leader Viola Davis (Amanda Waller) and this year's go-to Halloween costume, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie).
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But how do the cast feel about the critical smackdown?
At the European premiere in London's Leicester Square, Jay Hernandez, who play's pyromaniac El Diablo, had the most to say about the critical backlash, as well as claims Harley Quinn is 'objectified' in the film.
Speaking to Digital Spy, he said: "Yeah I am bothered about it, I think it sucks, obviously we worked hard and tried to give the fans what they wanted. It's weird that some of the criticism I heard was that it was 'too much like a comic book', in terms of you have these characters being objectified like Harley Quinn, there are just certain elements that are just part of being a comic book."
He continued: "If you're trying to portray that on a film, you have to stay true to that, because if you don't, the fans of the comics are going to be offended."
The Suicide Squad's leader Rick Flag, played by House of Cards' Joel Kinnaman, felt the film was really for the fans.
He said: "You know, of course you want critical acclaim, of course, but what matters is what the fans think. We're really proud of this film, we loved making it, everybody on the film has become really close friends and this is like a work of love and I hope the fans like it."
Meanwhile, Karen Fukuhara, who plays ninja assassin Katana, managed to stay very on-message and explained that the team "honestly made it for the hardcore DC fans".
Suicide Squad opens on August 5 in UK cinemas nationwide.
Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.
Laurence was named Editorial Director – Youth Audience at Reach in early 2025. Prior to joining Digital Spy, he was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine's website Heatworld.com, and has also worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig. He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.
Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast.
He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan. Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021.
Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022 and was named vice-chair in 2025. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member.
Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer. Linkedin
