Suicide Squad

I think the IMDb user rating of 6.5 perfectly encapsulates what to expect. I use the site mainly to calibrate my expectations before watching a blockbuster or decide to invest my time in giving an indie feature a chance.

Suicide Squad has such star power and superhero connections that I was going to watch it no matter what the user reviews said (I always disregard critic reviews as they rarely are helpful) and feel like many viewers were going to as well.

The movie has cool set pieces, action scenes and fantastic costumes. However, the plot is so muddled and choppy it detracts from the viewing experience. Another weak link is the enemy - no real backstory to draw us in, almost no explanation on what the enemy is building, and almost laughable minions for the "heroes" to combat.

There are so many cool characters, I think the movie and plot would have been better served if this had been Part I of a series, rather a stand alone movie.

I read an article that stated David Ayer only had six weeks to put a script together and it unfortunately it shows. I felt like I was watching a long trailer - cool and fun scenes that were disconnected from each other.

I certainly won't say to pass on this, especially comic book fans, but be warned it is a let down. Especially, considering the awesome source material the director had to work with.

A film that utterly lacked any substance. There was promise at the beginning with a great opening introducing us to the anti-heroes which was awesome. And then.... Nothing? Stranded such a talented cast fighting comical looking goons and an anti-climax of a villian. The two stars are for Viola Davis and Margot Robbie who give their roles everything. Every other character is disposable and forgettable. And Jared Leto as the Joker? Lets say no more.

We have seen a multitude of superhero movies in recent years, from the ultimate good guys, bad-ass anti-heroes and revisionist takes on the genre. Now there is DC's Suicide Squad, a team of bad-guys who have to do high-risk missions for the American government.

Suicide Squad picks up where Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice left off. Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is a senior government official who wants to create a team of meta-humans to do the dangerous missions. Her recruits include Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). The team is called into action when an incident devastates Midway City and to ensure compliance the members have an explosive device implanted in their necks.

Suicide Squad is at best in its early potions when Amanda Warner introduces us to the members of the squad before their recruitment. It was an expository sequence but it was made with energy as it shows the backstories of the members of the squad, showing their rap sheets in brightly coloured text and embracing its comic book source material - there is a great homage to a famous comic book painting by Alex Ross.

Warner Brothers went full out when searching for its cast and crew, getting David Ayer to write and direct and forming an all star cast. Will Smith and Margot Robbie got the most attention as Deadshot and Harley - Deadshot display Smith's on screen charisma, a smart mouthed criminal who knows how to play hand when negotiating with gangsters and the government. He was one of the most well defined of all the characters, having a rivalry with Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman), a Special Forces soldier who thinks the hit-man would run off. For fans of Smith you get more of what you like. Robbie was a perfect as Harley Quinn - speaking with exaggerated Brooklyn accent Robbie portrayal was like previous iterations in Batman: The Animated Series and the Batman: Arkham games, being a crazy minx who has unhealthy relationship with The Joker. Hernandez was also a standout as El Diablo, a man who wants to suppress his powers and seek some sort of redemption.

Viola Davis and Jared Leto were also great in their supporting roles and hopefully we shall see more of them in the DCEU. Amanda Waller, a Machiavellian woman who would do anything to survive and protect 'national security' - she can become the DCEU's Nick Fury, a woman who does not have any super powers but can handle her own in a world of superheroes and villains. As she says in the film she has a talent for getting people to act against their interest. Leto is a terrific actor, but it was an unenviable task of replacing Heath Ledger as The Joker. Yet he succeeds - Leto's version of The Joker is a cruder and more sadistic character, someone who enjoys violence. The Joker was spurious to the plot, he was only introduced to the film so he can be ready for future DCEU films.

Other characters were poorer presentations. Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a huge bloke and physically looks the part as Killer Croc, but the character may as well not have appeared in the film - he was just a thug and had no characteristics. The pitch of voice was lowered too much to be believable and it became distracting. Delevingne was miscast as Enchantress . Her human alter-ego is meant to be an archaeologist, but she looks like barely graduated from High School let alone have a PHD. When Delevingne first appears as Enchantress she had a creepy look to her, having a dark complexion and black smoke whirling around her. When Enchantress has her completed form she becomes less effective - she did jerky dance movements and her voice was dubbed with an older English voice which did not fit. The point was to make Enchantress other worldly yet it did not work.

