First things first, I feel the need to disclaim that I have not read the comics (neither DC,nor Marvel), but I know the premise to Suicide Squad and the background behind the characters (prior to watching the movie). Also, if you are a person who does not like spoilers, please go see the movie before reading the rest of this article, as spoilers will follow. I am a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I am really trying to give DC a fair chance; therefore, even though I really did not like Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, I went to Suicide Squad with an open mind (and low expectations). Overall, I think that I enjoyed the movie -- I am a firm believer in that if you set your expectations extremely low, then you tend to enjoy yourself more than if you build it up in your mind.
Before I get into the aspects of the movie that I did not enjoy, I will give credit to some of the things that made the movie enjoyable. For starters, Suicide Squad was much better, in my opinion, than Batman vs Superman, and it made more sense. Where Dawn of Justice was all over the place, the storyline of Suicide Squad flowed well with minimal, and apparent, flashbacks. I absolutely loved Will Smith as Deadshot and thoroughly enjoyed his character. In addition to the easy-to-follow plot structure and action-packed fight scenes, it had a good variety of funny and serious scenes, as any good comic movie should. Now for the not so positive aspects.
The Music
Although I loved the soundtrack to the movie and the sound bytes were placed well throughout the movie, there were so many of them! After noticing that there were at least ten songs played in the first twenty minutes of the movie, I proceeded to count each song played, and got somewhere around 34 (including instrumental background music). Mind you, I do not count the number of songs played in every movie, this one just seemed to have one playing around every corner.
The Joker
I have to admit that I have been spoiled -- Heath Ledger was an amazing Joker, and I do not know how any actor could surpass his performance from The Dark Knight. That being said, I knew that Jared Leto's portrayal would have a different spin on the character and I needed to give him a chance. Truth be told, he did a good job at being crazy, but I cannot get past the Joker's new gangster look. Also, I need some explaining as to how he did not die in the helicopter explosion.
The Relationship Between the Joker and Harley Quinn
I love Harley Quinn. I am not quite sure what drew me to her a few years back (whether it was Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes or Batman Arkham Asylum), but she was what originally drew me to this movie. On that same note, I know her history very well, and know that she is not a person that one should aspire to be. I enjoyed that David Ayer (director) chose to include flashbacks of Harley Quinn in order to develop her character and show those who do not know her story that there is a reason behind her crazy. However, the scenes between the couple, when they were being "cute" (and Harley was doing everything for the Joker) made me extremely uncomfortable, especially the one in the club. I truly hope that viewers can see that their relationship is poisonous, literally.
All in all, I enjoyed Suicide Squad and would be willing to see it again, despite its cringe-worthy moments. Hopefully, DC will continue to improve its movies and the Wonder Woman movie (DC's next release) will be even better. Here's to wishful thinking.
