Poster for Suicide Squad, the much-awaited adaptation of DC’s villainous soldiers of fortune. Photo/Collider
So what is left to say about Suicide Squad? Some reviews are savaging it. Is it that bad? Well, this final assessment won’t be too harsh (let’s hope).
In the event of another super-powered catastrophe, in a world without Superman, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembles (you know) a squad –her Task Force X – of metahumans (DC’s answer to mutants and Inhumans) and the worst of the worst to do the job of a Justice League; covertly and with full government deniability, of course. Should they go rogue, their heads will get blown off courtesy of a bomb in their necks the size of a grain of rice.
The team is led by Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman, who is good), a grizzled soldier whose love affair with one of the most volatile team members, Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), doesn’t hold the weight it should — even though it is a central plot point.
If you are looking for a main character that really holds the story together and gives it a heart, look no further than Deadshot (Will Smith). He gets all the funny, quotable lines and stands out as a symbol of redemption. (Some changes were made to the character in order to cast Smith but they are played up delightfully well.)
For all the hype surrounding Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Jared Leto as Joker, director David Ayer flips the script on expectations. Robbie nails Harley, and should go down as the standard for live portrayals from here on out, but if you were going in thinking Mr. J was the villain, sorry to disappoint. In fact, Suicide Squad treats us to much the same apocalyptic spectacle — albeit on a smaller scale — we saw earlier this year in Batman v. Superman, X-Men, and Independence Day: Resurgence (or that a few might’ve seen in Resurgence).
Jared Leto’s Joker was a selling point and kept fans guessing, but he doesn’t have the role people think. Photo/Variety
If fans should feel cheated, it’s because of the bait and switch. That said, Ayer does all right with the hand he’s dealt. What re-shoots did to the feel of the film and the story is hard to say. The only noticeable incongruity is the length of Flag’s hair (which seems to change on a whim).
Suicide Squad is a step up from Batman v. Superman, even if not the grand slam everybody was hoping for. (The film was co-produced by Ratpac Dunes who also did Lights Out; Suicide Squad is better by far, so it has that going for it.)
