Suicide Squad: A Review

Let's just get the backhanded compliment out of the way first. Yes, Suicide Squad is better than Batman vs Superman. But that doesn't mean much. Getting a white hot railroad spike driven directly into your asshole by a pneumatic drill would be better than Batman vs Superman.

Actually watching Suicide Squad, it's not very surprising that the critical reception is one of disappointment. With Batman vs Superman being a gigantic dumpster fire that immediately tarnished Warner Bros. DC Comics brand at the movies, Suicide Squad was put into a position it wasn't meant for. What was originally supposed to be a sleazy, anti-hero side project was instead made to be a redemption for the enterprise. So while it mostly lives up to being the gonzo spin-off it was meant as, it doesn't work as an indication that the DC Cinematic Universe is going to work. No wonder it didn't really warm to critics. But not helping is the fact that it isn't really a very good movie in its own right.


What Suicide Squad is aiming for is to be a kind of scuzzy, B-movie cousin to the bigger, more serious DC and superhero flicks, It's the story of a crew of incarcerated super villains, most prominently Deadshot the world's greatest hitman (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn, the Joker's psychotic sidekick and girlfriend (Margot Robbie), recruited by the US government to act as a black ops unit for suicide missions. If they succeed, the villains get reduced prison time. If they fail, they die. Their mission for the film is to enter a deserted city under siege by the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), a centuries-old witch bent on world conquest and kill her. As a setup, that's pretty great and it's refreshing that the film doesn't waste any time setting up the team.

The titular Squad. Bunch of weirdoes.

Knowing the film is going for something a bit more Punk-rock helps explain some questionable decisions. The misogyny towards many of the female characters and the stereotypes masking as characterization wouldn't feel out of place in a lower-budget, exploitation flick pumped out by a schlock house studio. The problem is that the movie doesn't really commit to that feel, it pulls its punches on going full on crazy in the way the kind of films its aping are infamous for. This feels a lot like studio interference. After the massive failure of Batman vs Superman, it feels like they came in and tried to push Suicide Squad  back into the mold of a conventional Superhero blockbuster. This is probably why it borrows the already cliched climax setup from The Avengers of having the villain in one central location with a doomsday device and the heroes (or protagonists, in this case) have to fight through an army of boring henchmen to get there.

Studio meddling would also explain why the film feels like it was savaged in the editing room. Aside from the mission, the film has no clear narrative through line connecting all the events of the story. Certain elements are introduced like they'll be important before completing disappearing and other elements just come out of nowhere. The Enchantress' actual plan is also vague at best; she says she's making a weapon but it's not clear what that means, at first releasing her brother seems important but he doesn't do anything important, and near the end she tries to recruit the squad for no reason. All this slash & hack work just murders the character work. Besides Deadshot & Harley Quinn, the other squad members get extremely broad or flat characterizations and I could have forgiven that if the film had stuck to its B-movie roots. Then that would have fit. The second act is also a complete mess, so when we get to the end where the squad is supposed to have bonded through adversity and become a real team it makes no sense or impact. They cut out all the development and interactions which would have made their coming together make sense.

This Joker's (Jared Leto) not funny.

What really saves the film is the cast. Will Smith is great as usual, and it's interesting to see his usual Fresh Prince action movie persona cast in the role of "Villain" for once. Margot Robbie is a treat as Harley Quinn, a perfect realization of the character even if I hate her overly "Male Gaze" fan service costume. Seriously, I hate the sex doll Harley Quinn look. The MVP is Viola Davis as the Squad handler Amanda Waller. She's just an ice-cold Queen Bitch who intimidates and overwhelms every one else anytime she comes on screen. Which is even more notable because her character is much more subdued in comparison to the colorful, quirky Squad members. But as for the big question mark, Jared Leto as the Joker, I'm firmly in the negative camp dear reader. It's certainly an interesting take on the iconic character, and Leto is trying to make it his own, but he never pulls it off. He just doesn't have the on-screen presence and I didn't fell like I was every really watching the Joker as I know him. Maybe he should have sent his cast mates more dead pigs.

I can't help but find Suicide Squad somewhat disappointing. It doesn't work as the sleazy B-movie it's aiming at being and it doesn't work as the DC Cinematic Hail Mary pass the studio wanted it to be. Still, it's not completely terrible. The cast is having fun at least and their energy is a little infectious. What the film could have used more of was just seeing these oddball characters interacting with each other before getting into standard superhero action. There is a genuinely good movie somewhere in this and you can still find bits of it. So if you can dig on its weird Red Bull & Cocaine vibe, you'll probably like Suicide Squad. It's at least trying to be fun.

Final Score: 3/5