Review of Suicide Squad (2016) by Dewayne B — 30 Dec 2016

What's going on, DCEU? The trailers made this look amazing. It was poised to be the new Guardians of the Galaxy; and ensemble superhero film featuring characters very few are familiar with, accompanied by a pop music soundtrack. While that does describe the film, it's just a mess.

Let's begin on a positive note: some characters were well-done. Will Smith's Deadshot is compelling, his motivations are clear, and he's much more of an anti-hero. Harley Quinn, who is important enough to get a backstory through flaskbacks, also provides a compelling addition to the team. Unfortunately, everyone else is pretty much generic.

The plot is all over the place, and even sports the cliched-out giant beam of light shooting to the heavens. It is unlear what the villains want, and only marginally more clear what our supposed heroes want. There are parts for the Joker (which sort of worked) and Batman (which felt really forced). It all feels vaguely unsatisfying, like it's held together with masking tape.

DC really needs to get their act together, but all they seem keen on doing right now is burning through all the good will they have.