So...Suicide Squad. When the cast was announced, I was excited. After the first trailer, my excitement peaked. As a big fan of the Joker, I was approaching this film with trepidation as Jared Leto had some big shoes to fill following Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson. And after the disappointing Batman V Superman and the bad critic reviews of this film, my excitement had cooled. So how was it? Read on, true believer. I try to keep the review as spoiler-free as possible.
The Plot
If you've seen the trailers, you know the basic gist. The government puts together a team of the worst villains to take down an even bigger threat. The team is completely expendable and the leash holders have maximum deniability. The fate of the world rests on the shoulders of thieves and killers. What could possibly go wrong?
What Worked
1. Will Smith - No. Seriously. This is the best I've seen Smith in a long time. His character is layered and nuanced. Yes he's a stone cold killer but you also relate to him and his relationship with his daughter. He also has one of the best action scenes in the film. Smith does for Deadshot what Chris Pratt did for Star-Lord. He may not play the character exactly like the one from the comics but he infuses his natural character into it and makes something better.
2. Margot Robbie - when she was announced as Harley Quinn, I knew the character was in good hands. And she did not disappoint. She's batshit insane, sexy, sad, and playful, sometimes all at once. I could watch a movie with her and Deadshot as the leads and be perfectly happy.
3. Jay Hernandez - El Diablo is a pretty forgettable character and the way he was written could easily have gotten melodramatic fast. But Hernandez is the heart of the film, infusing the role with melancholy and regret.
4. The Music - not since Guardians of the Galaxy have I walked out of a movie and immediately wanted to buy the soundtrack. The pop songs are all well chosen and go with each scene perfectly, even though they're all different genres and from different time periods. Great work.
5. Jared Leto - I know that Leto's performance is a point of contention for a lot of critics but I think it's unfair criticism. Leto's Joker, unlike Ledger and Nicholson, is not a main character. He's basically an extended cameo. He doesn't get a story arc and not a lot of scenes to explore him as a character. Which is a shame, really as what's there is ridiculously good. In every scene he's like a coiled snake ready to strike. But you don't know if he's going to kill you or kiss you. This is actually the first Joker I've seen that I could completely believe would shoot Barbara Gordon in the spine and torture Jim Gordon. I can't wait to see him as a main villain.
What Didn't Work
1. The Plot - as you can see above, 4 out of the 5 things that worked were performances by the actors. That's because the plot is terrible and very predictable. It's basically the original Ghostbusters without the snark or sarcasm. The movie is literally saved by the character relationships and performances.
2. Generic Villains - yes I just praised the characters but that doesn't extend to the villains. They aren't developed at all. You don't really know what their doomsday machine does or why they want to take over the world. There's no background and no motivation. But hey, at least they're in good company with the weirdo elf from Thor 2 and Ronan from Guardians of the Galaxy.
3. The Pacing - no, the pacing isn't Batman V Superman bad but it's still pretty bad. It almost feels like 2 different movies that were Frankensteined together: a gaudy music video like movie in the first 20 minutes and a slower character piece later. So there are times when it feels fast paced and then it slows to a crawl unexpectedly. Characters come and go without notice or fanfare. I suspect there was a lot left on the cutting room floor.
In Conclusion
I actually really liked the movie. For all its flaws, the actors and their characters really helped me overlook them. The movie is fun with great protagonists and fantastic music. I'm not quite sure why it's gotten such a beatdown by the critics. Is it perfect? No. But the good far outweigh the bad, in my opinion. I know I said no spoilers but there is a scene at a bar near the end of the film in which the characters really open up about themselves. The scene is funny yet painful and honest. I would watch an entire film with scenes just like this, that's how good it was. As it is, the movie is good enough that I'm really looking forward to what else is in store for this band of misfits. Sometimes being bad can be so good.
