So, I saw "Suicide Squad", and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t impressed. This movie lacked the necessary fundamentals for a successful movie: there was a weak, almost nonexistent plot, the tone was inconsistent, and there was no clear focus throughout the entire movie. Of course, I didn’t have a bad experience watching the movie, so I can understand why some people loved it and others hated it.
Let’s start with the plot – there wasn’t really one. I mean, sure, the basic premise was get a team of the bad guys to do things for the good guys, and through a series of events get the bad guys to fight an even worse guy (although, in my opinion, the main threat was pretty weak). For the first 30 minutes the movie did feel pretty solid, it felt like we were introduced to all of the characters and knew the basic plan, but it got to a point where the plot derailed. Like, went off the tracks and into a ditch derailed. I thought that maybe the movie could save itself with a clever twist, but it just kept going and going with constant interruptions and new additions to the story that made less and less sense as it went on. Don’t get me wrong, I still managed to enjoy the movie, but it got to the point where the characters’ actions and thought processes started making absolutely no sense. I burst out in uncontrollably laughter by the end at a specific moment because it really felt like I was watching a different movie from the one I started with.
What attributed to this plot problem was that there was no real focus when it came to the characters, which was mostly because there were way too many characters that have no established back story for the general public (i.e. other movies). Deadshot and Harley stood in the beginning as main focuses, but as the movie went on the focus shifted from them to other characters that we hadn’t seen enough of to really care about. Along with that, new characters were constantly being introduced and then not being developed or just disappearing completely. In the squad, Deadshot and Harley were developed (Deadshot more so), but no one else was, unless if you count El Diablo. And when it comes to a movie that is supposed to be about a group, and is being sold as a group movie, it’s not exactly wise to leave most of the group underdeveloped. It’s not good for any movie to leave most of its characters underdeveloped, for that matter. The only thing that saved this lack of development was the skill of the actors. They all gave phenomenal performances, especially with what they were given to work with. I enjoyed seeing the squad onscreen as it was full of exciting and intriguing moments, but I felt my time with them was extremely short and there was not enough onscreen interactions to reason them even bonding into a “family.”
One may not think of it, but tone is also an essential part of a movie. You never really think about the tone of a movie being a problem unless if that tone is inconsistent, which is the case in "Suicide Squad". I believe the inconsistent tone is due to the reshoots to reportedly make moments in the movie more light-hearted. Of course, that becomes a problem when most of the movie is dark and gritty, and then there is suddenly comedy. This split of tone makes you feel like you’re watching two different movies, and the comedy almost feels cheap at times. I felt, with the state of the script and plot issues, if the movie had started with a dark comedic tone then the issues would have been more excusable. For example, when the characters start doing ridiculous things that go against either the story, their identities, or common sense, you would be more inclined to roll with it because the movie is already established as silly and ridiculous. In my opinion a dark comedic tone would work, because we have a gritty world and evil characters that are also a bit insane and prone to doing outrageous things. So deciding to fight the bad guy instead of taking your chance at freedom would make more sense because the whole movie has been established as “eh, screw it.”
Even though there were these fundamental issues, I still enjoyed just about every actors’ performances (which, in my opinion, saved the movie). And I know there has been an absurd amount of controversy over Jared Leto’s performance and numerous comparisons to Heath Ledger’s Joker, but I personally enjoyed Leto’s Joker. Whenever he was onscreen you could feel an intensity that was spot on and he gave an electrifying performance. I think it’s useless to compare two actor’s interpretation of the same character, especially when that character is in a different world, story, and under a different director. Obviously, Ledger’s performance was amazing, but Leto brought something new to the table to create a modern, simmering psychopath that strays away from its over the top, cartoonish origin and fits in the established world. Just as well, Margot Robbie’s Harley was equally stunning and I loved every second I got to see Harley and Joker together. I would love to see Robbie and Leto again as Harley and Joker in a movie where there’s actually more time to fully appreciate their manipulative relationship and talent. I’m doubtful that will happen, but one can hope.
I could go on about the fundamental necessities this movie ignored, but I will say that while I generally enjoyed the movie, I was left wanting more, not necessarily because "Suicide Squad" was good, but because I felt I wasn’t given enough.
