A Bull's-Eye of Horrible Execution

Rating: 4/10 (16 April 2017)

Admit it, you want to like this movie. Even if you never heard of Suicide Squad prior to the trailer's unveiling at Comic-Con, it just looked like a winner. Then came the reviews last week Headlines have denigrated Suicide Squad for all manner of politicized reasons. It has been labeled as misogynist, racist, and morally vapid. I simply do not agree. You do not need to stand on a soapbox of social superiority to call attention to how this film failed in political correctness; it is much easier to blatantly call it out for being an incoherent mess of atrociously executed plot lines and editing. I have to call attention to the editing, because I like to think there may very well be a better movie left on the cutting room floor. This is little consolation for the monumental disappointment fans are flocking to see in record numbers.
The introduction is hopeful. Director and writer David Ayer wastes no time in getting us into the miserable and eccentric prison lives of the beloved Gotham villains. Will Smith as the world's greatest assassin, Deadshot; Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as the mutant crocodile-human hybrid, Killer Croc; Jay Hernandez as the repressed pyro-kinetic, Diablo; Jai Courtney as the slovenly Australian thief, Boomerang; and of course Margot Robbie as Joker's right hand wild card, Harley Quinn. More than looking the part, this cast admirably puts their backs and hearts into these characters. This is almost tragic considering so many other elements of the movie failed to do them justice. Viola Davis plays the government spook who masterminds the "Suicide Squad Initiative", a worst-case-scenario operation that involves taking the nation's most dangerous prisoners and thinly offering them clemency in exchange for defending the home team.
So, what atrocity leads to the gang being organized? Enchantress, an ancient witch inhabiting a doctor's body, breaks free from the government's leverage and wreaks unholy havoc on a global level. The issue with this, Enchantress is initially a member of the Suicide Squad. The rest of the team is organized for the first time to battle one of their own members who went rogue. And I kid you not, this paradox is never addressed. The loose debates about letting these mass murderers walk the streets pivots on an assurance of control. Once the control is lost with one member, the rest are allowed out of their cages to get it back. Our love for the characters is stretched so far that we are expected to turn a blind eye to gaping plot holes and lazy justifications. The story ostensibly fast forwards through necessary expositions and tangents to get to the next battle or witty exchange between squad members.
For all its faults, there are short stretches of entertainment when you feel the joy Jared Leto and Margot Robbie bring to their roles. Flashbacks to Leto's Joker with Robbie will make you lament that they didn't just ride that tangent instead of letting this story go so astray. Will Smith has moments of embodying Deadshot in very satisfying ways. He can strike a pose in the heat of battle that summons more fond memories of the comic character. The actors have a reverence for the material that is unfortunately not shared by everyone on the project. Because Suicide Squad can officially be called a blockbuster despite critical backlash, it's a lock for a sequel. When that project comes to fruition, you may still want to like it, but you at least may not expect to.