Dir: David Ayer

Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie

2h 3min. Cert 15

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Ever since the first reveal trailer for Suicide Squad, comic book fans have been jizzing in their batman boxer shorts. After Batman vs Superman turned out to be tepid at best, expectations were high. And they haven’t let us forget about it, with a marketing campaign so unrelenting that you couldn’t turn on a TV without hearing Margot Robbie tell you how vexing she is. She’s known to be quite vexing by the way, I’m just forewarning you.

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After all the buzz it’s finally arrived on our screens, and the reviews are in. Financially, it’s been a success, breaking box office records for an opening weekend in August in the US. I try to avoid reading reviews before I’ve written my own, but a quick glance at Rotten Tomatoes.suggests that they’ve not been too kind, with an embarrassing score of 26%. It’s worth mentioning that I’m not a comic book guy, I have next to no familiarity with the source material and will be basing my review on the film as a film, not as an adaptation of something I love.

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So is it really that bad? I would say no, but it definitely has its problems. Let’s start with the plot, which sees the Suicide Squad being created and taking on their first mission together. This may sound like a very brief summary, but it’s pretty much the whole film, give or take a few flashback scenes. So despite a lot of action, not that much happens. I had a lot of more specific problems with the plot, but I’ll get to those later in the spoiler-heavy part of the review.

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There was a lot of hype around Jared Leto’s joker and I’m sure he was happy to have it; it’s always been a desirable role. And after Ledger won the oscar for his portrayal of the Joker in Nolan’s Dark Knight, there was a lot of pressure on Leto to bring something new to the character. I’ve never been a big fan of Leto, my favourite moment of his is when he had his face pummeled in by Edward Norton in Fight Club. But begrudgingly I have to admit that he’s a decent actor.

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He wanted to try a fresh take on the Joker, and I can respect that. And I actually thought he did a pretty good job with what he was given. But it was the script that let him down, with far too few chances for him to shine. On the other hand, Margot Robbie had a lot more to do, and she was great. Of course I might have been slightly blinded by the fact that she’s quite an attractive young lady. It was hard to forget when they had an arse-level shot of her every couple of minutes.

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Will Smith was his usual self as Deadshot, and he didn’t let the squad down. I found Diablo and Boomerang to be the most interesting of the bunch. Despite not as much screen time, Diablo felt like the most complete character, but maybe that’s because I’m drawn to the peaceful warrior types. And Boomerang provided the most effective comic relief , with his ‘good job mate’ easily being the best line in the whole film.

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DC seems determined to ignore the formula that Marvel have employed so successfully, and are doing their ‘all-the-superheroes-in-one-film’ films before establishing each character in their own solo films. This results in rushed flashback scenes, trying to make us care about the characters as quickly as possible while leaving time for all the action.

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I mean the whole film is basically a trailer, prepping us for Justice League, the new Batman film, the now inevitable Suicide Squad 2, and the many solo films I’m sure we’ll see. And it’s kind of made like a trailer too, though it’s not as good as the actual trailers were. Take the music, of which there is plenty. All the songs from the trailers appear in the first ten minutes of the film, in thirty-second or less snippets.

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Each song on the extensive soundtrack feels like it has been carefully considered to appeal to the masses. You’re not taking any risks when you get Margot Robbie to put on a skimpy outfit to Eminem’s Without Me, I mean how can teen boys not love that? There’s barely a moment where five minutes go by and we haven’t heard a crowd-pleasing song.

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And weirdly, some of the dialogue that appeared in the actual trailers seems to have been cut from the final film. I’m expecting a heavily extended cut when it’s released on DVD, one that all the die-hard DC fans will swear is much better. And maybe it will be. Maybe there are hours of extra footage that adds some much-needed depth to this film. Maybe David Ayer’s vision was destroyed by studio demands. But it doesn’t excuse the theatrical release.

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And now for the SPOILERS. Not that I think they really spoil anything. There’s really not much to be spoiled. But this stuff might not be worth reading if you haven’t seen the film. You can scroll past them to the summary if you like. Your choice.

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BIG FAT JUICY SPOILERS AHEAD. LOTS OF THEM. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

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The first problem that cropped up for me was love as a character motivation. I could accept it with Harley Quinn and the Joker, but it annoyed me with Rick Flag and the Enchantress. And before you start yelling in rage about all their history in the comics, I’ll remind you that I’m judging this as a film on its own merit. These films are clearly marketed towards everyone, not just comic book fans who can fill in the blanks.

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Back to Flag and the Enchantress. Waller says that she put them together with the intention of them falling in love. In fact as far as I could tell, this seemed like a pretty integral part of her plan for the Suicide Squad. Not that it happened and she used it to her advantage, but that she intended it. So what if they didn’t fall in love? Proximity certainly helps, but as far as I’m aware it’s not the only condition for love. Seems a bit lazy.

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Next is the issue of how good the villains actually are. Yeah they might kill a couple of people, but jesus they’re a bunch of softies. Near the end of the film, they’re all given the option to leave the Suicide Squad and be free. I understand that Diablo wouldn’t leave, I assume he’s looking for redemption for the bad shit he’s done. That’s fine. And Harley Quin believes that Joker is dead and she’s crazy, so maybe she decides to stay. Fine. Deadshot maybe wants to save the world for his daughter’s sake? Ok, sure. And Killer Croc was such a non-character that I don’t really care why he stayed.

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But why doesn’t Boomerang leave? Sure he walks away at first, and I rejoiced. But it was just for comic effect; he comes straight back. Why? His introduction in the beginning specifically shows that he doesn’t work well with others; he kills his partner without any remorse. And the Suicide Squad is together for such a short space of time, why do they love each other so much? Especially when half of them are meant to be sociopaths. Did they really have to change all of the villains into heroes? I know that might be the idea, but it just seems boring. For a supposedly ‘dark film’, it sure didn’t feel like it.

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And speaking of villains, let’s talk Joker. As I mentioned before, I think Leto did a good job. Considering what he had to work with. But Suicide Squad is a 15. Can’t you have him doing something a bit more crazy and gruesome than shooting someone in the head? Dark Knight saw Ledger’s joker ramming a henchmen’s head onto a fucking pencil, and that was a 12a.

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This Joker felt more like an eccentric crime boss, and it just wasn’t what I wanted from the character. I mean he shot a guy for looking at Harley Quinn the wrong way. It’s a classic gangster move, and the way it happened just made me think of Italian mobsters. Not a psychopath so twisted that he could turn a top psychiatrist insane just by talking to her. I wanted more than a kooky lovestruck gangster, but I don’t blame Leto for how it came across. Hopefully he’ll get more of a chance in whatever DC film he crops up in next.

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SPOILERS ENDED. SPOILERS ALL DONE NOW.

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This is the end of the review, where I sum it all up in a neat little package and try to sign off with something witty that turns out cheesy. In all honesty I went into Suicide Squad with low expectations, which I had before any of the reviews were out, and those expectations were met. I almost wish it had been worse, then it might have been more fun to write about. Instead it was mediocre; a standard action film marketed as something different, using a well-known brand for guaranteed commercial success.

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At this point it doesn’t seem to matter if a superhero film is any good, we just keep chucking our money at them and they break box office records regardless. I think I finally understand what the Joker’s laughing about. It’s us. We’re the joke.

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Rating: 2.5 / 5