By now you’ve no doubt heard the hype surrounding DC’s latest introduction into its cinematic universe so we won’t go too much into the background of the movie. The story surrounds a group of expendable villains who are unwillingly thrown together and sent on a dangerous mission in the hope they can do some good. Let’s say no more than that and try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.
It’s difficult not to compare Suicide Squad to DC’s previous movie; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that got a mostly negative reception. It’s safe to say this time around they did more right than wrong and produced a better all-round movie with added comedy, less teenager mood swings and a better flowing story.
Critics have compared Suicide Squad to Dawn of Justice purely because it follows what was considered a disaster when it’s better compared to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy in that it surrounds a bunch of solo acts who come together as an entertaining team. This is a team we haven’t seen on the big-screen previously, though members of the Suicide team have been seen on the Arrow TV series. Unfortunately, the ligher-tone doesn’t quite hit the nail on the head in the way Guardians does. It could also have been as violent, rude and out-there as February’s Deadpool which is where it feels it wants to be but never quite reaches those heights.
The big question is how does this movie stand on its own without comparing it to what came before? Suicide Squad doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen before in terms of story and there are more plot holes than Batman has gadgets but it has a certain charm about it. It’s a fun, enjoyable movie and though not all the jokes hit the funny bone there were a good number that got a giggle from the audience. A couple of fights feel forced and just there for the sake of entertainment making the flow feel a little dis-jointed, particularly in the second-third, but the strong build up and finale left us wanting more.
The scope of the movie feels too big for who’s involved, these lesser-known villains are dealing with a global threat so why are we risking everything with a bunch of criminals? Where are the alter-egos of Barry Allen, Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent? Ooops, the latter is dead, spoiler alert! I guess we won’t be seeing him again.
Anyway, we know these heroes exist in this world and are suited-up and taking down bad guys so why don’t they feel the need to help save humanity? The Suicide Squad feels it was made to tackle the smaller threats, the ones that are highly dangerous but too small a task for the world’s finest.
The stand-out performance of the movie is Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn who everyone’s been itching to see; purely for her performance of a great character and in no-way down to the hot pants seen in every trailer. She hits all the notes of the character perfectly from the naive Joker-lover to the out-right crazy. Will Smith’s Deadshot also requires a quick shout-out too as another stand-out character we’d like to see more of, especially given the chemistry he shares with Miss Quinn.
Going into this movie the rumours were The Joker didn’t appear enough with nearly ten minutes worth of the clown prince footage removed from the final cut. Coming out of it we felt he was seen for a fair amount of time however. It’s not his movie, he’s not part of the squad and really he’s only there to serve as part of the Harley Quinn story, too much and he would potentially overshadow the rest of the cast, so why so serious? Sorry.
Overall Suicide Squad won’t do for DC what Guardians of the Galaxy did for Marvel but it’s certainly a step in the right direction for what has been a difficult start to the DC extended universe. There’s also a glimmer of hope for The Justice League and for that reason we’re giving Suicide Squad a modest 6/10.
