Bad reviews for the bad guys. “Suicide Squad,” the much-anticipated DC blockbuster film featuring Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Ben Affleck, and Will Smith, isn’t being received very kindly by the critics.

“These super villains don’t feel like they belong in the same ZIP code as DC’s gritty, urban antiheroes, let alone the same movie,” wrote The Daily Beast.

Let’s give them a chance before jumping to conclusions.

“Unfortunately, the result resembles a sports ‘dream team’ whose combined efforts don’t nearly measure up to the talents of its individual players,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Vanity Fair was even more harsh, calling the film just plain “bad.”

But maybe these judgments are being made too hastily. Comic book nerds, DC fans, and movie lovers have been awaiting this film for a long time, and they are desperately clinging to the hope that critics are wrong and that the movie will be good.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a low 29 percent critics’ score, which prompted a petition this week demanding the site be shut down. Some 17,000 signatures were collected, a testament to the Rotten Tomatoes high 97 percent rating from fans who “want to see” it.

When asked if the first round of reviews were premature, Sarah Gelineau, 20, of Rhode Island responded, “Yes, 100 percent. Barely any of the public (especially the people who know and love the comic it’s based on) have seen it, and I think most of them are just trying to make waves.”

What will be interesting to see is how closely the movie stays to the comic book — fans are always ardent about sticking to the original script.

“I think the key is to stay true to the comics enough to satisfy the fans while adapting the comics to fit the screen. Fans love their characters and do not want to see them messed up,” said Victoria Sferrazza, 20, of New Hampshire.

Gelineau agreed. “Personally, I love the comics so I’m most excited to see how they stay true to the story.”

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Another exciting spectacle for fans will be the portrayal of Harley Quinn for the first time on the big screen. Portrayed by Robbie, Quinn is, or was, the longtime henchman and lover of DC’s most psychotic and dangerous villain, the Joker. She’s popular among fans, for her slightly air-headed but cunning and sly personality. In this film, she is no longer with the Clown Prince of Crime.

“I hope to see the true Harley nature of smart and dangerous with a touch of ditzy,” Gelineau said, “and the triumph of her personal autonomy over the abusive relationship she had with the Joker.”

Said Sferrazza of Quinn, “Harley is actually pretty smart. Some of her lines may seem like she is an airhead but she is actually very clever. But her love for the Joker masks that.”

Related: Jared Leto’s Strange Joker World

The Joker himself, played by Jared Leto, is a bit of a wild card in this film since he was not in the original comic. But he is Batman’s biggest foe (played by Affleck) and his relationship with Harley adds to his relevance. The character has been one of the most heavily adapted in cinema history with actors such as Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill, and Heath Ledger each giving outstanding performances.

Above all, DC is trying to make the jump to compete with Marvel and achieve a winning formula along the same lines as their rivals. The making of “Suicide Squad” is the latest in their attempt to mix the fun humor of the bad guys with the dark complexity that surrounds the DC universe.

Let’s give them a chance before jumping to conclusions.