My Personal Thoughts on "Suicide Squad"
Whilst the presumably unstoppable behemoth that is Marvel has spent the last decade and a half or so in creating their very own rich, expansive and ultra-successful string of comic book franchises, it may seem that DC would have fled for the farthest corner of the room and cowered in defeat until the dust settles. But the answer to that would be a big, fat, unequivocal and resounding “NO”! After the release of the lukewarm Man of Steel and the highly anticipated yet dismally received Dawn of Justice, DC still flat-out refuse to go down without a fight. God knows, they do have a solid foundation of comic book material to sift through and actually make a go of it, at the very least. So, when the slightly lesser known but equally exciting Suicide Squad was announced, the DC and Marvel buzz feed forums lit up like a torch once more. But was the dizzying hype driving the engine of this movie substantiated with a superior DC flagship title? Or what this but another average, or worse still, poorly critiqued production.
The premise is quite simple. Amanda Waller, who works as an intelligence officer for the government, gains permission to build and assign a team to head up a highly sensitive, critical mission. The caveat being all members are recruited from a selection of skilled, vicious criminal convicts. The final squad, given the name of “Task Force X”, are comprised of the following high-profile villainous personalities in no particular order: Deadshot, Harley Quinn, El Diablo, Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and last but not least, Slipknot (played by Will Smith, Margo Robbie, Jay Hernandez, Jai Courtney, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Adam Beach respectively). Led by the charismatic Colonel Rick Flag (played by Joel Kinnaman), the makeshift team set out into the derelict city to take on this mysterious threat that dwells way beyond the shadows of the prison walls.
Now, it must be said that this movie caused something of a stir upon release. The mainstream critics were quick to bear their claws, ready to tear this movie to shreds. However, in stark contrast, public fans opinion polls couldn’t have been more to the contrary. So, I tried pretty damn hard to remain as impartial as possible when viewing this movie for the first time. And I gotta say, I’m throwing in with team “latter”. I really liked this movie. I mean, maybe it’s the dark, brooding visual style that DC is so fond of implementing within their movie-verse. Or possibility their more "serious, non-humorous" approach to the comic book genre as a whole. But I personally think they delivered a pretty solid effort that succeeded in finding that fine balance quite early on. I found the chemistry between the suicide squad to be intriguing as they attempted to figure out each other’s various ulterior motives. This only heightened, especially towards the end of the movie, where they had to put their individualistic priorities to one side, for the greater good of the group. Given the fact that the production team hadn’t been gifted the time to build up their overarching character personas anywhere near how Marvel had, they pulled off an admirable job. Comparing any of the Marvel franchises to this effort is just plain cruel. Try to view these two giants as separate entities in their own right with different agendas. DC know full well the impossible amount of catching up they have to do and I think deserve some credibility for what they have achieved thus far.
A special mention must also go to the various cameos of the Joker (played by Jared Leto) scattered liberally throughout the film. His unhinged, over-the-top performance is something that again, audiences will either love or hate. However, I think he brings his own unique vision of this complex character into the DCU with Leto's own, twisted perspective of deranged magnificence. Just read up some of the stories about him on-set! From his strange relationship with Harley to his guttural linguistic tone, he will be remembered for some time to come. If there are any misgivings to be had with Suicide Squad, they are down to certain character choices made within the plot narrative. Without going into any spoilers, you may gasp in wonderment as to the logic behind a few actions that take place. It will leave you a little confused or perplexed, but the pacing of the movie is such that you can either dwell on those inexplicable reasonings or simply move on. The main villain who is revealed later on, also could have been a little more on the “aggressive” side. But again, you just have to go with it or ruin the rest of the movie trying to ascertain their elemental behaviours and why they don’t adhere to what you think they ought to be.
Suicide Squad is a pretty tight action comic book flick. It could have turned out a hell of a lot worse than it did. And I’m sure secretly Marvel were hoping that’d be the case yet again. And to some extent, it was. But not so much from the voices of the general public. It has a nice plot setup at the start, some classic 70s tracks to get you pumped as well as some great acting all round. Yes, even from the somewhat cursed Jai Courtney (special honourable mentions must go to Margo Robbie and Jared Leto for their performances too). I recommend you give this one a look-see, but going in with an open mind. After all, you may come out the other side pleasantly surprised.
My Verdict: (8.5/10)
Well, at some point we had to disagree on something. I really didn't like this movie, honestly. I might agree with you that some things were worth saving, but overall I found the whole thing to be an unmitigated disaster. The plot was mostly banal and confusing, the characters were uninteresting, except for Deadshot who somehow managed to save the whole bunch. It is true that Marvel has set quite the high bar for this kind of movie, and that maybe 20 years ago my opinion would have been different.
I am somewhat biased by my dislike for Jared Leto in pretty much anything he does. I mean, the guy was born to play over-the-top characters, and yet he manages to be too much even for the characters he plays. I couldn't stand his performance in Blade Runner 2049, an otherwise perfect movie (in my opinion, of course).
