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Thoughts on Suicide Squad (mild spoilers)
9 years ago
Okay, look. I saw the early reviews from Jeremy Jahns and Angry Joe saying how awesome this movie is, saying to ignore the critics, and so I was really hyped for a fun movie. So, what the hell happened. I didn't hate it, but man, something just feels off here. Half the elements in the movie are really good, and the other half are really NOT good. I don't want to sound completely negative here, so let's start with what I liked...
First of all, the movie essentially revolves around Will Smith as Deadshot and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, which I felt was a smart move because they're easily the best part of the movie. Margot Robbie is excellent as Harley Quinn. I believed her as the character the entire time, though her accent does fade in and out throughout the movie. It mostly picks up when she spouts out the classic Harley Quinn lines like "Mistah J" and "Puddin'." Perhaps the biggest surprise is that you do get to see the classic Harley Quinn costume a couple of times, and it's absolutely PERFECT. (Though I'm not going to lie, Margot Robbie does look really, really good in those booty shorts... just... damn). The movie also has an interesting take on Harley's relationship with the Joker. It's still abusive and dysfunctional, but this time, it seems like Joker has some real feelings for Harley, as he really goes out of his way to be with her, which we haven't really seen in the past.
And of course, Will Smith is Will Smith. And Will Smith is awesome.
I also liked Batman a lot more in this movie than how he acted in Dawn of Justice. He actually seems like a hero this time, who's more concerned with stopping criminals without killing them. I also appreciate how the movie isn't afraid of showing the heroes. From the trailers, I got the impression that Batman was only going to be in the shadows the whole time, but that wasn't the case.
For the most part, the other actors were fine as well, and the story is easier to follow than Dawn of Justice, assuming you're not super into the comic book continuity.
As for what I didn't like, well... (deep inhale) The editing in this movie is schizophrenic as hell, jumping around all over the place and highlighted by unnecessary bright neon colors and even less necessary music choices, most of which were kept from the trailers. On top of that, the action scenes often are filmed way too close, so it's hard to see what's happening, or too far away, so the shot looks boring. Oh, and speaking of boring, there's surprisingly little humor here that wasn't already given away in the trailers. The best way I can describe what's wrong here is by examining the Joker's visual design, with all the tattoos, metal teeth, and writing "Damaged" on his forehead like some shitty teenage edgelord. That design is a visual metaphor for how the entire movie is. Everything is loud and busy in the most obnoxious way possible. You know how Optimus Prime got a flame pattern in his paint job for the Transformers movies, but then when the first movie came out, nobody said anything about the flame pattern anymore? That's because it was just a small symptom of a much bigger problem. And the Joker's design is the same way. You barely even notice it when watching the actual movie because the screen is constantly cluttered with shit, and the soundtrack is so loud that it can be hard to hear what the characters are saying half the time. In fact, I think it's safe to say at this point that Zack Snyder (who's listed as a producer on this movie) is to the DC Universe as Michael Bay is to Transformers. A fun premise can only go so far if the creative direction of these films is being handled by someone who could give two shits about understanding the source material as long as it's "hardcore." I mean, there's actually another character who's a member of the Suicide Squad who wasn't in any of the trailers (and I won't say who it is here), but his only purpose in the movie is to show up, do nothing, and die 5 minutes later. For absolutely no fucking reason. And speaking of which, Amanda Waller is here, and without going into detail, there's a scene where she kills a bunch of her own people. Again, for no reason. I know you're not really supposed to "like" Amanda Waller, but jeez, what was that even about? I mean, they kinda explain it, but it's the weakest explanation you could imagine. I'm so tired of these movies having characters act like sadistic jackoffs just because people like Zack Snyder think it's cool rather than actually putting any thought into character motivation. In fact, I could probably start a list of things in the movie that never get explained...
-Deadshot wears a mask a few times, but unless you're already familiar with the character, the purpose of the mask is never explained and doesn't seem to give him any advantage, so it makes no sense for Harley to call him a pussy when he puts it on.
-Killer Croc insists on going on an underwater mission, then does absolutely nothing and teleports into a completely different scene.
-Captain Boomerang runs off (as in, just plain leaves), then rejoins the team in the next shot for no reason.
-Enchantress belly dancing. You'll know what I mean if you see the movie. I just can't even...
-Rick Flag is somehow able to disarm a bomb in less than 2 seconds.
Overall, the movie is... okay. It's not as terrible as some reviews have made it out to be. It's definitely watchable, and probably the best in the Snyder-driven DC cinematic lineup so far. But it is deeply flawed and not as much fun as advertised. And on a personal note, it's really starting to sink in just how much I don't care for the tone of the shared DC cinematic universe.
