Typically my film reviews will have some sort of build up to my final analysis, but honestly, it's best to get straight to the point here. Despite major hype and an all-star cast, Suicide Squad is a fairly fascinating failure, one that not only fails to live up to pre-release expectations, but is actually fairly terrible.
Where to start exactly? Well it's important to detail the behind the scenes turmoil that went down with the film’s production. After negative reviews for Batman V. Superman, DC decided that the film needed some extensive reshoots to fix potential problems with the film. Instead, these reshoots seemed to only mess with director David Ayer’s vision of the film.
I'm still a fan.
As the film opens, I was quite shocked with just how incoherent and flat out messy the film is. Jumping from character to character without any narrative rhyme or reason, the narrative here feels incredibly over-stuffed from the start. With there being so many characters (there are nine members of the team), it’s truly an impossible task to introduce all of them properly with any sort of development.
With so many characters to introduce to audiences, the film’s pace is wildly erratic, moving at a race car pace throughout its first half. Jumpy edits and quick cuts to introduce other characters are efforts to stylishly introduce characters, but instead feel incredibly disjointed and flat out incoherent. Most of the characters end up feeling like slapdash stereotypes by the end of the film.
The first half of this film in general was shockingly insufferable. Being a huge superhero fan (especially DC), I was honestly shocked just how much I was disliking the movie. The constant blaring of old-school music mashed together with unfunny quips and a yarn-thin narrative created a cacophony of awfulness. It became almost a deafening experience, smacking its audience over the head constantly with its loud screams for attention.
Thankfully, the film actually gets better as it goes along. The second half, while nothing special, is actually fairly bearable. It actually feels cohesive, with the pacing drastically slowing down while the narrative becomes much clearer. The jokes are actually fairly amusing, with the cast getting a better opportunity to show off their stuff. Most importantly, smaller scenes such as the bar scene help a lot in developing more of a emotional core for these characters.
Squad goals
These efforts ultimately are fleeting however, with the film wrapping up pretty much how every blockbuster does. A formulaic action-packed third act left me fairly bored, mostly because I still had little to no attachment to these characters and their dire situation. The action, while well shot, is just as flashy and formulaic as it is in every other blockbuster.
What makes Suicide Squad so disappointing is the great core the film has with its cast. Will Smith is surprisingly a great fit as Deadshot, easily being the film’s more charismatic and developed character. Margot Robbie’s take on Harley Quinn is very accurate, with Robbie perfectly capturing her ditsy mania. Supporting players like Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, and Jay Hernandez. Also, I did not forget Jared Leto, whose much-hyped take on the character is just ok, mainly because of the severe lack of screentime the character has (barely 10 minutes).
Suicide Squad is a frustrating experience throughout, because the potential is clearly there. The cast is quite good together, and there are moments that deliver on the wacky fun the film is going for. Sadly, the film is a poorly edited hodgepodge of overly-stylish sequences that try too hard to please audiences. Its flashy for sure, but mostly lacking any sort of substance. After two terribly reviewed films in a row, maybe DC will stop meddling with their director’s visions.
Rating: 3.5/10
