REVIEW: SUICIDE SQUAD
When I was young, and had no friends, and wrote comics as a kid ripping off Spider-Man, I always took a huge delight in figuring out who my villain would be that issue (issue meaning two pieces of looseleaf paper I stapled together and only I read). 90% of them would be plagiarized, but I still enjoyed adding the little quirks or potential powers from my villains who would be introduced with little backstory, then about a page of crudely-drawn action, then they would usually get killed. I guess I had a very black and white sense of justice in those days. But while my protagonists stayed fairly static, it was always a blast thinking up villains when I sat down to write and draw. Antagonists can be the most memorable part of your movie (take note, Marvel), but can a whole movie full of them come off as too bloated? David Ayer answers that question in Suicide Squad, a definitely flawed but firecracker time in the theaters.
When you go to college you take a lot of personality tests, and one that pops up a lot is "I let the opinion of critics affect a movie I want to watch." I always feel like a sheep, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't true. I try to avoid it now, but in the past a Rotten Tomatoes score could definitely have an impact on whether I liked a movie or not. If it was in the 90% and I wasn't enjoying it, I thought maybe I wasn't watching the movie right. That definitely isn't the way one should go in to a theater. A petition was signed to shut down Rotten Tomatoes after this film got a <30 fluctuates="" i="" it="" since="">Batman v Superman
got a similar rating some people threw a temper tantrum. I thought it was utterly ridiculous, so I just went with word of mouth. Not a big helper there: still fairly mixed, with the crowd leaning towards a thumbs up, less towards the RT gladiator thumbs down. So...I went in with lowered expectations, but looking to be entertained.
I know a whole paragraph devoted to expectations might seem a little excessive, but I can't stress how essential it is when going into Suicide Squad to have the right set of expectations. Because if you go in ready to love it, you may be disappointed. If you go in ready to tear it up, you'll find lots of material for just that cause. But with lowered expectations, you can seriously have a ball with this squad. I know I did. The plot...well, even talking about the plot reveals how thin it is. Viola Davis' Amanda Waller (who definitely shines in a marvelous ensemble) comes in with the rather brilliant idea to assemble a gaggle of powerful, imprisoned "bad guys" together to help reduce crime. If they fail, they die/they get the blame pinned on them. If they succeed, they get some time reduced from their sentences. In her efforts to try to get the team together, Waller unknowingly helps create the film's villain. To cover her mistake, she sends the Suicide Squad (whose titular name is said in a half-cheesy, half-only-Will-Smith-could-deliver-it-this-amazing way) on a mission to take this enemy down, under the guise of it being a "terrorist" attack.
Anyone who knows me know I have a soft-side for the actress who plays the villain, which I won't reveal since it's some what of a spoiler, but even I can't deny that she is the weakest part of the film. I also wasn't huge on Jared Leto's portrayal of what I would call the "gangsta" incarnation of comic books' most iconic antagonist. Leto, with his shining grill, devoured all the scenery he was in, and for me it was hammy. But there were shining moments of potential, and from his antics, he seemed to be largely in character throughout it, so I eagerly await a Joker/Harley spinoff. Speaking of which: goodness gracious. From the moment she enticed us onscreen in The Wolf of Wall Street to her literally bubbly appearance in The Big Short, Margot Robbie has shown us her capabilities as an actress are limitless. Her Harley is unpredictable, a sexpot who would bash your face in with a mallet before she'd let you touch her. Her loyalties lie with Mr. J, and the oft-lamented tragedy of "70% of their scenes together getting cut" is definitely something I would've loved to have stayed in. If BvS was two and a half hours, I think this posse film could've definitely stood to be longer.
In fact, in talking with my friend who saw this with me, we both agreed the film felt like a two hour climax. Which is more of an observation than a critique. I don't think I've had a quicker time at the movies in recent memory. There were just always fascinating things onscreen, characters you wanted to get to know, rapid action scenes. When the film slows down a bit at a bar, and you get a little information into other's lives, it was wonderful. My personal favorite part of the film was seeing Diablo's backstory, and not to spoil anything, but what a fascinating character study, and you see how his powers reflected his lifestyle as a man on the streets. We don't get a ton of information on the other Squad members, but like Robbie, Will Smith reminds why we fell in love with him in the first place as Deadshot. There's enough of the Smith persona mixed in with a lot of anger and resentment over not being able to see his daughter, the one thing that softens up what seems like a very hard-tempered character.
And it's a real shame because David Ayers has proven skilled in writing an ensemble picture (Fury) and you could tell where the studio put its fingers. When Waller is introducing the squad it looks like something Warner Brothers would put on their Twitter page, full of cutesy sayings and irreverent information. Did they think people would understand Captain Boomerang's pink unicorn fetish? Tell us why! Killer Croc has a line at the end that is confusingly maybe-racist. Ayer allegedly went for a very dark tone with the film, and after BvS got trashed for being too dark and menacing the studio wanted to lighten things up. For me the jokes mostly worked, but it would've been intriguing to see what a gritty Suicide Squad would've looked like. I'm sick of the true vision being released on DVD five months after they've collected our money for the theatrical cut. We're going to go to your movie whether it's a comedy or a drama, three hours or 90 minutes. To the studios: have faith in your audience. As I said earlier, it's all about how you go into this film whether you like it or not. Despite some serious flaws (Was Eminem's "Without Me" essential to that certain scene?) I still had a blast with this squad.
