Suicide Squad (C) Movie Review
A top-secret government project organized by operative Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) brings together a powerful team of super villains, among them are Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Deadshot (Will Smith), to protect the United States from otherworldly monsters.
There may not be a more anticipated film this year than David Ayer's Suicide Squad, a comic book adaptation that had many fans buzzing over a year prior to its release. Ayer, a distinguished action director, made a name for himself as the director of films like End of Watch, Training Day, and Fury. He's a good choice to helm this wildly ambitious, hugely expensive film but studio interference leaves Suicide Squad a lot more muddled than I assume Ayer's end product would look like.
If everyone was having as much fun as Margot Robbie is, this would be a good film. Now, it's not the shitshow critics have painted it to be, but it isn't very great either. Suicide Squad is too self-serious, too bloated, and too generic to transcend the superhero genre and become a solid franchise all on its own. If the film were half as fun as the advertising or trailer below would suggest, it would be more fun than the final product. Like Batman v Superman, DC's other critical bomb this year, it may be too dark and brooding for anyone to having a great time with.
David Ayer has found a few genuinely interesting characters. Harley Quinn, played excellently by Margot Robbie, stands out as the best part of Suicide Squad. She's insane, deliriously unpredictable, and complex. The question begs to be answered, "Is Harley Quinn a feminist icon or the product of a lot of horny comic book fans?" Ayer would have you believing the former. Sure, one of Quinn's goals is to be reunited with her lover, the Joker, but it's not her only goal. Harley's also concerned with saving the world from an ancient witch. But reuniting with Harley Quinn is the Joker's only goal, therefore Ayer successfully flips the gender stereotypes of the film and Harley Quinn becomes a more complex character. But Robbie is such a delight to watch that even this will fade to the background. She's having a blast and so should everyone else.
Will Smith's Deadshot is also a standout. He's an expert assassin, but has a strong relationship with his daughter. Having been locked away for a long time, he misses his daughter and agrees to Amanda Waller's mission with the hope of reconnecting with her. It's a simple plot device to propel his character but it's mildly successful. He's interesting enough and Smith's performance stands as one of the best here.
The problem is, rarely are any more characters given enough depth. All in all, Suicide Squad boasts about ten major characters and has no idea what to do with most of them. Two hours is not enough time to establish all these players, build dramatic arcs, develop them, or get us to care about them. Most of these characters are interesting enough but Ayer doesn't have much else for them to do but fight CGI monsters and run around Gotham City. There are a couple weak scenes that try to bond these characters, perhaps in hope of recreating the joyful group harmony found in Guardians of the Galaxy, but these scenes feel poorly edited, underwritten, and they accomplish little. If Ayer was less concerned with CGI destruction and more concerned with character, Suicide Squad could've been the best version of itself. Instead, what we're given is messy. Still, considering there are so many characters and so much to accomplish in the film's two hour run time, Ayer juggles everything so as to keep Suicide Squad entertaining.
And Suicide Squad is quite entertaining, maybe even more so than MARVEL's latest effort, Captain America: Civil War. I could watch an entire film following the Joker and Harley Quinn. The characters have a distinguished end goal and work to meet that. Not everyone grows from the experience, but a few key players do and that's enough. If Suicide Squad was less ambitious or perhaps longer, it could've been great. The film's editing is choppy, occasionally making it difficult to even follow along. This is surely the fault of studio-mandated reshoots.
I'm sure this review won't deter anyone from seeing the film, as it's making money like crazy. Nor do I want this review to keep you from seeing the film. I hope Suicide Squad makes enough money to inspire a sequel, and I hope that sequel will know what to do with these genuinely fun characters.
FINAL GRADE: C
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language
There may not be a more anticipated film this year than David Ayer's Suicide Squad, a comic book adaptation that had many fans buzzing over a year prior to its release. Ayer, a distinguished action director, made a name for himself as the director of films like End of Watch, Training Day, and Fury. He's a good choice to helm this wildly ambitious, hugely expensive film but studio interference leaves Suicide Squad a lot more muddled than I assume Ayer's end product would look like.
If everyone was having as much fun as Margot Robbie is, this would be a good film. Now, it's not the shitshow critics have painted it to be, but it isn't very great either. Suicide Squad is too self-serious, too bloated, and too generic to transcend the superhero genre and become a solid franchise all on its own. If the film were half as fun as the advertising or trailer below would suggest, it would be more fun than the final product. Like Batman v Superman, DC's other critical bomb this year, it may be too dark and brooding for anyone to having a great time with.
David Ayer has found a few genuinely interesting characters. Harley Quinn, played excellently by Margot Robbie, stands out as the best part of Suicide Squad. She's insane, deliriously unpredictable, and complex. The question begs to be answered, "Is Harley Quinn a feminist icon or the product of a lot of horny comic book fans?" Ayer would have you believing the former. Sure, one of Quinn's goals is to be reunited with her lover, the Joker, but it's not her only goal. Harley's also concerned with saving the world from an ancient witch. But reuniting with Harley Quinn is the Joker's only goal, therefore Ayer successfully flips the gender stereotypes of the film and Harley Quinn becomes a more complex character. But Robbie is such a delight to watch that even this will fade to the background. She's having a blast and so should everyone else.
Will Smith's Deadshot is also a standout. He's an expert assassin, but has a strong relationship with his daughter. Having been locked away for a long time, he misses his daughter and agrees to Amanda Waller's mission with the hope of reconnecting with her. It's a simple plot device to propel his character but it's mildly successful. He's interesting enough and Smith's performance stands as one of the best here.
The problem is, rarely are any more characters given enough depth. All in all, Suicide Squad boasts about ten major characters and has no idea what to do with most of them. Two hours is not enough time to establish all these players, build dramatic arcs, develop them, or get us to care about them. Most of these characters are interesting enough but Ayer doesn't have much else for them to do but fight CGI monsters and run around Gotham City. There are a couple weak scenes that try to bond these characters, perhaps in hope of recreating the joyful group harmony found in Guardians of the Galaxy, but these scenes feel poorly edited, underwritten, and they accomplish little. If Ayer was less concerned with CGI destruction and more concerned with character, Suicide Squad could've been the best version of itself. Instead, what we're given is messy. Still, considering there are so many characters and so much to accomplish in the film's two hour run time, Ayer juggles everything so as to keep Suicide Squad entertaining.
And Suicide Squad is quite entertaining, maybe even more so than MARVEL's latest effort, Captain America: Civil War. I could watch an entire film following the Joker and Harley Quinn. The characters have a distinguished end goal and work to meet that. Not everyone grows from the experience, but a few key players do and that's enough. If Suicide Squad was less ambitious or perhaps longer, it could've been great. The film's editing is choppy, occasionally making it difficult to even follow along. This is surely the fault of studio-mandated reshoots.
I'm sure this review won't deter anyone from seeing the film, as it's making money like crazy. Nor do I want this review to keep you from seeing the film. I hope Suicide Squad makes enough money to inspire a sequel, and I hope that sequel will know what to do with these genuinely fun characters.
FINAL GRADE: C
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language