The best DCU film so far

Rating: 2/10 (21 August 2016)

After the divisive critical reaction and box office mediocrity of Batman v. Superman, I went into Suicide Squad not expecting much. Surprisingly, I liked a lot about the film. Thankfully, the portentous gods vs men "do we need heroes?" waffling from BvS is nowhere to be found.
David Ayer knows that action can be fun, as apposed to Zack Snyder's heavy handed growling and yelling matches. And the "rogues called together to do good" has echoes of 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, one of the best MCU films. And the anarchist spirit is a fun break from the somber tone of the previous films, to a point where it starts to feel like it's not actually part of the same universe, despite Ben Affleck showing up as Batman in a cameo.
Jared Leto's Joker is a different beast then Heath Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight, and in the DC cinematic universe, it works surprisingly well. Picture Hannibal Lector combined with Patrick Bateman. It's a shame there isn't more of him in the film. If they make The Joker the main villain of a Batman film, I'd pay all the money to see that.
Margot Robbie is the standout performance of the film, she nailed the character of Harley Quinn perfectly. Will Smith is good, given how little character background he's given. The rest are hit and miss. Crocodile man-monsters, ninjas and pyromaniacs.
The negatives? The choppy editing of the first 15 minutes is annoying, the villain is pretty forgettable, the character intros are hit and miss, and the overuse of pop songs gets old fast. But once the rogues gallery team up to kick ass, it's a surprisingly fun film. For all its flaws, this is the first time I've walked out of the cinema after a DCU film smiling. Now that's an achievement.