It's Deadpool all over again. What promised to be a naughty, subversive, wickedly cool antihero movie ends up being a fun and off-beat action flick with more hero than anti, more sub than vers, and more bark than bite. It's not the most clever or entertaining in this franchise on its own terms, and it doesn't hold up against the Marvel franchise. As someone who knows next-to-nothing about DC things, I can't say as much as fans who are disappointed or confused or annoyed. But there are a few things I can say, so here goes:
I liked it. Enough, anyway, to watch it again. It's a lot of fun. I'd rather see a group of crazy punks with demented grins blasting each other for a couple hours than Henry Cavill or Batfleck (or whatever they're calling him now) and their introspective self-loathing and put-upon nobility. Though I liked that well enough, too. Dark and grimy, the film makes no apologies for its seeming ugliness, and instead piles on the atmospheric dirt, making the viewing experience one of angst and pleasure, loaded with dark humor and violence. There could have been so much more, though, and that's what hangs me up.
The movie really could have and should have gone for an R rating. I mean, it's called Suicide Squad. A little language, a little blood, some light nudity would have made a world of difference for me. Too often the picture tiptoed around what could have been fabulous fight sequences or daring character development (I mean -- hello -- Joker and Harley Quinn and their Stockholm Syndrome romance could have made for a hell of a dynamic subplot). Instead, the film reads like a censored flick on midafternoon networks, or the movie equivalent of SparkNotes, talking more than doing, editing away the sweet juices and focusing on drier meal. Don't believe me? Example: How -- after Heath Ledger's terrifying Dark Knight scenes -- are you going to make the Joker a palatable villain if, in his introductory scene, you have him only mildly scare an underling with some pseudo-sexual powerplay and then just laugh and shoot him? It's not novel; it's not even worth watching. We've seen what the character can do with just a damn pencil. Up your game, guys.
Viola Davis is the main reason I will choose to watch the movie again. She steals each scene she graces, pulling off her understated performance moment by moment, until she allows us, eventually, to see cracks in her polished and calculated disguise. It's in the little moments and her subtleties that we suspect she is, in fact, hardly a better person than the criminals and crazies she has assembled, and that she may be far more devious than any of them. I saw her crazy eyes come out more than once, guys, don't tell me I'm wrong! Joel Kinnaman was pretty great as her squad leader, and nicely matched her tone and energy even when they weren't sharing a scene. Besides them, the rest of the cast was okay, nobody really standing out. Margot Robbie was a fun Harley Quinn, to be sure, but the part was totally catering her character; her one-liners were great, but people seem to forget that someone else wrote those lines. Jay Hernandez as El Diablo was probably the only character I was constantly intrigued by. Will Smith as Deadshot was fine, but felt a mismatch; his sentimental story made him sane and (possibly worse for this picture) sympathetic. Jared Leto's Joker was fine, I guess, but it felt more strained than sincere, more caricatured than charactered (not unlike David Tennant's Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter). Good thing he was more of a sideshow than main event.
I think David Ayer made a fine film. Between the rating and the pressure of a franchise picture with an ensemble cast, I only wish that he had been allowed to do more. The first half of the film promised boons: Each character is introduced with style and vigor, energy worthy of comic books and a twisted joy I relished. But, like Deadpool, by the halfway mark the sentiment overcomes the story, and not long after the film descends into typical superhero arcs, where the team bands together and rallies to fight the Big Bad, save the girl, save the city, win the day, and find their temporary happy endings. Superhero movies are going to have to evolve or die soon. And between Deadpool and Suicide Squad, the studios have proven that even ready-made antiheroic subversive protagonists can't transcend the same ol' rhythms and recipes.
IMDb: Suicide Squad
