Suicide Squad might be the most frustrating film I’ve seen this summer.
Is it good? Uh…kinda? Ouch…I think I may have just shrugged my shoulders out of their sockets.
Is it horrible? Not really. It doesn’t stoop to the low that was Independence Day Resurgence. But it is incredibly flawed.
There is a good film struggling to get out of Suicide Squad’s messy narrative. There are flourishes of greatness torn down by story problems and super hero movie cliches.
The visual style of the film is crazy and frenetic, matching the colorful characters we’re following. While Suicide Squad is no kaleidoscope of color due to it’s darker thematic tone, it breathes life with subtle uses of color, like Deadshot’s suit or the flourishes of red on Katana’s outfit. The flourishes of color from the explosions or Diablo’s fire or Captain Boomerang’s pink unicorn added life at just the right moments. The drab grays and shadows from Batman v Superman are nowhere to be found. The action is handled well, especially a crowd-pleasing first full squad fight.
But the film’s strength lies in the titular super villains. Will Smith makes a welcome return to “charming-leading-blockbuster-wise-ass” he played at the height of his popularity, but this time with a mature edginess. His Deadshot is a pretty interesting anti hero. Margot Robbie is the definitive live action Harley Quinn and is the lovable center of the film. She owns almost every scene she’s in. The excellent chemistry they have carries the film.
That chemistry extends to the rest of the squad, but the others never have enough screen time for you to get attached. Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) gets a lot of screen time, but doesn’t do anything other than be the jar head soldier. Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje) has some fun moments and the much maligned Jai Courtney is actually quite charming as Boomerang…in a smarmy way. Katana (Karen Fukuhara) has a great look, but literally just shows up and slices things.
The two squad members I had the biggest problem with were Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne). Almost all of Diablo’s lines felt forced or wooden and I have no idea what they were trying to do with the Enchantress. While her look is nice to look at, the acting is so over the top it’s hard to take it seriously.
Then there’s Jared Leto’s Joker. Much like Suicide Squad, there is a good performance in Leto…I just wish he would stop chewing the scenery long enough to do it. This Joker will not be for everyone. There are times when he will make you laugh and there are times when he will annoy you.
And think of the previous introductions of the iconic super villain. Everyone remembers Jack Nicholson’s reveal in 1989’s Batman. We are introduced to Heath Ledger’s Joker in an exciting heist in The Dark Knight. In Suicide Squad, the Joker is introduced in such a matter of fact way, it’s almost like the film barely cares about him. Ultimately, his presence feels unnecessary. And it doesn’t help that many of his scenes are cut to hell.
And that is Suicide Squad’s biggest downfall. The narrative is all over the place. It’s always a challenge to introduce characters in an ensemble cast like this, but the film starts and restarts so many times it gets annoying. We are introduced and reintroduced to characters for no reason. We learn backstories at the most inopportune times. There are time jumps and flashbacks that are unnecessary. In it’s attempt to hold the audience’s hand, it only succeeds in confusing it.
And the big bad villain of the film? I’ll avoid spoilers here, but the villain doesn’t work. It’s shoved in and makes very little sense. And the final confrontation falls into typical super hero movie cliches. Aren’t we supposed to be watching a group of super villains?
Warner Brothers marketed Suicide Squad as an anti-hero film. “Justice Has a Bad Side”…”We need them bad”…”Worst. Heroes. Ever.” While the characters, especially Harley, love to remind us that they are the “bad guys,” the film never fully commits to that. In fact, the only one who stays “villainous” throughout is the excellent Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, the master mind behind the squad’s formation.
There is a very good film buried underneath, but I can’t judge this film by what could have been. While I enjoyed the film, I can’t excuse the frustrating flaws it has.
Score: 5.5 out of 10