A great origin story is a must for a superhero venture. Whether it is a dead relative, or an unjust cause, a hero has to have an origin story. But, what about villains? Should they settle with less interesting backstories because they are warped, vile souls? Absolutely not! If you're wondering what film would portray such a thing, David Ayer's Suicide Squad portrays just that.
QUICK SYNOPSIS - The film follows a group of known villains (Deadshot, Harley Quinn, El Diablo, Killer Croc just to name a few) who have been recruited by Amanda Waller (portrayed by Viola Davis); a high ranking government official who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Through much convincing of other government officials, she sets up Task Force X; a group of highly dangerous villains to stop unknown attacks on earth without having to get the government involved. As June Moore (portrayed by Cara Delevingne) accidentally sets her ancient, evil, witch alter-ego Enchantress free and releases the soul of her brother, she sets out to make the "ultimate weapon" to enslave the world to her will. As trouble arises, Waller calls in Task Force X to save the day.
In order to get my point across with this review, I am going to fill out my cons list first.
CONS - In order to understand a lot of the frustration with the film, you have to understand why the film was made so poorly. Back in March of this year, the release of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice scared a lot of fans into thinking that the Suicide Squad adaption was going to be too serious for what it was supposed to be (according to fans). With that worry out in the open, DC took it upon themselves to take the film out of post production and add some more jokes to the script. So, with the end product out, it is evident that this knee jerk reaction to some negativity was a bad idea. It didn't ruin the film by any means. But, the movie jumped around in what it was trying to be. It tried to be hysterical in one scene, and then attempted to make you cry in another. With the two extremes mixing in with each other at random points in time throughout the film, it confused me a bit. I didn't know what the film was trying to attempt to make me feel, and it bothered me a bit.
Secondly, I wasn't too fond of Jared Leto's Joker portrayal. It wasn't unforgivable by any stretch of the imagination, as his performances was still high end quality. But, in the end, I was left a bit unsatisfied. The way he is portrayed in the film is not what the Joker is. Now, a lot of that is due to the lack of screen time that the character had (which was only twenty minutes tops). But, I am sure throughout the DC Extended Universe, we will see much, much more of Leto. So, I won't say I hate or love it just yet.
Lastly, I want to point out that Cara Delevingne has no acting ability whatsoever. She is beautiful, but is in no way, shape or form an actress. Okay? Okay. Moving on.
PROS - With all of that being said, I still couldn't shake the fact that I was in love with the film. The main reason is the portrayal of the Suicide Squad itself. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn was phenomenal. Will Smith as Deadshot was brilliantly executed. Viola Davis as Amanda Waller was as intimidating as we will ever see her portrayed. These aren't the only people who did a fantastic job, but I can't name everyone mainly because it would take forever! Every character (except for the one previously mentioned) was incredibly portrayed.
The plot (as much as people would love to knock it down for it not making much sense) was coherent and followable. Was it Marvel quality? No. But, in all honesty, they're headed in the right direction. As soon as DC makes a couple more films and find their groove, they will be soaring in money and great reviews. Sometimes, you have to get beat down before you can get up and surprise people.
CONCLUSION - As much as this film was a mess, the film strived to be what it was; a comic book film adaption. If you think of it, the film was like a five month old Golden Retriever puppy. It made a couple messes and mistakes, but in the end, you will love it anyway, because it's just that good of a dog. You can't help but feel charmed by this film.
OVERALL RATING - 6/10.
