Suicide Squad - directed by David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevigne, Jai Courtney, Common, Adam Beach, Karen Fukuhara, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Viola Davis, Scott Eastwood, Jim Parrack, Jay Hernandez, Ezra Miller, David Harbour, Ben Affleck, Ike Barinholtz, Ted Whittall, Robin Atkin Downes, James McGowan
Screenplay: David Ayer
Looking at a movie and saying that because it has a score of 75 it isn't as good as a movie that scored 80 is a bad move.
Largely this is because there are movies that are not amazingly well made that are nonetheless very, very entertaining.
Words need to go along with the score to bring perspective and balance.
I wouldn't dream of giving say "Night of the Creeps" a 90/100 but I would certainly be happy with an 85.
It is a great fun movie but it doesn't belong in the same sentence with "The Dark Knight" or "Casablanca".
Once I had decided to use scores however I went with a broad 100 range so that there was wiggle room in there.
How does this relate to "Suicide Squad"?
Well, this movie a perfect example of how important those grey areas are with movies and taps into an increasing fear that I have that movie reviews are becoming things of extremes.
When sites like Rotten Tomatoes pools the mass of reviews together it effectively decides if a film is great or crap.
It doesn't favour 'decent', 'almost great', 'entertaining' etc.... no shades - just extremes - one end of the scale or the other.
Going into most big movies these days the viewer has already been informed by the media whether what they are about to see is a waste of their money or not.
It is as if the decision is made and you have to fly in the face of the mob if you dare disagree.
I saw it with "Hitman", "We Are Your Friends", "Fantastic Four" and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".
Of those the only one close to being awful is "Fantastic Four" but for me it is disappointing and not very good - not awful.
And so to "Suicide Squad".....
It is perfectly fine.
Perfectly fun.
Perfectly well made.
Not great.... not terrible.
I had a lot of fun with it but seeing as the embargo on the 'proper' reviews lifted a few hours ago and decided that this film is in fact officially awful and akin to a disease that slowly kills children I will have to justify enjoying it.
Note that I also enjoyed "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and I really don't care for or understand the hate that it still gets.
(honestly if I have to hear one more person whine- 'Martha'...)
In fact I would say that that film and "Suicide Squad" for me are about on the same level.
Admittedly both films could have been better and in at least a small way count as missed opportunities but they are well made and provide the required action and excitement.
With "Suicide Squad" the difference is of course that the heroes are actually bad guys.
When we first meet them they are either in prison or en route.
Deadshot (Will Smith) is in a tiny cell while Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is in a cage in the centre of a larger area a'la Hannibal Lecter just before he escapes in "The Silence of the Lambs".
Killer Croc, Diablo, and Boomerang are brought in to join them under the leadership of Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) and his dual personality girlfriend June Moone.
June is host to the ancient evil The Enchantress.
Government agent Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has assembled the team in order to combat whatever greater evils appear.
She controls them via various methods of leverage including obtaining the heart of The Enchantress and seeing to it that Flagg and June fall in love.
If she controls The Enchantress she can control June and then Flagg.
This entire introduction sequence takes about 30 minutes and is not without problems.
It focuses a little too heavily on Deadshot and Harley Quinn at the expense of the other members of the soon to be team.
It is also shambolic with little care for pacing or flow.
It seems to me that it is intentional - writer / director David Ayer seems to want the movie to be a little disjointed, a bit manic.
It almost works.
Manic is a key word here of course because one of the big draw cards for this film is the presence of The Joker.
The character has a great history and anyone who takes it on has to deal with comparisons not only to Caesar Romero and Jack Nicholson but to Heath Ledger's Oscar winning turn.
Jared Leto does a fine job and while his Joker is nowhere near as good as either of the last two incarnations it is still an interesting variation.
The character has a decent amount of screen time contrary to what a lot of critics are saying.
Nowhere near as much as Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn however who seems to have been recognised early on as the MVP here.
Obviously Robbie is a beautiful woman and even with the trademark bat-shit personality and tattered costume and smeared makeup she oozes sex appeal.
She also gets the bulk of the laughs by a huge margin.
Will Smith deserves credit too as Deadshot.
This is a Will Smith of the kind that we haven't seen in quite some time.
He is in full 1990's blockbuster action Will Smith mode with his head tilts, one liners and smartass persona.
It is nice to see this Will Smith variant back on the screen.
I am also pleased that Scott Eastwood gets a solid number of minutes of screen time.
Hollywood still hasn't figured out how to use this actor yet.
He has a lot of the charisma and screen presence of his legendary Father and it has not even come close to being fully exploited to date.
