Suicide Squad (2016)

Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, & Joel Kinnaman

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Now before people start screaming about shutting me down, keep in mind, that I've promoting and talking about this film for over a year now. Not only that, but I was actually one of the nut jobs standing out in the rain at midnight, waiting to see it the night it came out, and I can honestly say I am disappointed. First of all, how do you make a film like this and not go all out for the R rating? Second, isn't there something wrong with a Joker who is more sexy than he is funny? 

Let's get into the film. Following the events of Dawn of Justice, the government is afraid that with the death of Superman, should another meta-human come to earth, they won't be prepared to stop them, so they turned to the most skilled and deadly people they can find, the worst of the criminal element. The film starts with a rushed introduction to the characters, which is focused on Deadshot (Will Smith). So there he is, the Fresh Prince at age 48, with the same persona he had in Independence Day, twenty years ago, telling the same type of jokes that were old then, after 8 years in Bel-Arie, and they are basically per-historic now! 

After basic training and more jokes aimed at thirteen year olds, they are dropped into the city and dredge on to their main object. Exactly like Katniss Everdeen in Mockingjay Pt. 2, except at least then there were some decent special effects and they weren't fighting big globs of shit. The story here is so basic that it's laughable, the make-up was better than the special effects, and the humor that was supposed to make this movie a classic just isn't there. That's the bad, what about the good? 

Jared Leto is still the perfect choice to play the Joker, unfortunately he doesn't get enough screen time, and he's not funny, if they ever let him off the leash in future DC films, I'd image he'd give a performance that would rival that of Heath Ledgers. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is the breakout star of the film, and really the only one worth watching in this mess of madness, as she was genuinely entertaining, and may actually be able to use this film as a launching point for a very promising future. I also loved seeing Joel Kinnaman of the Killing, finally get some of the attention he deserves, as he's always great and deserves a lot better than Robocop. 

The bottom line is that the Suicide Squad should have put DC right up there with Marvel, but it falls flat on it's face. There is no story, no character development, nothing that says we're catching up. While Suicide Squad is pulling in big numbers at the box office, if DC continues to disappoint us, the way they have with their last two blockbusters, that's not going to last either. It's time to take the gloves off and give the fans what they want, because this certainly wasn't it.