Into the DC Murderverse: "Suicide Squad"

 "Suicide Squad" (2016)

After the gritty, abysmal "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," it appeared that the DCEU was going to to into a completely different direction. The trailer for "Suicide Squad" showed a movie that felt bright, and zany and kind of psychotic, perfect for a squad of villains working for their government against their will. It would introduce Harley Quinn, one of the most popular characters in the DC universe. Even if "BvS" left a bad taste in your mouth, "Suicide Squad felt like the movie that would right the ship. 

Principal photography on "Suicide Squad" began on April 13, 2015 and concluded at the end of August 2014. The film stars Will Smith as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Col. Rick Flag, Jai Courtney as George "Digger" Harkness/Captain Boomerang, Jay Hernandez as Chato Santana/Diablo, Adele Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Waylon Jones/Killer Croc, Cara Delevigne as Dr. June Moon/Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara as Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana, Scott Eastwood as "GQ" Edwards, Jared Leto as The Joker and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. The film was written and directed by David Ayer. "Suicide Squad" was released on August 5, 2016.

The best things about this movie.

"Suicide Squad" is another movie that I haven't seen since I saw it in the theater. It's the type of movie that when you first see it you think, "Well, that wasn't great, but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen," but as you think about more, you realize that for the most part it was kind of garbage. Is it the Chrysler sized turd that "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" was? No, but that isn't high praise.

I remember watching the trailer for "Suicide Squad" and thinking it had potential. It looked like it had the major thing that "BvS" didn't: fun. The actors looked like they were enjoying themselves. It didn't have a washed out color palette like the previous DC Murderverse films. In fact, the trailer was saturated with neon. I was kind of excited about. Plus, I'm a huge Harley Quinn fan and even though her outfit leaved a lot to be desired, I was pretty psyched that she was finally going to get a live action film debut. It felt long overdue. 

I'm going to start this with the few things about this movie that I really enjoy. Will Smith is a great Deadshot. I'm going to say up front that I am a big fan of Will Smith. He's one of my favorite actors and there really isn't a movie he's made that I've hated. He is funny and pretty effortlessly charming. Even though he is playing an assassin, because he's being played by Smith, you root for Deadshot. That is important when you're dealing with a film centered around a bunch of villains. 

When the casting for "Suicide Squad" was announced, I wasn't super familiar with Margot Robbie. All I'd seen her in was "The Wolf of Wall Street" and her role as Leonardo DiCaprio's trophy wife was not a showcase for her acting skills. She really proved me wrong. Robbie seems to have a full grasp on who Harley is. Her tics and facial expressions are on point and she's effortlessly sexy. I really enjoyed her take on Harley's distinct "Noo Yawk" accent. She doesn't try to ape Arleen Sorkin or Tara Strong. It is her own but recognizably Harley. The film kind of lets Harley down in the end but none of it is Robbie's fault.

A face only Harley could love.

I'm pretty sure that this is a controversial/unpopular opinion, but I don't hate Jared Leto as the Joker. I hate the weird method acting bullshit that he pulled while filming the movie, like sending Viola Davis dead rats and shit like that. Leto's take on Joker is unique. He definitely makes it his own. He doesn't try to be Heath Ledger, which would have been a disaster. Leto's Joker is an unhinged, hipster gangster with a full grill and lots of tattoos and it fits with Ayer's take on Gotham City. And I don't care what anyone says the tattoo of the full, grinning mouth on the side of his hand is cool. Plus, he has the Joker laugh down pat. I think the reason people are so down on Leto is because the film doesn't give him enough to do and he just feels kind of shoehorned in. That isn't really Leto's fault and I wouldn't be upset about another movie where he was the primary villain so you could really judge him on his merits. Who knows if that will happen now.

Amanda Waller is one of the baddest bitches in the DC Universe so it makes sense that she would be portrayed by Viola Davis, a bad bitch in her own right. When "Suicide Squad" was first announced, there were rumors going around that Oprah Winfrey was going to play Waller, which I would have loved. I prefer the stockier Amanda that was de rigeur pre-New 52, part of the reason she was nicknamed "The Wall." But, you can't be made about Viola Davis playing anyone. She embodies Waller's no nonsense, take no prisoners, don't fuck with me attitude.

Not all the casting works though. Cara Delevigne is wildly miscast as Dr. June Moon aka The Enchantress. When "Suicide Squad" was filmed, Delevigne was only 22 or 23 and we were expected to buy her as an archaeologist? She looks like she is in high school. It's not all her fault, I guess. All she gets to do is be scared as June and creepily whisper as Enchantress until she is basically reduced to a bio queen who is performing while someone else voices her. She and Kinnaman's Rick Flag have zero chemistry, so you never really buy their relationship, which is a shame since a lot of the emotional heft of the movie depends on it. 

The biggest issue with "Suicide Squad" is that it's boring and has a plodding pace. It starts out OK. I do really like the introduction of each member of the Squad. They are really fun and soundtracked immaculately. It's nice to see the pop ups. Hey Flash! Hey Batman! But it takes way too much time setting up the main conflict of the movie. Then, when the Squad finally gets to Midway City to confront Enchantress and her brother, it feels like we are just moving from one generic action scene to another. 

Another place that "Suicide Squad" struggles is in its action scenes. They spend the majority of their time beating up on these faceless creatures that used to be the citizens of Midvale City. It's hard to tell them apart. You'd think it was just one long neverending fight scene if the scenery to change now and again.

Da squad.

The premise of "Suicide Squad" is so great and definitely lends itself to some kooky outside the box stuff (which hopefully James Gunn's sequel, "The Suicide Squad" will deliver later this year), but Ayer's movie is just a cliché riddled, snoozefest. A lot of what happens in the movie is just so predictable. I'm not saying predictability is bad per se, especially in a comic book film as long as the film is good. When the film is bad, it is just another knock against it. Everything is so telegraphed. Diablo swearing to never use his powers, but then doing it after minimal goading from Deadshot. Deadshot being a "hero." The eventual coming together of the team. Harley defending her new "friends." The nondescript villains and their unexplainable glowing tower of doom. It's all just a giant mess.

I mentioned earlier that they do Harley dirty and man, do they. It's even more glaringly gross after seeing Harley done right in "Birds of Prey." I want to start this off by saying, I don't have a problem with female characters dressing "sexy." Harley is sexy af in "Birds of Prey," but she is not objectified by the camera like she is in "Suicide Squad." Her "costume" is ridiculous and the camera spends most of it's time zoomed in on her cheeks hanging out of her blue and red booty shorts. The Harley I know would never choose this to wear when she has a trunk full of other options. Even when Harley has a genuine badass moment, like when she baseball bats the creatures in the elevator, it is completely undercut by Ayer's male gaze behind the camera. Ugh.

The mid credits scene shows Bruce Wayne meeting with Waller and getting her files on metas including Flash and Aquaman. This felt very comics especially the threats between the two as Bruce is leaving. So, there's that.

I stupidly had high hopes for "Suicide Squad" but it's mishmash casting, wild tonal shifts, plodding plot and mediocre action really brought it down. I'm thankful that James Gunn has a chance to bring a more comics accurate "Suicide Squad" to the big screen or the small screen if you have HBO Max. 

Next up, Wonder Woman makes her debut in the first genuinely good Murderverse film.

As always, I want to hear from you. Am I being too hard on "Suicide Squad?" Are there things you liked that I overlooked? Let me know in the comments.