Suicide Squad
Of all the summer blockbusters that were on the slate for 2016, I’m not sure that there were any as buzzy as SUICIDE SQUAD. Despite the lukewarm reception that met MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, SQUAD was poised to be the project that launched the DC Universe into the stratosphere. 
Taking the unique stance of having a group of uber-villains serving as the protagonists of the adventure, the initial trailers featured plenty of mayhem and sardonic humor. To top it off, Jared Leto’s take on the Joker was already emerging as the stuff that legends are made of. Taking method acting to a whole new level of crazy, he surprised his co-workers with gifts of bullets and a pig carcasses. Some of his fellow cast members thought his outlandish commitment was inspired insanity, while others admitted feeling uncomfortable with his twisted and outlandish behavior. These stories only helped garner more interest in the production, and the Joker became the focal point of the media barrage the reigned down upon the film.
When word came out that writer/director David Ayers had begun a fair amount of reshoots ahead of the release of SUICIDE SQUAD, it certainly raised some eyebrows. It’s usually not a great sign when a major blockbuster must undergo these types of changes, but hope and anticipation remained high.
To be perfectly honest, like BATMAN V SUPERMAN, I wanted to like SUICIDE SQUAD. I truly did. I figured that whatever shortcomings it may have, the good had to outweigh the bad, right?
If only that were the case.
SUICIDE SQUAD never establishes a tone, and it’s difficult to discern exactly what Ayers and Warner Brothers were going for. It played out like an uneven fusion of DEADPOOL, THE AVENGERS, and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, although it was totally devoid of the wit and hilarity that these three delivered with ease. Fearing that beings like Superman represent an emerging danger to national security, U.S. Intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) believes that extreme measures need to be taken in order to protect our nation, and humanity as a whole. She devises a plan to assemble a troop of the most dangerous criminals on the planet, and force them to do battle with seemingly undefeatable forces. Her unconventional idea is initially met with skepticism, but ultimately gets the green light. Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and Diablo (Jay Hernandez) are led by military veteran Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) when a new threat emerges. A witch known as Enchantress (Cara Delevigne), who had formerly been in the control of Waller, teams up with her long-lost brother Incubus to unleash destructible magic upon the world. Together, they will enslave everyone with a pulse, and destroy those who refuse to bow at their feet. The newly developed Suicide Squad don’t know the true nature of their mission, but Waller intends to have her ragtag group of villains to bring down Enchantress.
As the squad follows the orders of Waller and Flagg, The Joker (Leto) has an agenda of his own. He has been separated from his beloved Harley Quinn, and will stop at nothing in order to be reunited with his psychopathic betrothed. Through a series of flashbacks, we see the disturbingly bizarre courtship that the two shared, and witness the lengths that the Joker will go to in order to get her back. By all accounts, this disturbing union was going to be a focal point of the film. Instead, it is touched in brief, far too fleeting glimpses. Because of this, their plot line feels jarringly disjointed, and far less satisfying than it could have been. This is easily one of the great travesties of SUICIDE SQUAD. Even so, Robbie still has a great deal of screen time, and emerges as the standout in the film. Gleefully over-the-top and deranged, her Harley Quinn is equal parts hilarious and terrifying. When it comes to Leto, the drastic cuts in his screen time severely affected the impact of his performance. His scenes are puzzlingly short, resulting in a character that is far more confounding than he is classic. Certainly, it was no easy task following up Heath Ledger’s Oscar winning turn in THE DARK KNIGHT. It seems, however, that despite the deluge of twisted tales and on-set antics, in the theatrical release, Leto didn’t stand much of a chance. Surely the Joker will factor heavily in the expanding DC universe, but it remains to be seen if Leto will be along for the ride. At the time this review is going to print, the actor hasn’t even seen the final cut of the film, and has openly proclaimed that the project was not the gritty crime-drama he was initially lead to believe.
The central conflict of SUICIDE SQUAD is muddled and under-developed, resulting in a movie that is far less impactful and memorable than it should have been. The villains, Enchantress and Incubus are hollow and dull, and feel more like foot-notes than full-fledged advisories. The action sequences are little more than uninspired footnotes, and not a single one holds a candle to even the tamest sequence in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. This aspect serves as yet another glaring disappointment, and belittles the performances in the production. Aside from Leto and Robbie, Will Smith flexes his propensity for summer movie magic with his turn as Deadshot. He supplies a few laugh-out-loud moments, and shows that if this flick focused fully on him, Harley Quinn, and the Joker, it might have been something special. Instead, his wasted efforts become just another notch on the long list of “could have and should have been’s” in the largely listless SUICIDE SQUAD.
A special thanks goes to Regal Cinemas at Destiny U.S.A. for allowing me to attend this month’s film.
