Suicide Squad Review – Slightly Suckers for Pain
We bring you our Suicide Squad review which will open tomorrow, August 4 from Warner Bros. Pictures. It stars Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Will Smith and directed by David Ayer.
From writer/director David Ayer comes “Suicide Squad,” starring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis.
It feels good to be bad… Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super-Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?
Written and directed by Ayer based on the characters from DC Entertainment, the film also stars Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, Cara Delevingne, Adam Beach, and Karen Fukuhara in her feature film debut. It is produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.
I went in to the theater to watch Suicide Squad with high expectations last night. It was DC’s second shot at redemption from the bad eggs they got after the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and I was hoping that the movie would redeem the DC Flicks anddddddd…. well, I’ll answer that later.
For now lets talk about the plot. As I’ve been muttering on Facebook, the film starts very strong, almost comical in nature but by the time we reach the second and third arc, it’s all over the place. Much like the bad guys in the movie it was wanting redemption for the big brother that earned a bad rep. If you ask me the reshoots did the film in, establishing that this is a PG-13 movie rather than going all out with the violence and other “adult” themes.
Some of the more high-brow critics say that the whole walking around (which was seen in all of the trailers) was a waste of time. But for me, it felt like a good way of developing the character. Sure some moments felt campy while others felt like they were part of the reshoots, overall it was “OK”. The classic question from the Lord of the Rings can be raised however here, if Frodo and friends have access to the eagles, why didn’t they just use it to drop the ring into the volcano that is Mt. Doom.
You got me. I’m stumped.
See, just like the characters in the actual film, the movie is flawed. But it does have redeeming qualities to it.
The strongest characters here have to really be Harley Quinn and Deadshot played to perfection by Margot Robbie and Will Smith. Harley’s scenes are fun and vibrant with touches of insanity and clarity. There was one line in that bar scene where rather than go and emphatize with Diablo’s plight, she puts him through the ringer; questioning why he had done the things he had done and why innocents had to die. We forget that this woman has a Phd in Psychology and had once had a career in Arkham Asylum… until The Joker.
You’ll feel sorry for Harley too in one or two scenes. You could feel her pain and her agony in one scene in particular then swithc it out to more enjoyable moments. Also I’m not sure why people are angry over her sexy look in this iteration. Or how she’s damaged goods with a doll face. That has been her schtick when she first appeared a long time ago in Paul Dini’s “Mad Love” story.
Origins are spread either thick or thin in the flick. Can’t blame them, we’re pretty much building an entire block here. So while bigger names like Harley, Deadshot, Rick Flagg and Diablo get either really satisfying character origins to mediocre ones, characters like Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang and even Katana gets the cold shoulder. It felt like it wasn’t enough. Boomer in particular felt contrived considering how much potential he had in the entirety of the franchise and how fun he is as a character. I hated the fact that Katana was relegated to the sidelines. At least we get some exposition, but its really not enough. Hardly enough to be honest. Hell, Arrow’s version of Katana had more substance and that’s just sad.
Another factor that made meactually make this Suicide Squad review a positive one, rather than join the bandwagoners, is the musical choices they made for this movie. From the criminal OST to the extra fun pop songs they used, Suicide Squad still manages to feel fun amidst all the darkness and terror. Is it out of place? Maybe, but then again we’re talking about a movie featuring bad guys so what to expect. Bad call though for ripping off Guardians of the Galaxy on one particular track. Such a cringe-worthy moment for me. Please don’t expect me to believe that they did not know that a certain song was used in a Marvel movie. It’s a hot water situation as it is, don’t make it hotter by getting something from the other brand. Please.
If you’re expecting some juicy moments featuring Jared Leto as The Joker here, don’t expect too much. The character appears as a supporting member here. He’s just there to really get Harley back and nothing else. While I want to join in and say that this is the best Joker yet, I just can’t. I was looking for something that he hasn’t given or shown in the movie. No dice at the moment. Still we have the solo Batman movie directed by Ben Affleck to make us go gaga over Leto. But thats still a few summers away from happening.
What I did love about the Leto Joker is how animalistic he is. Yeah he looks like a hipster version of the Clown Prince of Crime but there’s a certain primal appeal to him. He’s rabid if you think about it, like Willy E. Cayote looking to finally get the Roadrunner. He won’t stop.
The relevance of the scene below is also powerful for me. It was at this moment we knew that Joker was somebody who can go from one this to that in a split second. And its that sort of personality that makes him very dangerous.
The film also loves to promote IRL technology. Can’t blame them, Samsung is currently kicking ass with their products and seeing their new tablets in various scenes helps reinforce the notion that “I am poor but I need a Samsung tablet”. Sucks.
Will Smith as Deadshot was intense. The guy is going full action hero again, something he’s lost through the years. He’s an honorable bad guy but at the same time a loving dad with a vendetta for Batman. More than that he’s acting as the soul of the team particularly in moments when they’re practically lost. Good job in writing him as the assassin who commands respect even with the soldiers with the side of the angels. We need more Deadshot for the sequels and other projects.
The weakest link here in the movie has to be the Enchantress.
We have a pretty powerful villain here and what does she do? Pretty much nothing. Which is kind of a bummer because we’re being sold a movie with one of it’s tagline being BAD VERSUS EVIL. And yet evil, did nothing. Civilian casualities aside, it didn’t feel grand or big enough. Cara Delevingne’s role here should have been bolstered. There were great parts where she could have just shown how twisted she is but Ayer and co. chose to skip that. They did the Power Rangers route and just presented her as a big bad without really making us hate her. The same goes for her brother.
So what’s left to talk about? The visuals were astounding, the IMAX 3D was just OK. There’s a mid-credit scene so please don’t leave till you hear “Sucker for Pain”. The ending was a meh and expect deaths in the movie.
This Suicide Squad review wants to let you know that the film isn’t half bad. You just need to manage your expectation, not compare it to any Marvel movie and just enjoy the ride. In my humble opinion, Suicide Squad has a flair and style that makes it fresh but flounders from various things here and there.
VERDICT: 7/10
We’ll do be doing a few more Suicide Squad related posts and more reviews from other contributors but as early as now we’d like to thank WARNER BROS. PICTURES PHILIPPINES, GMOVIES and THE DARK KNIGHT PH
