Review of Suicide Squad (2016) by Thegodfatherson — 05 Aug 2016

After so much hype, so many hopes, and so many talks about the casting and storyline, Suicide Squad is here, and it is fantastic......in parts. First of all, let's discuss the story. A group of supervillains is promised time off their jail sentences if they succeed in a mission deemed to dangerous for soldiers to do.

It is nothing special and expect a few plot twists in DC movie fashion. This movie is full of big names, and most of them shine, notably Will Smith, Viola Davis and Margot Robbie. Will Smith's Deadshot is a fully fleshed out character, and not just your average hitman.

It becomes evident in the first half that this is Smith's film to take.....until you see Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). She is probably the only character done without flaw in this movie, equal parts crazy and equal parts sexy.

Other than that, Viola Davis does an amazing job as Amanda Waller, Jay Hernandez as El Diablo was fine, but he got a good amount of screen time and backstory for me to say that he was very well fleshed out.

Enchantress also has a bit of backup story, and Cara is fine in her role. Everybody else, including Slipknot, Katana, Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and Scott Eastwood's character, were basically left in the dust.

I know you cannot cram in a lot of backstories in a single film, but a little something about them would help. They basically follow the Squad around and kill a few here and there, but even their wit and charm cannot save them from being overshadowed by the bigger names.

Speaking of big names, let's talk about Jared Leto's Joker. And I have to say he does an amazing job, and I really enjoyed when he was on the screen......which is not that often. Leto has about 6 or 7 minutes of screen time and shows up mostly in flashbacks of Harley Quinn.

A little disappointing for fans who want to see the movie exclusively for him. The film's tone changes gradually from a little happy here to deliciously evil, and that is what makes this a fresh change from usual comic book movies.

David Ayer has a great vision, and he executes very well throughout. There are some beautiful scenes in the film, particularly Joker and Harley's ''Chemical Wedding" which was shot extremely well and is one of my favorite sequences from the entire film.

Then you have the humor, which was also a top notch element to the movie. Really, this a comedy above all else, a fresher take from the usual DC films. This film is really fun to watch when sh*t hits the fan, the characters bond, there is a decent amount of dialogue between them, and they ultimately ACTUALLY become a legitimate "Squad".

And that is why Suicide Squad excels in characters, not only they bond, but their weaknesses are why they are here. There is some choppy editing in parts and some scenes from the trailers never show up here.

But, whatever was given to us, was a well acted, funny romp that takes advantage of the great characters in the DC Universe and never shies away from silliness. This is a GOOD movie, it may be flawed, and Joker may not shine here, but Suicide Squad is a silly, funny and jam-packed blockbuster.

Do not miss it this weekend.