Enter a world of violence, explosions, badasses with superpowers, and Harley Quinn cracking people’s skulls open with a baseball bat while blowing bubbles in her gum. Some of DC’s most colorful comic book villains are given the chance to jump off the page and onto the big screen in this movie adaptation of Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer, who’s known for his work on Fury and End of Watch. With so many brutal, dangerous criminals from the DC Universe taking the spotlight, it has to be a compelling movie… right?
Well, it isn’t terrible. An original movie about supervillains forming a squad to fight crime is an intriguing concept, especially during this era of never-ending remakes and sequels. Also, unlike a lot of other action movies, the violence isn’t just senseless. Members of the Squad use their powers to assist a secret government organization because they receive reduced prison sentences in return – plus, some of them are being blackmailed. If they try to escape while they’re out fighting crime, nanobombs implanted in their necks will explode and kill them. How fun!
On top of having an interesting plot, the film is a visual spectacle from start to finish, with incredibly entertaining special effects during the fight scenes. This really breathes life into the interesting rag-tag bunch of criminals who make up the Squad, including a mutated crocodile man and a gangster with pyrokinetic abilities.
Nearly every character is played by an amazing actor/actress who is able to portray the depth of their backstory. Margot Robbie (The Legend of Tarzan, Focus) stars as the beautifully psychotic Harley Quinn, bringing the perfect balance of clever and crazy to the popular comic book villain. Will Smith (Focus, Men In Black 3) is great as always in his role as Deadshot, an expert marksman with a soft spot for his young daughter. Robbie and Smith both starred in Focus together, and their on-screen chemistry is noticeably compelling. Then there’s the lovely Cara Delevingne (Paper Towns, Kids in Love) who plays the sweet-natured archeologist June Moone. After this innocent character finds an artifact and gets possessed by the ancient, evil spirit Enchantress, Delevingne is able to transition between the two roles with ease.
Oh wait, there’s also Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club, Mr. Noboby) as The Joker, how could I forget? Probably because he’s barely in the movie at all, despite all the hype. It’s bittersweet to see so much of the wonderfully charming and violent Harley Quinn and so little of The Joker, whose appearance in this film was highly anticipated. However, even the scenes where he makes a rare appearance seem… off. Is it because his silly, unintimidating grill makes him look more like a wannabe rapper than a killer, his cruelty and brutality fall short of expectations, or Leto’s acting lacks a certain je ne sais quoi? Sure, he laughs in a somewhat creepy way, but with a fan-favorite villain as iconic as The Joker, Leto certainly isn’t as convincing in the role as previous actors have been.
The Joker isn’t the only character who doesn’t get enough screen time. There are so many members of the Squad that it’s difficult to keep track of their backstories, superpowers, and personalities. It was a valiant effort to try cramming so many interesting characters into one movie, but Ayer bit off more than he could chew. Unfortunately, less screen time for each character means less characterization. Samurai warrior Katana is written as a stereotypical Asian character, Killer Croc barely has any lines, and they’re far from the only characters who come off as generic. Come on, just because they’re comic book characters doesn’t mean their personalities should be two-dimensional.
Introducing all the members of the Squad, along with a slew of other characters, seriously slows down the pace of the movie. It takes a long, long time for the Suicide Squad to form, let alone get into battle. But hey, although the pace is slow, the dazzling visual appeal and the talented actors/actresses will likely hold your attention anyway. Once the exposition is finally out of the way, the action-packed fight scenes are epic to watch. The stakes are high, the bits of comic relief are refreshing, and it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.
Bottom line: It’s worth a watch, just don’t set your expectations too high and enjoy the ride.
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