MOVIE REVIEW: SUICIDE SQUAD

Director:
David Ayers

Cast:
Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto

A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency. -IMDB

Another comic book movie from DC! Some may disagree with me, but I don’t think the DC track record has proven itself to be quite so entertaining with the last few entries.

No offense to David Goyer or Zack Snyder, but “Suicide Squad” is what happens when a filmmaker actually “likes” the characters he’s trying to bring to the big screen. David Ayers must’ve really researched this material, because he seems to really get what people want to see in these adaptations.

The story: We get an absolutely fantastic introduction to these characters that instantly let’s you know that we are not in Snyder’s dreary Smallville Kansas anymore. We learn who the bad (and the good ) guys are, and why they may need each other going forward. Everyone has a part to play, although I’m not exactly sure about the purpose of a few characters. They are sent out on a suicide mission impossible and try to navigate through the unstable terrain as more unforseen variables get tossed at them. They are put to a pretty daunting test. So how you feel about the right and wrong of it all depends on how you feel about the characters. There’s a lot of grey areas here.

The characters: Holy Smokes! A few characters I wish had a little bit more development here, but the spotlight ones are a cinematic joyride! Will Smith is clearly having fun playing Deadshot. Of course he’s going to get the best lines of the film because his delivery is so perfect, he might as well have just made them up. He doesn’t disappear into the role, more like sculpt the character to resemble his personality, and it completely works. Margot Robbie IS Harley Quinn. she somehow manages to incorporate ALL the different styles of the character, from the early cartoons, to the video games, to the comics and creates a strong, blended version. David Ayers made sure to give Harley fans what they want. Jared Leto as the Joker, it’s a small role, but his appearances definitely does change the electricity in the room. This feels like more of a “comic book” version of the character, but a nice departure from the “realistic” approach that Heath Ledger created. The surprise characters for me was Viola Davis as Amanda Waller and Jay Hernandez as Diablo. They both brought some depth to these roles that I wasn’t expecting.

It’s not a perfect movie. There’s a little bit of some pacing issues as the “Squad” is heading out to their mission. Also, as with most comic book movies, the villains here could have been a little stronger, character wise. That is a minor quibble, because everything else is so on point, when they get to the good stuff, you are along for the ride.

This is a thrilling, funny, explosive, action, summer popcorn comic book movie. I can’t believe this is only two films away from “Man Of Steel” and it’s starting to feel like the “correct” universe we should be having these adventures in. Thank You David Ayers!!
Also, there’s a mid credit scene, so stay put at first, and there’s absolutlely nothing at the very end.

Grade: 4 out of 5

-Markellus