Though it sounded like all the rage when the first trailer was released, DC's "Suicide Squad" film has been met it's opening weekend with some pretty awful reviews. Since movie critics tend to never really give reviews that relate to the people, and trailers are made simply to make the movies look good, I thought I would help by giving my honest movie review.
Before I start talking about the film itself, I want to state that though I tend to keep up with the superhero movies and TV shows (both DC and Marvel), I've never been an avid comic book reader. I am, however, a film major and a film nerd. So my opinion isn't as much on how true it stayed to the source material as much as it is about how entertaining and cinematic it is.
For those of you who don't know, "Suicide Squad" is about an idea formed by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), about forming a group of the worst of all the criminals and forcing them to band together in a super villain team to help save the world. Villains, instead of superheroes, so they could be blamed should anything go wrong. When a terrorist attack occurs in a train station that ARGUS (a military-esque company in the DC world) decides is too deadly to send their men in, they activate Task Force X, or the Suicide Squad. These villains, forced by Waller's tactics, face the threat without much choice.
The plot of the movie was a very solid plot. It didn't feel weak in nature or unexplained. If anything, the plot was the best executed part of the whole film. Though the threat was stereotypical in the sense of superhero films (a super villain wanted to destroy the world), after the initial establishment of the suicide squad and a few characters, the plot moved very smoothly. The action scenes felt naturally included and flowed nicely. The movie didn't seem to drag either. However, I felt like there should have been more time spent leading up to the threat before Task Force X was activated to help establish the threat.
Though the main plot was good, the subplot of The Joker (Jared Leto) was not. I know the inclusion of The Joker was conversational, however; I don't think the inclusion of The Joker was the problem with his subplot. The Joker seemed to tie very nicely in with the establishment of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and Leto did a great job with the performance. The problem I found with The Joker's subplot was that there was a lead up to something bigger that he was planning, but once the plan happened, it didn't go anywhere. It felt as if the subplot could have been taken out and the movie could have gone on. It didn't build Quinn's character or effect the main plot, as a subplot of that nature should have.
The characters featured were a mix of both good and bad. I think the main problem was that there were so many characters in this ragtag team that they didn't all get the attention they should have. Which is a shame because the characters that did get attention were very well fleshed-out villains. In my opinion, Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn were the main pulls of the Squad. The movie felt like it tried to make you like characters such as Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and June Moon (Cara Delevingne) without giving them any particularly likable traits. When characters like Flag or Moon had enduring moments that should have been likable, the delivery by the actors felt stale or unnatural, which ruined any love for the characters that could have happened.
Though I'm not completely against the use of outside music in a film, I felt like "Suicide Squad" overdid the use of outside songs. It felt like they moved from one song to another without any purpose to them. But when the movie did use the original scoring, it was fantastic. The songs during the action scenes were some of the best I've heard, and I wish they had used more. Had they used a subtle OTS instead of obvious Lana Del Ray tracks, the emotion of the film might have come through a bit clearer in certain scenes.
The editing and the writing is where the potential of the film fell short. Though the plot was good, the dialogue felt stale or unrealistic (which could be the reason some deliveries were off). The jokes seemed to overused and never landed. I'm not against a light-hearted film, but it felt like halfway through the script they forgot that they weren't writing a comedy.
The editing is the main issue I had with the film. It felt constantly choppy and without any flow. The choppy cuts were probably what ruined a lot of a good plot. However, I respect some of the bolder choices in the editing, such as the style in which they introduced the characters. Despite the editing failing the plot, the editing and the cinematography worked brilliantly together during the action scenes. Some of the slow-motion action scenes were the highlights of the film.
Overall, I would have to say that the film had a lot of potential. I wish it had met it's full potential in some of the editing and directing choices, but all in all, it wasn't a horrible film. I look forward to seeing more from Robbie's Harley Quinn and Leto's Joker, and I hope to see a movie with those two.
Would I recommend you to go see this movie in theaters? No, it's not worth the price of most theaters. However, I would recommend you wait until it releases on DVD and watch it then. It's a movie for a fun night and an interesting concept, but I don't see it sticking in my list of favorite films.
