Suicide Squad Review

So I've been hearing a lot of negative things about Suicide Squad the past few days. Now having watched the movie I must say it's not that bad as some make it out to be. Yes it has its flaws. I can see why certain things were done but unfortunately they were just not executed properly.

The story begins with Amanda Waller (Viola Davies) making her case to assemble Task Force X, or as some call it the titular Suicide Squad. After the events of Batman V Superman there is a need to have a response to take on the next meta-human threat. Waller's solution is to make use of dangerous criminals. If the mission goes well, great. If anything goes wrong they can absolve themselves from blame. Cause hey, they're villains.  

We are introduced to the team members one by one. This takes up a good chunk of the movie but it had to be done, considering that many won't know too much about these characters. The backstories and flashbacks are quite cool to see actually. We get to see them tangle with some heroes among other fun bits. Given their varying personalities you want to see how and if they can function together. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) was fleshed out more as you expect for what is probably the most popular character on the team. I especially enjoyed her interactions with the Joker (Jared Leto). We also get a glimpse of her in her original costume in an iconic scene from the comics. The other team members include Deadshot (Will Smith), Boomerang (Jai Courtney), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) and Slipknot (Adam Beach). In charge of this motley crew is Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), with Katana (Karen Fukuhara) tagging along as his backup. The villains naturally won't play along so a nano bomb is inserted into their necks to ensure that they do.  

Harley Quinn was the standout character for me. Margot Robbie did an amazing job with her portrayal. She's fun, kooky and crazy. I loved the way she spoke and her mannerism. It felt right out of the Batman: The Animated Series. Amanda Waller was great too. Serious, unwavering and ruthless. Deadshot is a smug, cocky badass. I felt he made one too many quips though. The rest of the team I thought were okay. I'm not quite sure what to think of the Joker. It is a different portrayal that's for certain. He comes across as very "gangsterish" and menacing. His laugh sounds rather forced to me though. I'll wait and see where they go with him. 

After all the introductions are taken care of the plot is straight forward. Assemble the team, take out the bad guys. A lot of music is featured in this movie. Too much in fact. I feel they should have confined the upbeat ones to the start of the film instead of sprinkling it all over. They really should not have used "Spirit in the Sky" which is strongly associated with Guardians of the Galaxy. The action is good. Everyone on the team got to show their abilities. I might be nit picking here but one gripe is why the damage inflicted by a regular soldier with a gun is not as effective as Harley swinging her bat. The CG at the final battle is average. I didn't really like the main villain. For something so powerful it really should have done better.

Suicide Squad is quite entertaining. There's good action, a bit of humour and it fits in well in the DC cinematic universe. I think the coolest part is seeing all the individual characters. This bunch is mostly different and new from what we've seen before. They were portrayed well enough. I really loved Harley and Deadshot. And even Captain Boomerang. I hope to see them again. There's a mid end-credits scene so be sure to stay back for that.