I was impressed with Viola Davis as Amanda Waller - not a surprise as Davis is great always.
Amanda is a good guy on paper but damn does she have some moments of out and out nastiness.
I enjoyed seeing this actress play a role so different from her usual choices.
The rest of the team take a little bit of a back seat to Smith and Robbie and once again we see that DC Studios haven't quite got the hang of juggling a large roster of characters.
Most have a couple of moments in the sun but the unfortunate side effect is to make you wish they had more.
DC also haven't got the hit that they need in this film after the perceived failure of their last shot - "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".
I can't see this film losing money but it sure isn't going to make Marvel cash.
Personally I hope that it does well enough to warrant a sequel because like Batman v Superman before it there is a good platform here for an improved second film.
There are plenty of hints here with some screen time for Batman including a mid-credits scene that is definitely worth staying in your seat for.
(that is mid credits - there is no end-end credits scene to wait for)
Every time Ben Affleck appears as Batman the film gets a boost.
Which is not to say that it is no good for the rest of the time without him.
I had a lot of fun with this film.
It is far from perfect but the two hours flew by and I laughed quite a few times.
Complaints about the film being a mess are overstated.
It definitely suffers a little from being a bit all over the place but it is an occasional thing- not all the time and it kind of felt in keeping with the madcap tone to me anyway.
One further criticism I will level at the movie is a shambolic, clumsy use of soundtrack songs.
Ayer tosses in The White Stripes, Queen, Eminem and a host of others and most of them feel out of place and tacked on as a cheap way of generating atmosphere.
I am still definitely saying see this but recommend going in expecting a bit of fun - not a "Dark Knight" or "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" level instant classic.
Not all films can be that good and that is fine.
"Suicide Squad" is a genuine big screen blockbuster and should be seen on a larger screen and preferably in 3D.
IMAX is terrific from the brand spanking new Suicide Squad themed IMAX countdown to the end credits.
The 3D really pops and makes an already good looking movie just that little bit more pleasing to the eye.
This is worth seeing on the strength of Margot Robbies gonzo turn oas Harley Quinn and with even Jai Courtenay turning in a good performance (seriously) there is a lot else to enjoy from the remainder of the cast.
No- it isn't a masterpiece.
And no- it isn't terrible either.
It's a solid film and an entertaining one.
RATING: 76 / 100
CONCLUSION: Yes, the plot is all over the place while also being a tad shallow but this is fun. There are several performances of note and its has an aesthetic that makes it a little different from its contemporaries. A solidly entertaining film.
Screenplay: David Ayer
Music Score by: Steven Price
Cinematography: Roman Vasyanov
Edited by: John Gilroy
Running Time: 123 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Comic Book Violence, language
I resisted putting scores on my reviews for a long time.Cinematography: Roman Vasyanov
Edited by: John Gilroy
Running Time: 123 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Comic Book Violence, language
Looking at a movie and saying that because it has a score of 75 it isn't as good as a movie that scored 80 is a bad move.
Largely this is because there are movies that are not amazingly well made that are nonetheless very, very entertaining.
Words need to go along with the score to bring perspective and balance.
I wouldn't dream of giving say "Night of the Creeps" a 90/100 but I would certainly be happy with an 85.
It is a great fun movie but it doesn't belong in the same sentence with "The Dark Knight" or "Casablanca".
Once I had decided to use scores however I went with a broad 100 range so that there was wiggle room in there.
How does this relate to "Suicide Squad"?
Well, this movie a perfect example of how important those grey areas are with movies and taps into an increasing fear that I have that movie reviews are becoming things of extremes.
When sites like Rotten Tomatoes pools the mass of reviews together it effectively decides if a film is great or crap.
It doesn't favour 'decent', 'almost great', 'entertaining' etc.... no shades - just extremes - one end of the scale or the other.
Going into most big movies these days the viewer has already been informed by the media whether what they are about to see is a waste of their money or not.
It is as if the decision is made and you have to fly in the face of the mob if you dare disagree.
I saw it with "Hitman", "We Are Your Friends", "Fantastic Four" and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".
Of those the only one close to being awful is "Fantastic Four" but for me it is disappointing and not very good - not awful.
And so to "Suicide Squad".....
It is perfectly fine.
Perfectly fun.
Perfectly well made.
Not great.... not terrible.
I had a lot of fun with it but seeing as the embargo on the 'proper' reviews lifted a few hours ago and decided that this film is in fact officially awful and akin to a disease that slowly kills children I will have to justify enjoying it.
Note that I also enjoyed "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and I really don't care for or understand the hate that it still gets.
(honestly if I have to hear one more person whine- 'Martha'...)
