Review: Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad (2016)
Suicide Squad poster Rating: 5.9/10 (719,099 votes)
Director: David Ayer
Writer: David Ayer, John Ostrander
Stars: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie
Runtime: 123 min
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Released: 05 Aug 2016
Plot: A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse.

The DC cinematic universe is finally picking up pace, as they thrust their world building franchise ahead with a film which could be said to be a curious choice.  After the disappointing Man of Steel, and the mess that was ‘the fight of the century’ when Dawn of Justice came out earlier this year, all eyes have been on this film.  If it hits, then Warner and DC can breathe a sigh of relief and look ahead to their future films, blame for the missteps previously being lumped squarely on Zack Snyder.  If it fails, then the fallout could be great.  In the wake of BvS there have already been a lot of movements behind the scenes.  Justice League suddenly went from being two films to, “always planned as one film not two!” (something nobody told Snyder about, who was confused at suddenly losing half his plans).  Geoff Johns has been put in charge of the whole cinematic outing plans, the hope that the great writer who has reinvigorated the comics can do magic for the big screen too.  Yes, as unlikely a choice of third film this is, there’s a heck of a lot depending on it, and it could be the make or break for the future of the DC cinematic universe.

Early reviews haven’t been strong, and the film currently runs low on aggregate websites such as Rotten Tomatoes.  However, the film is anywhere near as bad as the 35% score would suggest, and perhaps it is more important to realise that sites such as RT work on a hit or miss ranking, and films that are reviewed as ‘okay’ to ‘just above average’ will be classed as a miss.  I stopped rating my reviews a while back, but if I were to slap a star rating on here it would likely land around 3/5.  An entertaining diversion which doesn’t outstay its welcome, and which has far more working for it than against it.

Although maybe not this…more later…
Suicide Squad, for those unaware, sees some of the most notorious DC villains given a chance to knock time off their sentences by agreeing to black ops missions against potential meta human threats.  In the wake of BvS the world is aware of the threat of meta humans, and needs a way to combat them (especially as Superman is gone).  So it is that when an ancient threat rises to construct a device to destroy the world, rogues such as Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Boomerang, and Diablo are drawn in to stop the threat and save the day.  But it won’t be plain sailing as these are not people known for respecting authority, or obeying orders.  So Rick Flagg is put in charge of them, and they are all implanted with detonation devices, which will explode if they step out of line.

The film gets off to a strong start, introducing the key players via voice over and flashback, before kicking into the assignment – Enchantress has awoken her brother, and they set about plotting to bring down mankind.  The Squad are sent in to save the day.  At the same time Joker is trying to track down Harley and help her escape.  It is the assignment itself, and the whole Joker sub-plot that hold the problems with the film.  The set up for the threat of the Enchantress is poorly contrived, and there never feels to be much of a menace to the whole plan – even more so when we discover the actual time frame of events.  It almost feels like the mission itself was an afterthought, and forced in when they realised they needed some kind of story.  In the same vein, the whole Joker aspect is superfluous to the whole thing, and is a clumsily forced attempt to expand the universe again.  It does nothing to serve the film, and tells us nothing that we couldn’t already deduce from Harley herself.  I never thought the day would come when I would be bored by Joker antics, but here I just wanted him off screen each time he popped up.
People suffering from type-2 diabetes can use this drugs irrespective of your age and the reason for erectile Dysfunction Treatment is lack of sufficient blood supply to the 20mg tadalafil reproductive system of male. Since it is the matter of your health so, one should be extra careful before buying the tablets or the gels from a reputable site to make sure that you are getting the genuine product to avoid and prevent experiencing side effects common when the product is fake. http://deeprootsmag.org/2014/11/18/tres-engage-e-una-gioia-di-vivere-go-girl/ cialis without prescription Over time, the people of Southeast Asia commander cialis for centuries. Once I find the viagra prescriptions online Learn More source of the vertigo, I rehabilitate the dysfunctional system.
But the positives are many, and the cast are a huge positive.  Will Smith may have been off many peoples radar in recent years, but his role as Deadshot here is a reminder of what makes him such a star on screen.  He has a personal journey through the film, and in the action moments really shows what he can do.  Margot Robbie is likewise, her demented portrayal of Harley is a joy to watch, with her capturing the wide eyed craziness, but with occasional insight into the broken innocent inside.  The two of them are the lead roles in the film, and neither steps on the other at any point.  It is perhaps the strong presence of the two which results in a few of the other characters feeling a little sidelined.  Boomerang (Jai Courtney)and Killer Croc (Adewale Agbaje) feel particularly left out, never really feeling like they serve much purpose.  However El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) almost steps up to become a third lead star in the mix, with a role what offers true heart and inner turmoil, and gets to deliver some memorable moments.  Elsewhere the cast are adequately positioned, if not entirely convincing.  Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, the government official who recruits the squad never quite feels as menacing as she tries to be.  Joel Kinnaman is bland as Rick Flagg, and given he is supposed to be a personal link to the big threat, he just feels like a generic soldier with nothing special about him.  Cara Delevingne, in her duo role as June Moore and Enchantress is a mixed bag.  As June she shines, but when transformed she occasionally becomes lost amongst some dubious CGI, and struggles to make an impact.

Seriously, I would happily watch a whole film of just these two hanging out for a day.

But then we have the Joker.  Jaded Leto takes the role in a new direction, and if the original comics had Joker as an embodiment of the gangster era at the time, this version is our modern ‘gangsta’, gold chains, grills, and swagger.  The modern embodiment of street crime, you can see why this approach was taken, and Leto does his best with it, but there isn’t anything here to really showcase the character with, and he feels like an unnecessary, tacked on extra, driving in and out of the film but never having any impact.  The result is that I’m not convinced by his new take yet, but maybe a solo Batman outing would give it a chance to shine in the right setting.

The film looks great, and as expected from Ayer, has a strong soundtrack to carry it along, and most importantly it is a lot of fun at times.  If the last half of the film wasn’t so muddled, and the big bad wasn’t so generic, is could have been a great film.  It is definitely a step in the right direction for the studio,and is no way deserving of the level of criticism being bandied its way.  All though this review I’ve avoid the comparisons to Marvel (something so many reviews can’t wait to throw out in e early part of their analysis).  However I’m going to do it here, but not in the negative way that you might expect.  Instead I’m going to say this film is akin to films such as Iron Man 2 or Thor: The Dark World, in that it is enjoyable entertainment, but isn’t earth shattering or compulsively rewatchable.  I would say it is a far better film than Age of Ultron was, and infinitely better than Batman v Superman.  Unlike that film, if this gets an extended cut on home release I’d be interested in seeing more.

Suicide Sqaud isn’t quite the film DC wanted it to be, but it is much more than many expected it to be.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.