Suicide Squad: David Ayer defends movie amid lackluster reviews

'I love the movie and believe in it,' director says

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Published on August 2, 2016 12:00PM EDT

Writer-director David Ayer is standing by Suicide Squad, expressing his pride in the supervillain movie in the face of underwhelming early reviews.

Quoting the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, Ayer tweeted Tuesday, “Prefiero morir de pie que vivir de rodillas,” which roughly translates to “I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees.”

A few hours later he added the quote was “my way of saying I love the movie and believe in it. Made it for the fans. Best experience of my life.”

Featuring an all-star cast that includes Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, and Viola Davis, Suicide Squad has been highly anticipated — partly because of its punchy trailers and canny marketing, and partly because of the lackluster reception to its DC Comics-inspired predecessor Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

In the first round of Suicide Squad reviews, however, several critics knocked the movie for having a muddled plot and an uninspired antagonist. At the time of writing, Squad has a 36 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 46 (out of 100) on Metacritic.

Reviews notwithstanding, pre-release tracking has indicated the film could open well north of $100 million when it opens this weekend.