>>149520611 (OP)I say this as a fan of Gunn’s overall superhero-adaptation career: this is IMO his weakest outing.
-Suicide Squad formula is played out now, it’s a cheap way to bypass meaningful character motivations in an ensemble.
-Too much of the runtime is devoted to flashbacks. GotG and TSS didn’t need this much to get you invested in the characters because it did so with character bonding moments that worked better.
-Princess had obvious ulterior motives that everyone predicted from the trailers, but the story still spent much of its time on twists and reversals to try to make you not know who wants what.
-Actual resolution to that plot is rushed, villain motive poorly explained.
-Character death of Nina feels unmotivated, it’s not clear why she was on the team at all, and it never will be.
-Team leader spends several episodes teamed up with an unrepentant delusional murderous stalker, this is never challenged by anyone.
-That entire plotline being in service of a misdirect makes it confusing, because why then would Clayface attack Flagg when Flagg needs to pass the message back to Waller? Deceiving the audience is prioritized over deceiving the characters.
Feels like a side project Gunn didn’t put as much effort into while he was working on setting up the DCU.