Review! Suicide Squad

Review for Suicide Squad (2016) Directed by David Ayer. Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie . IMDB says “A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency.”

“Ha… Ha… Ha… Haaaaaaaaaaaaa”

When the credits rolled on Suicide Squad, I sat wondering if I liked the film. I felt like I did. I thought, yeah, it was alright. It wasn’t the amazing film we thought and hoped would save DC, but it wasn’t terrible either. But as I walked to my car I ran through the film’s plot in my head. I broke down the film scene by scene and I started questioning a lot of what I saw. I couldn’t find the answers. Then as I sat in my car through the parking lot traffic, I looked at individual characters. There was more good than bad, but there was still some bad. It became more and more apparent that maybe I didn’t like this film and I gave some moments and actors the benefit of the doubt because DC could really use the win. Then I realized I was disappointed, because I really wanted to like this movie.

Suicide Squad is the latest superhero film from DC, but it isn’t about Superheroes; it’s about the villains. After the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, members of the government have assembled some of the baddest baddies in a top-secret prison and plan to use them to take down greater evils. (Which by the way, if you haven’t seen Batman v Superman the film gets spoiled for you in the opening scenes which is a surprising gamble this film takes) It just so happens, a greater evil emerges and the Squad is sent into action. The set up and premise for the film is great. We’re introduced to the villains who encompass the Suicide Squad in a way that makes it easy for the average movie-goer to understand, but there are plenty of winks and nods for those already initiated. As we’re introduced to the evil, and the Squad forms, the plot begins to muddle. Unnecessary flashbacks are tossed about and moments that should captivate and be considered “twists” fall flat and leave you confused. Even as characters are introduced, something seems amiss. These should be grand moments of excitement, but they all feel uninspired and generic.

The acting is fine. Will Smith is a fantastic Deadshot and I wouldn’t be mad if he got his own spin off. Margot Robie as Harley Quinn is a dream come true. It’s as if someone plucked Harley Quinn out of Batman: The Animated Series and threw her into the film. Joel Kinnaman, as Rick Flag, is solid and Viola Davis is equal parts bad-ass and cold blooded. Ike Barinholtz was great and made me wish he was in the film more. David Harbour, Common, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbake, and Cara Delevingne were fine, but nothing from their performances stood out and grabbed you. That leaves us with Jared Leto as the Joker. I didn’t get it. I didn’t see what was so great about his performance that in every interview, someone has to talk about his method and how he stayed in character the entire shooting process. Mini-Spoiler: He’s in the film for maybe seven total minutes. A large majority of his scenes are in Harley Quinn’s flashback and even when we see him on screen, he contributes nothing to the plot. A lot of people will be disappointed when they find that out, but maybe when they see his performance, they’ll be okay with the minimal amount we see.

The effects work is solid. One of the big positives from these big budget comic book adaptations is that the special effects companies step up their game with every film and this one is no exception. The score is pretty generic and uninspired. Not only is the score generic and uninspired, but the music is too. There is so much music in the film, I wonder what cost more: the actor salaries or the music licensing. Suicide Squad has a really creative and interesting premise, so why not go that extra mile with the score and music? Why not explore more and come up with something truly distinctive?

By no means is this movie horrible, it just wasn’t as good as the trailers made it out to be. There are some fun scenes sprinkled throughout, but not as many as there should have been. If you want to see this in theatres, that’s fine, but I’d recommend waiting for the rental. There is a mid-credits stinger, but there is nothing waiting for you after the credits.

FTS SCORE: 67%