In a new approach to their cinematic universe, The WB and DC Comics turned away from their mainstream heroes and let the villains come out and play in a movie based on the popular comic of the same name: Suicide Squad. Trying so hard to just not be Marvel, the studio once again went in a totally different direction. This is coming after the universally disliked Batman v Superman, which of course came after the lackluster Man of Steel. Is the third time the charm?
No. No it isn’t.
What could have been an amazing film ends up being exactly what you now expect from a WB/DC movie: a chaotic mess.
It’s not a bad movie. But it sure as hell is far from being a good one. When my first thought after a film is “Well, I didn’t hate it,” that’s not a great sign. It frankly astounds me how far off WB/DC can get from the source martial and still think the movie appeals to fans. The movie is about 65% good, entertaining even, but then that last 35% really messes everything up so bad you leave the theater in bewilderment. It’s such a mess in places you wonder what happened.
Well here’s a theory: with audiences’ less-than-stellar reaction to Batman v Superman and the studio being so worried about what will happen next, they decided to change the direction of the film while it was already filming. Starting with David Ayer’s darker take on a group of villainous misfits, the studio added in a romp that focused on splashy effects and pop-song-infused humor that resonated in the trailers. Mash them together and you get the mess that is Suicide Squad. The themes and tones are all over the map. Some could say that’s what they were going for because of who the movie deals with, but lets be honest, they’re just not that artsy.
Okay, it’s simple: (and if you’ve seen any trailers, not only have you seen all the best Harley bits but also you’ve pretty much seen the whole movie) Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) puts together a team of the worst of the worst. She handpicks super-villains, puts nano-bombs in their necks, and basically blackmails them into doing her dirty work for the government.
Her team is lead by Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) who must watch over: Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Along for the ride to help Rick out is Katana (Karen Fukuhara) and due to plot the Joker (Jared Leto) shows up for the fun. The Squad has been gathered to go and stop Waller’s special-secret-weapon/agent who goes rogue, The Enchantress (Cara Delevingne).
The Enchantress works her magic, freeing herself from Waller’s grasp, and decides to destroy the world for…reasons. Never said really. She then begins dancing around and making a magic weapon. A weapon the movie never shows, or explains what it does, or how it works. It’s just a weapon that will kill everyone for, again, unclear reasons. Using some of the worst CGI in the movie she dances with a CGI body, CGI costume, and even CGI hair. (In the process making the Green Lantern costume look better.) Then the Suicide Squad is brought in to stop her. Yup. That’s it people. That’s the whole plot.
The whole first hour is just telling you all about the squad. Well, Deadshot and Harley anyway. The rest of the team doesn’t get many lines or a backstory as to why they’re there. The movie really is all about Will Smith and Margot Robbie. Hernandez’s El Diablo gets some screen time that’s worthwhile, but Croc, Boomerang, and Katana might as well have not been there. They’re two-dimensional at best. It puts all the time and focus onto Robbie and Smith, who both are great. Smith really nails the part of Floyd Lawton as the assassin for hire with a code. Robbie plays Harley just as crazy as you would expect in the universe the studio has set up. Is she Harley Quinn? No, not even close, but she does a good job of trying. She might even get there in another movie with better writing.
We get backstory and flashbacks to Harley and Deadshot throughout the movie. There were many moments the script could have given some character development to any other Squad member, but the filmmakers just focused more on Harley and Deadshot. It felt forced, with backstory popping up in the most unusual places during the movie.
Now if you can get past how stupid the Joker looks you can see the wonderful performance Leto is doing. His performance is so interesting to watch you can get past his terrible Hot Topic look. There is no Joker like his. It’s his own thing for sure. And there are a few scenes where he makes you feel uneasy, but never terror.
Never once does Leto bring any unpredictability to his version. You can pretty much guess what the Joker is going to do from scene to scene. And I believe that’s due to someone writing him that doesn’t have an understanding of the Joker himself. What makes him such a great character is that you don’t know what he’s going to do next: something that Ledger, Nicholson, and Hamill managed to do masterfully.
Leto comes in with a small bang and unleashes some power, but nothing like the trailer would have you believe. In another, better movie Leto’s Joker could be one of the best we’ve seen, but here he’s wasted like so many other characters.
Yes there are some impressive action beats and some great JLA cameos that do make up for some weaker parts of the movie. But overall you can see the red marks and studio notes all over the movie. Like BvS, there’s too many cooks in the kitchen. This should have been WB/DC’s Deadpool. This should have been balls-to-the-walls-crazy with over the top humor and action. And there are moments where you see how they might have done it, but it’s quickly cut out. It seems the studio was so worried by their last two attempts they made sure everything stays middle of the road and safe, taking no chance on what could have been amazing. It’s a shame.
Overall the movie is fine, 65% of it even. It has some great moments and just seeing these characters brought to life on screen is a joy. But everything else falls apart around them. The movie should have been about more than just Deadshot and Harley, more action, less will-they-won’t-they scenes and way less music. It was like a bad music video collection that couldn’t decide if it was classic rock or bad hip-hop. Every scene had a new song, and it became very distracting.
But with all that, a good time still can be had. You just have to make peace once again that these aren’t the characters you know and love, which at this point should just be the WB/DC motto.
