Suicide Squad – Film Review

It is a chaotic time for the DC Extended Universe. Warner Bros is trying to appease fans and critics to build a more well received overall franchise. So far all of the films have had negative reception. The Ultimate Edition of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice helped a lot of those who were disappointed or confused by the films plot to have a better understanding of what was happening and made the emotion beats hit harder. With this film they had to make sure that the tone they portrayed in the trailers was reflective in the film. The Villains movie of the DCEU needs to have well developed characters people care about and a consistent tone.

This film has been plagued with so many problems. The reshoots are apparent by the noticeable change in overall tone of the DCEU. The beginning of the film there are a lot of songs inserted to add more energy to the film that become overtly distracting. I can understand the need to have a film with repeatable value but it was overdone. The relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn needed more depth to it because it was hard to get invested on why Harley is in love with the Joker and their dynamic didn’t feel true to the source material.

What was that? I should kill everyone and escape? Sorry, it’s the voices. Ahaha, I’m kidding! That’s not what they really said. – Harley Quinn

For the positives of the film, the production design on the title cards, typography, visual style and flair was fantastic. It was all very consistent with the marketing that energized the picture. All of the actors did a great job with their characters, they felt like a cohesive unit that knew how to work together onscreen. The standouts for me were Amanda Waller, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, El Diablo, Griggs (Ike Barinholtz), Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang, and Katana. Enchantress was decent. I enjoyed her as the main villain, but could have been better written/set up.

A lot of great action sequences, the end worked for me (action-wise). I feel the film could have been slightly more serious, but it worked for me. I liked the cameos as well from the two Justice League members. I hope there is a sequel that elevates the material. The Joker was fine, he was used enough for me. I hope he is used more in other DCEU films. Overall I would recommend this third entry into the DCEU, it is very fast paced and covers a lot of ground but you get a good sense of the core characters and their backstory.

7.5/10