Also the fact that every girl feels the need of dressing as Harley Quinn at every comic convention does not help much :P
I don't know, I will probably give this movie another chance out of the sheer respect I nurture for your opinion (which I always found to be aligned with mine), but I'm not sure I'll change my mind about this one :(
Hey there, @ziofeda! Oh, the stars just didn't seem to align on this one, eh, my friend? Never mind, the great thing about "any" movie really is no singular viewing will ever be replicated in the same way. By any of us. That's even more evident by the huge disparity of opinions in the comments, lol! And I get your references to some plot-holes (I couldn't talk much about them without giving too much away, but we both know they do exist). I also feel your dislike for Leto just added fuel to the fire which didn't help the movie from your perspective too, lol. But of course, I completely respect your opinion. Like anything, we predetermine what we are about to see and if it reaches or exceeds those expectations. In this case, for myself, they got pretty high. Possibly because I cut them some slack on the "character building" side of things given time constraints or simply being somewhat "too late to the party"? Not sure, but I still reckon they could have done a whole lot worse with the tools they had to work with.
Thank you for blessing my comment section with your presence and value again. Hopefully the stars "will" re-align once more for the next time... :
Well, you are probably right. I still enjoyed Suicide Squad better than I did Batman vs Superman, and I have to say DC is starting to get in the right direction, I really liked Wonder Woman, for the most part. They still have this way of letting conflicts resolve in what might be defined as bar fights, but they'll get better with that too.
The thing is, you should create a build up of tension and character development before a group movie. Maybe knowing some characters in advance would have helped. In Suicide Squad you don't really care that much about what happens to them because you haven't even had time to know them that well, and I feel that's the main thing that didn't really work with the movie.
Thank you for your kind and unexpected words!
I want to see the original David Ayer cut. This movie was cut by trailer makers. I like it though, they should have just made Joker the main bad guy, instead of the hot mess they went up against.
Once I've hit the midway point, the problems in the beginning disappear and the rest of the film is just pure awesomeness. Also, the movie manages to get almost every single character right. Ma favorite would definitely be Harley. I mean she's insane but still a psychiatrist (I love it when she calls Deadshot a “classic sociopath”). I love the soundtrack too.
8/10
Yes, I agree with your feeling. Harley was a show stealer, as was the Joker in my eyes. Deadshot being a classic sociopath? I loved that witty observation too. Thanks for the nice compliment to my post. :)
I liked it, too, and do not understand the amount of hate that it got. I mean, it has gaping plot holes but it was an enjoyable ride nonetheless. Would've wanted to see more of Slipknot though.
Plus the soundtrack is the bomb.
I share your views, buddy. Sure, there were some points in the movie that didn't add up all that well. But the same could easily be said of most other comic book flicks out there too.
Thanks for dropping by. :)
All I remember from suicide squad are what the characters look like, their personalities, a vague memory of what they said, and the main villain being what all if not most comic book movies are: big video game bosses with countless goons of mediocre strength fighting a tight-knit group of heroes who once hated each other who now getting along. I forgot the meaning of the story already and could only sit through it once. I give it a 4/10 as a movie. Certain facets of it deserve better: An 8/10 for costume design and a 6/10 for special effects (but these can't save a 4/10 movie IMO). Just my opinion. Thanks for the post.
Yeah, I hear ya, buddy. But doesn't the premise you describe sound a little like a certain other blockbuster title from the Marvel universe. Granted, some may say that those films were done better. But the story is generally the same. I feel a lot of the "hate" thrown DC's way is because of a lack of time for character development. But nonetheless, interesting points of view, man. Thank you... :)
I'll agree with @ziofeda on this one. Suicide squad didn't just do it for me. Plot holes and all. I felt Rick Flag was too much on the exposition bit and certain characters were unnecessary—like that red Indian guy at the beginning whose name I blissfully don't know(like what was his purpose in that movie sef). And Katana too, let's not forget Katana.
I loved Deadshot and the humanity they gave him, Harlequin did pretty well too-played the psycho bitch part good. Jared, Jared, Jared...he seemed more psycho gangster than calculating joker, what was up with the grills.
His performance was too over the top. I think Suicide Squad is okay but it would have done better though.
Yes, the comments have been pretty divided as to the opinion of this movie. Though the lore is not as strong as Marvel's. Maybe I cut them a little more slack in that department, lol. And as for the Joker. Well, isn't he just the "marmite" of this movie! I personally found his new take refreshing. But hey, that's just the way it goes... :)
I watched that movie in the theatre and I feel like every movie is better when you watch it there.
Movie was solid, some of characters were great (especially Deadshot), but I kind of expected more from the Joker.
Heath Ledger's Joker is one of my all time favourite characters.
I went there to watch that movie mostly because of Joker character, but I was not very impressed.
Despite that, it was a solid movie.
Yes, I think many people out there expected the Joker to play a more integral part to the main story. But still, I guess that wasn't to be the case. Let's see how his next reprisals go down as the clown-faced madman! :)
Interesting one @ezzy
They definitely picked the right tracks for the movie, other than that i find most of the actions/characters over blown. nice review boss
The tracks were a breath of fresh air and fit in nicely with the general tone of the movie too. :)
I saw it the first time, and it was just ok, but then I saw it a second time and it was much better! Idk why lol! I also liked the soundtrack!
I like your username!
Nice take, bud! I've yet to see it a second time, but most likely will given I thought it was bad decent the first time round. :)
Thank you very much for sharing a nice story with us. I love reading this story. I like to read this story, thank you
It was a mess of a plot. The main villain was the result of forming the team and was powerful enough to the point the rest were not needed while the Enchantress was doing her job. They should have excused it by gathering the team AFTER she escaped their control.