Rating: 2.5/4 stars
PS: Forgot to add that one Squad member really struck my fancy: Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flagg. He was a great glue of the supervillains, with a relatable and heartbreaking backstory. Kinnaman's become one of my favorites with his slimy turn as Will Conway on "House of Cards."
When you go to college you take a lot of personality tests, and one that pops up a lot is "I let the opinion of critics affect a movie I want to watch." I always feel like a sheep, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't true. I try to avoid it now, but in the past a Rotten Tomatoes score could definitely have an impact on whether I liked a movie or not. If it was in the 90% and I wasn't enjoying it, I thought maybe I wasn't watching the movie right. That definitely isn't the way one should go in to a theater. A petition was signed to shut down Rotten Tomatoes after this film got a <30 fluctuates="" i="" it="" since="">Batman v Superman
got a similar rating some people threw a temper tantrum. I thought it was utterly ridiculous, so I just went with word of mouth. Not a big helper there: still fairly mixed, with the crowd leaning towards a thumbs up, less towards the RT gladiator thumbs down. So...I went in with lowered expectations, but looking to be entertained.
I know a whole paragraph devoted to expectations might seem a little excessive, but I can't stress how essential it is when going into Suicide Squad to have the right set of expectations. Because if you go in ready to love it, you may be disappointed. If you go in ready to tear it up, you'll find lots of material for just that cause. But with lowered expectations, you can seriously have a ball with this squad. I know I did. The plot...well, even talking about the plot reveals how thin it is. Viola Davis' Amanda Waller (who definitely shines in a marvelous ensemble) comes in with the rather brilliant idea to assemble a gaggle of powerful, imprisoned "bad guys" together to help reduce crime. If they fail, they die/they get the blame pinned on them. If they succeed, they get some time reduced from their sentences. In her efforts to try to get the team together, Waller unknowingly helps create the film's villain. To cover her mistake, she sends the Suicide Squad (whose titular name is said in a half-cheesy, half-only-Will-Smith-could-deliver-it-this-amazing way) on a mission to take this enemy down, under the guise of it being a "terrorist" attack. Anyone who knows me know I have a soft-side for the actress who plays the villain, which I won't reveal since it's some what of a spoiler, but even I can't deny that she is the weakest part of the film. I also wasn't huge on Jared Leto's portrayal of what I would call the "gangsta" incarnation of comic books' most iconic antagonist. Leto, with his shining grill, devoured all the scenery he was in, and for me it was hammy. But there were shining moments of potential, and from his antics, he seemed to be largely in character throughout it, so I eagerly await a Joker/Harley spinoff. Speaking of which: goodness gracious. From the moment she enticed us onscreen in The Wolf of Wall Street to her literally bubbly appearance in The Big Short, Margot Robbie has shown us her capabilities as an actress are limitless. Her Harley is unpredictable, a sexpot who would bash your face in with a mallet before she'd let you touch her. Her loyalties lie with Mr. J, and the oft-lamented tragedy of "70% of their scenes together getting cut" is definitely something I would've loved to have stayed in. If BvS was two and a half hours, I think this posse film could've definitely stood to be longer.
In fact, in talking with my friend who saw this with me, we both agreed the film felt like a two hour climax. Which is more of an observation than a critique. I don't think I've had a quicker time at the movies in recent memory. There were just always fascinating things onscreen, characters you wanted to get to know, rapid action scenes. When the film slows down a bit at a bar, and you get a little information into other's lives, it was wonderful. My personal favorite part of the film was seeing Diablo's backstory, and not to spoil anything, but what a fascinating character study, and you see how his powers reflected his lifestyle as a man on the streets. We don't get a ton of information on the other Squad members, but like Robbie, Will Smith reminds why we fell in love with him in the first place as Deadshot. There's enough of the Smith persona mixed in with a lot of anger and resentment over not being able to see his daughter, the one thing that softens up what seems like a very hard-tempered character.And it's a real shame because David Ayers has proven skilled in writing an ensemble picture (Fury) and you could tell where the studio put its fingers. When Waller is introducing the squad it looks like something Warner Brothers would put on their Twitter page, full of cutesy sayings and irreverent information. Did they think people would understand Captain Boomerang's pink unicorn fetish? Tell us why! Killer Croc has a line at the end that is confusingly maybe-racist. Ayer allegedly went for a very dark tone with the film, and after BvS got trashed for being too dark and menacing the studio wanted to lighten things up. For me the jokes mostly worked, but it would've been intriguing to see what a gritty Suicide Squad would've looked like. I'm sick of the true vision being released on DVD five months after they've collected our money for the theatrical cut. We're going to go to your movie whether it's a comedy or a drama, three hours or 90 minutes. To the studios: have faith in your audience. As I said earlier, it's all about how you go into this film whether you like it or not. Despite some serious flaws (Was Eminem's "Without Me" essential to that certain scene?) I still had a blast with this squad.
Rating: 2.5/4 stars
PS: Forgot to add that one Squad member really struck my fancy: Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flagg. He was a great glue of the supervillains, with a relatable and heartbreaking backstory. Kinnaman's become one of my favorites with his slimy turn as Will Conway on "House of Cards."
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