Review of Suicide Squad (2016) by Jry69 — 30 Aug 2016

The DC Cinematic Universe continues to disappoint fans of their heroes; or in this case, it's villains. "Suicide Squad" does very little to add to this new universe, but rather feels like a filler movie as we wait for the Justice League movie. It does get a few things right, but not enough to save this lackluster film.

Performances in this movie overall are pretty damn good. The three standouts are undoubtedly Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, and Jared Leto as the Joker. Margot Robbie does more than just eye candy here, bringing real emotion to the character of Harley. Will Smith also does more than just play himself here. He's the most relatable character in the movie, and the one you'll probably be cheering for the entire film. Jared Leto as the Joker may have been questionable to some, but what he brings to the character is undeniably entertaining. While he isn't utilized much, he makes you want more of him in future DC movies.

The soundtrack is also one of the best of the year. The closest I can compare it to would be that of "Guardians of the Galaxy", containing mostly classic rock songs that will surely be stuck in your head when you leave the movie.

Where the movie starts to fall apart is...well, everything else. The main plot of the film, aside from bringing super villains together to work for the government, is cliché is boring. You've seen this plot a million times before, and "Suicide Squad" does nothing to change it up or bring anything fresh to the formula. Everything pretty much happens the way you think it'll happen and theres no surprises in the whole film.

Dialogue is spotty. When the villains are interacting with each other in small talk, it can be pretty entertaining. But should anyone have anything to say to the soldiers working with them or the main villain of the film, it all goes to hell. It's cliché and full of exposition, to say the least.

Fight sequences aren't necessarily bad, but nothing really memorable either. Usually in super hero films (or really action films in general), there is at least one or two fight scenes that stand out in your head and make you think how awesome the protagonist(s) is. But in this film, I honestly can't say that theres a single fight that stands out to me. They're all pretty bland and basic in almost every way.

I'm sure that mega fans of the comics will love this film, and more power to you if you do. But for me, this film as too many problems to overlook. While it has some solid performances and a kickass soundtrack, everything else in this film falls apart. Warner Bros. has some serious thinking to do about what they're gonna do next in their universe, because so far it's not fairing too well.