Warner Brothers and DC were aiming to make their version of Guardians of the Galaxy. They go to the point where they have a pop soundtrack like their Marvel rivals and are trying to match its tone. The film works best when it shows the relationships between the villains, delving into their past and the conflict of doing their job and their own self-interest. It made for an interesting twist to the superhero genre. However, after the great start Suicide Squad does not stick to its convictions and goes into familiar superhero territory of stopping a big bad guy trying to make a devastating weapon and the film attempts to give the characters a connection with each other, instead of showing them for what they really are, self-interested villains. The film also suffers from writing and editing problems, one character was introduced just so he could be killed.

The problem with the DCEU is it's trying to catch up with the MCU, but by doing that it's trying to do too much too quickly - flooding their franchise with characters without much of an introduction. Marvel Studios were able to play the long game and it benefited the series because all the characters get an introduction and the various sci-fi, fantasy and paramilitary elements. Suicide Squad was a way for the DCEU to quickly introduce their villains (as well as some heroes) and it inexplicitly brings in fantasy ideas like a woman having a sword that captures the souls of the people it kills.

Suicide Squad does not deserve some of the bad reviews it has received; it is still an entertaining and more ballsy attempt at a mainstream superhero film - it has a 15 rating in the UK. Its basic heroics plot is nothing new or that inventive, yet it does work changing up some of superhero (or should it be supervillain?) dynamics and it does a fine job at introducing some of the DC villains.

'Suicide Squad' didn't sound so bad in hindsight. The concept was actually pretty interesting and there is a good deal of talent in the cast. Unfortunately what should have been a winner turned out to be a sore loser, even more of a wasted opportunity than 'Batman vs. Superman'.

The costume and production design is both brooding and vibrantly colourful. There are two performances that are good. One is the enormously fun but also just as deliciously deranged Margot Robbie, her Harley Quinn being the film's most interesting character. The other is a menacing Viola Davis, proving that even a stony face makes one feel uneasy. El Diablo is also entertaining, and one of the few characters to be used right and feel necessary.

However, for me Will Smith didn't work. You don't see him as Deadshot, you see him playing himself in wooden fashion here and plays Deadshot too jovially, something that Deadshot isn't really, that he also had two introductions gives an indication that the writers didn't know how to characterise the character. Enchantress is a pretty lame villain played with all cheese no menace by Cara Delevigne, while Jared Leto's Joker proves pointless and misplaced to the story (other than giving Harley Quinn backstory which wasn't fleshed out enough). Likewise with the Batman of Ben Affleck, while Killer Croc has nothing to do.

One of 'Suicide Squad's' biggest failings is its treatment of the characters. Only Harley Quinn is fully fleshed out, while many characters are either given short shrift or either there was no use to them being there, for example what was the point of having Slipknot and then dispatch the character so quickly and cheaply. This is the consequences of having too many characters and a very muddled story that not only feels rushed but also incredibly confused. The script is equally a mess, with forced and very lazily-written jokes.

Visually, other than the costume and set design, 'Suicide Squad' doesn't have the redeeming value of looking good. Editing is choppy and the special effects range from average at best but mostly amateurish. The action scenes are very routine and less than thrilling, chemistry is extremely limited and suspense is next to zero. Plus the music is too constant and far too loud that it becomes a nauseating assault on the ears.

In conclusion, could have been a fun film but flounders badly due to lame execution that wastes its characters and much of the cast (with only Davis and particularly Robbie standing out). 3/10 Bethany Cox

Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) recruits various criminals from a black site in Louisiana to battle the new unprecedented dangers. June Moone (Cara Delevingne) is an archaeologist who got possessed by a witch named Enchantress. Special forces Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) fell in love with her and leads the group. Floyd Lawton (Will Smith) is assassin Deadshot who can't miss. The most important thing in his life is his daughter. George Harkness (Jai Courtney) is Captain Boomerang. Chato Santana is El Diablo but he has turned pacifist. Waylon Jones is Killer Croc. Tatsu Yamashiro is Katana with a soul stealing sword. There is Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), the psycho love of The Joker (Jared Leto). A powerful danger is unleashed in Midway City and the group is called.

This was critically panned by the majority. I expected more of a mess. The story is simple and easy to follow. No doubt, there are some jarring edits with some disjointed flow. It's a little bothersome but it doesn't make it incomprehensible. The movie just keeps hitting speed bumps with annoying little problems. What's with Enchantress' movements? Her whole character is problematic. Why would Harley Quinn go back? Why would Waller kill everyone? There are varying problems in the writing. On the positive side, these are interesting characters well played by skilled actors. Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared Leto are standouts. Joker and Harley Quinn have a great story together. If anything, this shows potential for these characters into the future.