THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
I was excited for Warner Bros. to create a cinematic universe for DC Comics, as it was long overdue for various characters to appear onscreen. However, the franchise oddly became a mixed bag as it began. Some people enjoyed Man of Steel while some were too hard on it. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice split the audience in half and before we got the mess that was Justice League, we had a bigger mess that was Suicide Squad. PLOT
The film takes place a year after Superman had died. Intelligence officer Amanda Waller is able convince DC officials to assemble Task Force X, a team of dangerous criminals that will work for the government. She enlists marksman Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot, bank robber George 'Digger' Harkness aka Captain Boomerang, mutant Waylon Jones aka Killer Croc, pyrokinetic Chato Santana aka El Diablo and Joker's girlfriend Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn. All will be under the command of Rick Flag, be used as disposable assets for high risk missions. They will also have implanted nanite bombs on their necks if they disobey. One of Waller's intended recruits, archaeologist June Moone possessed by a witch known as the Enchantress, turns on her due to her imprisonment. She destroys Midway City, summons her brother Incubus and create an army of monsters, planning to destroy the planet. When this goes public, Task Force X is sent to extract a high profile target in the city, reporting the destruction as a terrorist attack. Deadshot is the only one who gets that the team is being lied to. They are Japanese swordsman Katana, whose sword possesses the souls of its victims. When the Joker finally discovers Harley's whereabouts, he pursues her. When they make it to the city, the first one who attempts to escape is mercenary Slipknot (Adam Beach), who can climb anything, leading to his demise by his nanite going off. They all fight the monstrous army all the way to safe house, where the target is revealed to be Waller herself. Joker catches up and disarms Harley's nanite, allowing her to escape. When Waller demands Deadshot to shoot her, he intentionally misses. She than summons her men to take down Joker's chopper. Harley is able to jump for it and surviving, while her boyfriend is presumed dead as the aircraft crashes. Enchantress is able to capture Waller and the team must now rescue her. Before they do so, they reunite with Harley and Deashot finds Waller's files on the witch. He makes Flag confess that she is the real threat. Upset of being lied to, they abandon him and choose to have drinks at an abandoned bar. With Waller being compromised, Flag destroys his nanite remote, relieving them of the mission, but they choose to join him, in order to prove themselves. They find Enchantress at a flooded subway station. Killer Croc leads some of Flag's men to set off a bomb. When they confront the witch, they also fight Incubus. El Diablo confronts the brother and turns into a flaming skeleton avatar to overpower it. The bomb goes off, killing them both. With Waller attached to the superweapon, Enchantress is able to destroy every army and weapon of the modern world. When the team fights her, Harley is able to remove the heart from the witch and Deadshot destroys the superweapon with explosives. Flag destroys the heart and Enchantress, but Moone survives. With Waller back, she gives everyone 10 years off their sentences, along with special privileges. The film ends with a survived Joker breaking Harley out of Belle Reve. We also get a post credit scene where Bruce Wayne promises to protect Waller from backlash on Enchantress' rampage, in exchange of metahuman files. THOUGHTS
Looking back of the time seeing this in theaters in 2016, I honestly recall enjoying it. But the more I've seen it, the more I realize that it's not as good as I thought. This is a really messy film. Director David Ayer made something that can be fun but is just all over the place. I'm not sure what he was going for when writing this but if this isn't his vision, than let's get an Ayer Cut because the extra runtime from the Extended Edition wasn't enough for me. The biggest problem with this movie is the editing. There is so much out of place I almost forgot what was going on. The big gripe with the editing is that we don't see the Joker long enough to even appreciate his presence. That is highly distasteful. There are some stuff that I liked but before I get there, I gotta call out all of its cons, story wise. First off, how did one of these officials not know that Waller was gonna bring up Task Force X during the meeting? If you're setting up a meeting, you should know what the hell you're gonna talk about. Also, why did she tip Batman to arrest Deadshot? If she knew the guy's whereabouts, she should've got him on her own. It was even dumber for her to shoot other agents who knowingly worked for a clandestine agency and basic trust. I call bullshit on her saying they weren't clear for any of it. It's a lazy excuse to show how bad she is. Sure it was badass to see Enchantress steal Iran's plans from a vault , but it is unable to get to heart because of a sensor. If she wanted it so bad, she should've went for it. I can enjoy a roll credits moment where