Suicide Squad director David Ayer has apologised for his Marvel diss

Suicide Squad

director David Ayer stoked the flames of comic book nerd rivalry at the film's New York premiere.

Addressing the crowd at the premiere of the new DC film, the director echoed one audience member's cry of "F*** Marvel!", loudly repeating the diss aimed at the filmmaking powerhouse responsible for Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and The Avengers.

Ayer later apologised for the outburst on Twitter.

"Sorry about getting caught up in the moment," he wrote. "Someone said it. I echoed. Not cool. Respect for my brother filmmakers."

Here's the moment in question - language warning, obviously;

To the big question today, as one of the most anticipated films of 2016 starts to open at cinemas: Is Suicide Squad actually any good? Early reviews have been mixed, but news.com.au's Wenlei Ma gave the film a solid 3/5.

One of her gripes? Jared Leto's much-talked-about Joker didn't get enough screen time.

"Jared Leto's interpretation of The Joker was always going to be a challenge to pull off after Heath Ledger's Oscar winning performance," she writes.

"Leto decided to go even bigger and more anarchic, but it's just a tease, you don't get enough of him for it to make a lasting impression. Presumably, he'll pop up again somewhere in another DC movie."