Suicide Squad is the latest movie in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), written and directed by David Ayer and starring the talents of Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie and many more. In Suicide Squad a group of criminals is gathered to stop a global threat. Now this movie was my number one most anticipated movie of 2016, even more than Batman V Superman. From the very beginning this movie looked promising. It looked to offer a unique take on the “superhero movie”, focusing on the villains instead of the heroes. The tone looked dark and grizzled with just a shot of energy and fun which is what I thought lacked in Batman V Superman. This movie seemed like the perfect step to legitimizing the DCEU as something great. Sadly enough, this movie did none of that.
As a fan of movies, as a fan of DC, and as someone who wanted this movie to finally have both fans and critics see the DCEU as a successful franchise, this movie amounted to be nothing but a disappointment. From the moment this movie started I knew I was in for it. The editing of the movie looked to be done by a three-year-old who just plastered neon coloring and spliced random scenes throughout. It was completely jarring and took me immediately out of the film. However, the introduction of this movie is the best part. The backstories given to many of the characters interested me. It made them relatable to watchers and humanized them (These scenes also made for some fun cameos). Unfortunately, as soon as the strong opening ends the rest of the movie is a complete mess.
The biggest issue here for me is the story. The characters are the only thing holding this movie up from being a complete disaster. Some of the standouts for me were Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jay Hernandez as El Diablo and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. They all had the biggest presence and really brought it for this movie. The characters aren’t enough to save this though. The soundtrack felt out of place and forced. The dialogue was awkward and never organic. The worst part may have been the humor, dry; and it made me cringe at times, I left enjoying maybe two or three of the “jokes” this movie tried desperately to squeeze in. The villain is maybe one of the worst movie villains I have ever seen. With a laughable performance and no reasoning for her plan, it was just completely out of place. There is really only one way to describe this movie and it is; sloppy. It felt rushed, awkward, boring and uninspired. I didn’t fully enjoy any aspect of the movie.
I can say, without a doubt, this movie is worse than Batman V Superman and put DC in an even worse place. If this is what the DCEU thinks fans want to see, they are wrong. I know many claimed to like this movie, but nothing here worked for me. Suicide Squad was not only a complete disappointment but surprisingly, bad. With some entertaining performances and interesting characters my final score for Suicide Squad is a 4/10. I still have hope for DC with Justice League and Wonder Woman next year, hopefully those two movies can bring us back to what we need for the DCEU.