a character says the title to the movie but I am cringing to when Deadshot randomly says it, "What are we some kind of suicide squad?" becoming the most pointless line of the movie. The government official complains on how Enchantress and Incubus' attack not being contained was very dumb. This is a comic book movie and this is in the same universe where Superman caused a lot of damage, so he shouldn't be surprised of shit like this not being contained. Sure it can get suspenseful that Joker and Harley are texting each other which builds up her escape but I find it hard to believe that not a single soldier notices her use it, except Deadshot. Not searching her is one thing but not paying attention to what they're carrying is another. It looks badass how no one is shooting Harley when she escapes, but somebody should've done that immediately when they find out that her nanite got disarmed. And why the hell does Boomerang rejoin the team when he literally walked away after Flag relieved them from the mission? I am confused that we don't see what changed his mind. Lastly, I am on the brink of turning off the tv when El Diablo calls the team his family. That is massive bullshit that he would have bonded with them long enough to be a family. Friends is one thing, family is something they are far from. These flaws feel impossible to gloss over but if you can, then damn. The pros here mainly go to the cast because the chemistry here is so on point that it is the reason I have re watched it after all this time. First off, I really enjoyed Will Smith here as Deadshot. He clearly is the badass when shooting up the place. I mean that shooting range scene was pretty cool for me. You know you like someone who loves his kids so seeing how much he cares about his daughter, you'll quickly be rooting for him. Viola Davis is bad to the bone as Amanda Waller. Every look she gives, you know she's someone who just doesn't give a damn of anything else but getting the job done. The true highlight of this movie is obviously Margot Robbie because she becomes Harley Quinn in the blink of an eye. If you ask me why this movie has an Oscar for Best Makeup & Hairstyling, it will be because of what they do to Robbie, because the final product gives me Quinn. She is on point being someone who is crazy in love but is confused deep down on what she wants. Every scene she has with the Joker, you feel that she is always in the moment with him. Speaking of the clown prince of crime, I am likely one of few that actually appreciate Jared Leto. Creepy? Yes. Memorable? Not likely. Different? Yes. I think he succeeds in making this character his own which is what you gotta do for a character that has been played by many. I'm not crazy about Cara Delevigne, but I have respect for her performance. She's got it right for Enchantress' creepy stares, but the visuals on the third act pulled me out of the movie. However, I was still convinced on the June Moone aspect, because I truly believed she was scared of what's inside her. I wasn't crazy about the relationship with Rick Flag, but what I liked about Joel Kinnaman is how he is just so annoyed of the Squad. Seeing his look of disappointment when meeting them all makes me chuckle. El Diablo was honestly my favorite character when reading the comic books, but I won't say the same here. However, I thought Jay Hernandez was good too. I think the reason people would have respect towards the character is that he is one with regret who redeems himself by his sacrifice. I mean when discussing that he is responsible for his family's death, you see he regrets it all. Surprisingly, Jai Courtney did make me laugh as Captain Boomerang. I mean seeing him talk about encountering The Flash, mocking Diablo's powers and complaining of no freedom, I mean I couldn't help myself with him. And, it is pretty crazy that he has a boomerang with a 360 camera with the bunch that he carries. The two characters that are the biggest misuse besides Joker are Katana and Killer Croc. Because I've read the comics, I've enjoyed their presence but I know they could've done better. Having said that, I do think Karen Fukuhara does own it as much as she could with the broken warrior that is Katana. When she talks to the soul of her husband from the sword, I mean it really sucks that that's the only way she communicates with him. And as for Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, he had such intimidation as Killer Croc, due to the great makeup. Hearing his growls, you don't want to be in the same room as him. Lastly, I enjoyed Ben Affleck’s cameo as Batman because it actually makes sense to see him take down some of Gotham’s criminals. I truly appreciate in the mid credit scene. When he tells Waller, ‘You should shut it down or my friends and I will do it for you’, it just sounds so badass because not only was it a cool way to hype up Justice League, but you truly believed he was Batman. In short, despite having an okay ensemble, Suicide Squad is the worst film adaptation of DC Comics since 2004's Catwoman, due to being an un contained story. If you're still willing to see it after what I've said, than good luck. For those who were disappointed I was, than let's just pray for the sequel to deliver being a good film.
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