"Suicide Squad" Review

After two polarizing first films (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Warner Brothers and the DC Comics Extended Universe could really use a hit. They need a picture that gels both with critics and audiences to prove that they can do everything that Marvel and the Avengers movies can. As such, we've all been anxiously awaiting writer/director David Ayer's Suicide Squad with bated breath. We've seen wacky trailers, incredible posters, and promising promotional images for at least two years now. Surely these "bad guys" would be the ones to right the DCEU ship and deliver a satisfying, offbeat thrill-ride.

This week I sat down in my IMAX seat, 3D glasses on, waiting to fall in love with the Suicide Squad, but they might as well have stood me up. Considering the amount of hype that went into this thing, David Ayer's Suicide Squad is the biggest cinematic letdown in recent memory.

Believe it and accept it, folks. Rotten Tomatoes isn't out to get anybody, and this reviewer sure as shit isn't being paid to say so. The movie just really isn't anything special.

The first act is comprised of the same plot point reiterated at least 3-4 times. Intelligence officer Amanda Waller (a steely Viola Davis) meets with a handful of her superiors no less than twice to discuss her wishes of putting a strike team of supervillains together. With Superman out of the picture for now, the idea is that this "suicide squad" is to act as a contingency against "metahumans" who don't abide by America's best interests. Then we get scenes introducing each individual character as Waller runs down the roster. Each scene has a sort of funky appeal to it, whether by the characters themselves or some slick filmmaking on Ayer's part. For example, there's a great flashback scene between Deadshot (Will Smith) and Batman (Ben Affleck) which also introduces Deadshot's relationship with his daughter. Later, the Enchantress (Cara Delevigne) is introduced by way of some solid horror elements reminiscent of both Indiana Jones and Neil Marshall's The Descent.

The second act sees the team of misfits out on a mission in Central City, home of The Flash. One might expect him to turn up if there were evil afoot in his hometown. In fact, that would've been an interesting dynamic to explore - the Squad and Flash showing up to fight the same baddie and then, perhaps reluctantly, joining forces. Sadly that never happens. First, the Suicide Squad is tasked with rescuing a target from the top floor of a high-rise building. Next, they're sent to stop the Enchantress from building a machine which will wipe out most of the world.

Zzzzzzz...

When the Squad finally gets together, the whole movie ends up following a hokey plot we've seen a million times before in comic book movies and video games - kill a horde of monster henchmen to get to the final boss who's hellbent on global domination/destruction. Not to mention all of this stinks of the Joel Schumacher era. But where his Batman movies embraced and explored cartoonish camp, Suicide Squad still curiously remains grounded in reality. By trying to capture both the campy side and the gritty side of the material, the film loses its sense of identity, if it even had one to begin with. It tries so desperately to capture the manic outlaw spirit of Guardians of the Galaxy and the irreverent nihilism of Deadpool that the story feels like a shallow afterthought.

Speaking of shallow, the only characters worth their salt out of this entire cast are Deadshot, Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and, for me, Diablo (Jay Hernandez). Diablo has an interesting backstory which informs his character and makes his arc possibly the most interesting of the film. As Harley, Robbie pulls off the seductive killer minx thing as well as anyone could've expected. The movie shines when she's on-screen, as long as it's not alongside the Joker (Jared Leto). Historically, I've enjoyed Leto's work both as an actor and musician, but I was disgusted by this interpretation of the Joker. As he sits in a secluded booth at the back of the strip club, decked out in gold chains and fur coat, with bodyguards on either side and Rick Ross bumping in the background, we have to wonder just when exactly the Joker became Suge Knight. Leto plays it like Tupac-meets-Tony Montana-meets-Jim Carrey. That's a curious combination which never once worked for me. We'll likely see him again, but I'm not looking forward to it.

The remaining members of this refreshingly diverse cast are all mostly squandered. Slipknot (Adam Beach) is around maybe for five minutes. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is your average military-man character. Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) mostly just growls in the background save for a couple of barely-audible lines. But, hey, that makeup is impressive! Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) has a few kitschy lines and probably represents the high point in Courtney's career. Katana (Karen Fukuhara) is given precious little to do as the Squad's watch dog. Her backstory is glossed over almost completely, which is sad because she could've been great with more focus.

Really the film's biggest problem is an overabundance of characters and no clue how to handle them. Most of the backstories feel forced, and with so many subplots, it's difficult to tell where the movie's ultimate focus is. Still, all things considered, Suicide Squad is entertaining in spurts. A couple of action scenes here and there are cool, and many of the actors do strong work. The film also certainly represents a welcome shift in tone for the DCEU, but it should've come in a film with a stronger story and a deeper understanding of its characters. If you've been excited to see Suicide Squad, by all means, go buy a ticket. I don't think anyone should ever be dissuaded from seeing a movie they've been eager to support. Just temper your expectations and pray that the excellent Wonder Woman trailers don't go down in history as evidence of a similar fluke.

C-