In fact I would say that that film and "Suicide Squad" for me are about on the same level.
Admittedly both films could have been better and in at least a small way count as missed opportunities but they are well made and provide the required action and excitement.
 |
| Joel Kinnaman, Will Smith, Jai Courtenay and Margot Robbie |
When we first meet them they are either in prison or en route.
Deadshot (Will Smith) is in a tiny cell while Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is in a cage in the centre of a larger area a'la Hannibal Lecter just before he escapes in "The Silence of the Lambs".
Killer Croc, Diablo, and Boomerang are brought in to join them under the leadership of Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) and his dual personality girlfriend June Moone.
June is host to the ancient evil The Enchantress.
Government agent Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has assembled the team in order to combat whatever greater evils appear.
She controls them via various methods of leverage including obtaining the heart of The Enchantress and seeing to it that Flagg and June fall in love.
If she controls The Enchantress she can control June and then Flagg.
This entire introduction sequence takes about 30 minutes and is not without problems.
It focuses a little too heavily on Deadshot and Harley Quinn at the expense of the other members of the soon to be team.
It is also shambolic with little care for pacing or flow.
It seems to me that it is intentional - writer / director David Ayer seems to want the movie to be a little disjointed, a bit manic.
It almost works.
Manic is a key word here of course because one of the big draw cards for this film is the presence of The Joker.
 |
| Scott Eastwood - decent screen time |
Jared Leto does a fine job and while his Joker is nowhere near as good as either of the last two incarnations it is still an interesting variation.
The character has a decent amount of screen time contrary to what a lot of critics are saying.
Nowhere near as much as Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn however who seems to have been recognised early on as the MVP here.
Obviously Robbie is a beautiful woman and even with the trademark bat-shit personality and tattered costume and smeared makeup she oozes sex appeal.
She also gets the bulk of the laughs by a huge margin.
Will Smith deserves credit too as Deadshot.
This is a Will Smith of the kind that we haven't seen in quite some time.
He is in full 1990's blockbuster action Will Smith mode with his head tilts, one liners and smartass persona.
It is nice to see this Will Smith variant back on the screen.
I am also pleased that Scott Eastwood gets a solid number of minutes of screen time.
Hollywood still hasn't figured out how to use this actor yet.
He has a lot of the charisma and screen presence of his legendary Father and it has not even come close to being fully exploited to date.
I was impressed with Viola Davis as Amanda Waller - not a surprise as Davis is great always.
Amanda is a good guy on paper but damn does she have some moments of out and out nastiness.
I enjoyed seeing this actress play a role so different from her usual choices.
 |
| Characters are often both good and bad - if not in duality like Enchantress/June then in behaviour- Amanda |
Most have a couple of moments in the sun but the unfortunate side effect is to make you wish they had more.
DC also haven't got the hit that they need in this film after the perceived failure of their last shot - "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".
I can't see this film losing money but it sure isn't going to make Marvel cash.
Personally I hope that it does well enough to warrant a sequel because like Batman v Superman before it there is a good platform here for an improved second film.
There are plenty of hints here with some screen time for Batman including a mid-credits scene that is definitely worth staying in your seat for.
(that is mid credits - there is no end-end credits scene to wait for)
Every time Ben Affleck appears as Batman the film gets a boost.
Which is not to say that it is no good for the rest of the time without him.
I had a lot of fun with this film.
It is far from perfect but the two hours flew by and I laughed quite a few times.
Complaints about the film being a mess are overstated.
It definitely suffers a little from being a bit all over the place but it is an occasional thing- not all the time and it kind of felt in keeping with the madcap tone to me anyway.
One further criticism I will level at the movie is a shambolic, clumsy use of soundtrack songs.
Ayer tosses in The White Stripes, Queen, Eminem and a host of others and most of them feel out of place and tacked on as a cheap way of generating atmosphere.
I am still definitely saying see this but recommend going in expecting a bit of fun - not a "Dark Knight" or "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" level instant classic.
Not all films can be that good and that is fine.
"Suicide Squad" is a genuine big screen blockbuster and should be seen on a larger screen and preferably in 3D.
IMAX is terrific from the brand spanking new Suicide Squad themed IMAX countdown to the end credits.
The 3D really pops and makes an already good looking movie just that little bit more pleasing to the eye.
This is worth seeing on the strength of Margot Robbies gonzo turn oas Harley Quinn and with even Jai Courtenay turning in a good performance (seriously) there is a lot else to enjoy from the remainder of the cast.
No- it isn't a masterpiece.
And no- it isn't terrible either.
It's a solid film and an entertaining one.
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