Suicide Squad.
"What are we? Some kind of suicide squad?" - Deadshot. *Facepalm*
Director: David Ayer. Atlas Entertainment, DC Comics, DC Entertainment, et al.
Action/ Comedy/ Comic.
Two and a half stars
Cast & Credits.
Producers: Charles Roven, Richard Suckle.
Writer: David Ayer.
Camera: Roman Vasyanov.
Music: Steven Price.
Sets: Oliver Scholl.
Will Smith, Margot Davis, Joel Kinnerman, Jared Leto, Jay Hernandez, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Karen Fukuhara.
Synopsis:
Since the absence of Superman, Amanda Waller (Davis) poses the question; what if our next alien to come to Earth tries to kill us all? Her response is to create and blackmail a disposable team of the "baddest of the bad", and send them on dangerous missions to protect us. When a new threat makes herself present, Waller begins her task force. With weapons in arms and a chip in their neck that'll explode should they try and escape, a group of villains are sent to defeat it.
Review:
Suicide Squad was set up to be one of the biggest films of the year. And after the critically panned BVS, people were desperately hoping that Suicide Squad would be the film to put DC back on track. The film was finally released, and Rotten Tomatoes and its critics were unkind. This has resulted in DC fans attempting to get rid of the film reviewing website. I believe these fans need to let go of their blind love and realise that Suicide Squad doesn't deserve this level of adoration.
What I found extremely frustrating was the overly used sanguine song choices for the soundtrack. The word is that after Batman Vs Superman (2016) was criticised for being too dark, Suicide Squad was reworked to be more upbeat, à la Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). But whereas the latter's music worked within its storyline, Suicide Squad's soundtrack was loud, abrasive, at times unnecessary, and belittling to its audience.
Let me explain; there's a scene in which the squad are reunited with their weapons and The Real Slim Shady is playing, because in case you didn't realise, they are "back, back again." We spend more time with our villains, and Sympathy for the Devil starts. It's almost as bad as the characters reminding us every ten minutes that they're the "bad guys". It's basically as if the director doesn't believe we are going to follow the plot without the music helping our tiny brains.
But, maybe we do need help, because there was times when I was totally lost. I'm still a little unsure what Enchantress' (Delevingne) evil goal was. Something about a machine or a portal? Rick Flag (Kinnerman) earlier in the film is disgusted that the Squad kill people, and yet he's fine with Waller killing innocent coworkers because of....security reasons. Huh? And just how did Captain Boomerang (Courtney) get to be in the same league as the others, when all he can do is throw boomerangs...which are ineffective against God like monsters?
And sadly we never get to find out, because character development is as slim as Slim Shady himself. With the exception of Deadshot (Smith) and Harley (Robbie), other Squad members are pushed to the sideline.
El Diablo (Hernandez) is an interesting character with a poignant backstory, but isn't utilised as much as he should be. Killer Croc (Akinnuoye-Agbaje) seems compelling, he is a guy who because was treated like an animal, started acting like one. He becomes reduced to noises of agreement and one liners. Katana (Fukuhara) has a sword that traps the souls of its victims within it, one of the souls being her husband, and her presence is like only in two scenes!! The film tries to squeeze in so many characters, that unfortunately it becomes weak.
Which is a shame, because the strongest element of the film is its cast. By the end of the film, you do believe this group of misfits have bonded with one another, and that is down to the chemistry and charm the actors bring to one another in the film.
Will Smith is of course bringing his typecast suaveness and overall likeability to the team. He's dramatic, but also shows sarcastic wit. He's vicious and ruthless, but he also has a heart of gold. Smith excels playing these type of emotionally torn characters, and Deadshot further proves this.
Margot Robbie's portrayal of Harley Quinn is proving to be popular. We finally get to see the beloved character on the big screen, and she is played beautifully. A collect audience will also enjoy Robbie herself. This was made evident by the many dubious noises the guys next to me in the cinema were making every time the camera was in line with her backside.
Of course Harley is nothing without her puddin', and thus The Joker (Leto) is thrown in to the mix. For better or worst, he is not featured that much. I'm not a fan of his design, and his voice at times can be grating, but I do like his small character arch. He's a mobster who is looking to find and save Harley. Now that is a refreshing take! Mr J actually appears to be in love!
The cast all round is impressive....bar one. Cara Delevingne. Watching her as our main villain has got to be one of the worst sights I have had to put my poor eyeballs through.
I really did want to enjoy this film, and sometimes I did.
There are little specks of genius in this film that prove that somewhere in this setup is a great film. The action is decent, the comradery is enjoyable to see, and the chemistry between Joker and Harley brings in an unique take. Sadly it is overshadowed by cliches and an undeveloped storyline. Ironically, I feel like if any DC film should have been gritty and dark, it should have been this one!
This should have been the serious and completely adult comic film.