And yes, it's been said by other reviewers before, but if you'd like to see a better Suicide Squad movie, Batman: Assault on Arkham is highly recommended.
First of all, the movie essentially revolves around Will Smith as Deadshot and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, which I felt was a smart move because they're easily the best part of the movie. Margot Robbie is excellent as Harley Quinn. I believed her as the character the entire time, though her accent does fade in and out throughout the movie. It mostly picks up when she spouts out the classic Harley Quinn lines like "Mistah J" and "Puddin'." Perhaps the biggest surprise is that you do get to see the classic Harley Quinn costume a couple of times, and it's absolutely PERFECT. (Though I'm not going to lie, Margot Robbie does look really, really good in those booty shorts... just... damn). The movie also has an interesting take on Harley's relationship with the Joker. It's still abusive and dysfunctional, but this time, it seems like Joker has some real feelings for Harley, as he really goes out of his way to be with her, which we haven't really seen in the past.
And of course, Will Smith is Will Smith. And Will Smith is awesome.
I also liked Batman a lot more in this movie than how he acted in Dawn of Justice. He actually seems like a hero this time, who's more concerned with stopping criminals without killing them. I also appreciate how the movie isn't afraid of showing the heroes. From the trailers, I got the impression that Batman was only going to be in the shadows the whole time, but that wasn't the case.
For the most part, the other actors were fine as well, and the story is easier to follow than Dawn of Justice, assuming you're not super into the comic book continuity.
As for what I didn't like, well... (deep inhale) The editing in this movie is schizophrenic as hell, jumping around all over the place and highlighted by unnecessary bright neon colors and even less necessary music choices, most of which were kept from the trailers. On top of that, the action scenes often are filmed way too close, so it's hard to see what's happening, or too far away, so the shot looks boring. Oh, and speaking of boring, there's surprisingly little humor here that wasn't already given away in the trailers. The best way I can describe what's wrong here is by examining the Joker's visual design, with all the tattoos, metal teeth, and writing "Damaged" on his forehead like some shitty teenage edgelord. That design is a visual metaphor for how the entire movie is. Everything is loud and busy in the most obnoxious way possible. You know how Optimus Prime got a flame pattern in his paint job for the Transformers movies, but then when the first movie came out, nobody said anything about the flame pattern anymore? That's because it was just a small symptom of a much bigger problem. And the Joker's design is the same way. You barely even notice it when watching the actual movie because the screen is constantly cluttered with shit, and the soundtrack is so loud that it can be hard to hear what the characters are saying half the time. In fact, I think it's safe to say at this point that Zack Snyder (who's listed as a producer on this movie) is to the DC Universe as Michael Bay is to Transformers. A fun premise can only go so far if the creative direction of these films is being handled by someone who could give two shits about understanding the source material as long as it's "hardcore." I mean, there's actually another character who's a member of the Suicide Squad who wasn't in any of the trailers (and I won't say who it is here), but his only purpose in the movie is to show up, do nothing, and die 5 minutes later. For absolutely no fucking reason. And speaking of which, Amanda Waller is here, and without going into detail, there's a scene where she kills a bunch of her own people. Again, for no reason. I know you're not really supposed to "like" Amanda Waller, but jeez, what was that even about? I mean, they kinda explain it, but it's the weakest explanation you could imagine. I'm so tired of these movies having characters act like sadistic jackoffs just because people like Zack Snyder think it's cool rather than actually putting any thought into character motivation. In fact, I could probably start a list of things in the movie that never get explained...
-Deadshot wears a mask a few times, but unless you're already familiar with the character, the purpose of the mask is never explained and doesn't seem to give him any advantage, so it makes no sense for Harley to call him a pussy when he puts it on.
-Killer Croc insists on going on an underwater mission, then does absolutely nothing and teleports into a completely different scene.
-Captain Boomerang runs off (as in, just plain leaves), then rejoins the team in the next shot for no reason.
-Enchantress belly dancing. You'll know what I mean if you see the movie. I just can't even...
-Rick Flag is somehow able to disarm a bomb in less than 2 seconds.
Overall, the movie is... okay. It's not as terrible as some reviews have made it out to be. It's definitely watchable, and probably the best in the Snyder-driven DC cinematic lineup so far. But it is deeply flawed and not as much fun as advertised. And on a personal note, it's really starting to sink in just how much I don't care for the tone of the shared DC cinematic universe.
And yes, it's been said by other reviewers before, but if you'd like to see a better Suicide Squad movie, Batman: Assault on Arkham is highly recommended.
