Now that Oscar nominations have been unleashed onto the world, some fans of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad are not happy about what they say is an obvious snub.
While Marvel enthusiasts also rallied for Spider-Man: No Way Home with their claim that the box office behemoth should’ve been nominated for Best Picture, at least the Tom Holland-starring film did get one nod for Best Visual Effects. That’s more than can be said for The Suicide Squad, which did not receive any nominations.
The DC-heads of the world aren’t exactly reaching with their criticism, as The Suicide Squad does boast some breathtaking special effects, including a jaw-droppingly realistic starfish kaiju monster rendered in broad daylight.
Additionally, the myriad of other impressively realized shots generated from a computer, including that of Sylvester Stallone’s King Shark and the Weasel character, prompted one fan to express how unbelievable they think it is for the film not to be recognized in the VFX category.
Considering the film’s predecessor, the much critically-maligned Suicide Squad from 2016, actually snagged an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, the shun from the Academy for its much-improved sequel feels especially cold for some fans online.
And unlike some folks in the Marvel camp, fans weren’t even rallying for The Suicide Squad to be nominated for best picture, even though it was voted by comic book fans on Reddit as the best adaptation from the medium of the year.
Many users on Twitter were just requesting the film get its due recognition for VFX, or even hair and makeup.
Another fan on Twitter stated simply, “The Suicide Squad deserved so much better.”
In all fairness, the category does boast some tough competition in the VFX realm, with heavy hitters such as Dune, Free Guy and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Gunn himself has said The Suicide Squad has the best visual effects of any movie he’s worked on and the film also garnered a number of award nominations related to VFX and other categories from the Hollywood Critics Association.
Oscars or not, at least the film isn’t slipping past completely unrecognized.