There are challenges that await in creating a team movie. Too many moving parts mean a higher chance of error. It's not impossible to introduce many characters in a film in a way that makes you care about them; it just takes scripting and pacing, which is a huge task.
Unfortunately, Suicide Squad doesn't achieve that, but it reaches with all earnestness. Fortunately, this isn't the ridiculously migraine-inducing art project that was Batman v. Superman.
Everybody who's been featured front and center in the marketing (Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Jared Leto, and Viola Davis) play the biggest roles. As a side effect, that means everybody else is watered down, with the exception of Jay Hernandez's El Diablo. As fully fleshed characters, they're left wanting, but they do bring personality to the action sequences in a way that falls a few steps short of the amazing fights of "Captain America: Civil War." Trust me, that's not an insult (to reiterate, this isn't BvS).
I'm pretty sure that Warner Bros. ordered cast, crew, and marketing to up-sell the shit out of Leto's Joker, and understandably so -- he's arguably the most prolific DC super villain in the entirety of pop culture. The problem is that barring Harley Quinn's origin story, the movie would be the same without him. Adam Beach's Slipknot, who's in the movie for maybe ten minutes as a plot device, is more important to the overall story.
To be fair, Leto came into this against all odds with the weight of the role's history, and he swings for the fence in practice. However, the end result is neither terrible nor mind-blowingly amazing. My theory is that the guy who pulled pranks on his fellow cast members did so for entertainment with the awesome excuse of, "The Joker made me do it."
Characterization and acting are fairly on point otherwise. Davis crafts Amanda Waller as a manipulative bad ass bitch, one whom you neither want to cross nor prove slightly useless to. Smith explores Deadshot's dual nature as a hardened mercenary and loving father with all the ease in the world. Kinnaman shows chops with Rick Flagg's Special Forces background.
Harley Quinn comes across as far more crazy than her beloved Mr. J, and crazy she is. Robbie plays her as a spunky anarchist who skirts the line between chaotic neutral and chaotic evil like it's a game. Harley's flaw? The scripting. Half her lines were pure cheese. That's just part of the issue, though.
Every story needs to finish on a strong third act, which Suicide Squad does well. The problem is that the second act falters after the first sets a decent foundation. The scene that kicks off the third act would have worked best earlier on, as it provides the glue that holds the team together. We see them gel before then, but not in a way that's pragmatic. Eventually, they square off with the film's main villain feeling attached to each other, but that's like two people saying they're in love after having had two mediocre dates.
However, just like Slipknot, the villain feels more like a plot device meant to push the story forward rather than a character that we feel inspired to watch get the crap kicked out of, as do Katana and Killer Croc. Each of these characters makes you curious as to who they are and what drives them, but you never get that. Although El Diablo's story builds more gradually than, say, Deadshot, there's more there than the movie allows for.
Overall, despite these criticisms, I still had fun watching the whole thing. It's not the type of movie I'd say would be worth ignoring basic traffic laws and running over grandma for walking too slowly in the crosswalk just to get to the theater yesterday for; that's Deadpool. However, if you've got an empty afternoon, $13 in rainy day money, and no expectations go ahead and have a little mindless entertainment.
PSA: Do not run over grandma for any reason, and obey all traffic laws.
