Marvel movies have become formulaic. Here is DC working out its own formula.

Rating: 5/10 (15 October 2016)

Another DC movie that's not Batman, but Batman related. How does it stack up? After the over serious drab-fest that was Superman v Batman, "Squad" tries to be hip and cool with bullets, a greatest hits soundtrack (Oh, wow, Eminem. This song came out in, like, 2001) and a constant stream of bad jokes from Harley Quinn. You know it's a joke because the scene is serious and she says something in her baby doll voice to either add to or break the tension. That's how you know it's a joke.
"Squad" breaks convention by, instead of having the black guy being killed first, they kill off the First Nations guy instead. Very progressive, guys! And making the Australian a typical boozehound puts the cherry on the stereotype sundae.
Flag's southern accent is tedious. "Woo, now, baby girl, ain't that kind of mission." Jesus. Most guys who inject "y'all" into their sentences shake like leaves when you make direct eye contact.
Will Smith rocks it as Deadshot. He shoots things and then they die. But how is it that Harley Quinn is able to do more with a baseball bat than a team of soldiers with army training and machine guns? While she's wearing needle-heels and hot pants, no less? (And what's with those hot pants and heels? I hope the Suicide Squad is never sent anyplace in winter.) Jared Hess's performance of the joker (sorry, I have a hard time capitalizing it) is really hard to watch. Less of a portrayal and more of a performance, Hess is constantly breathy, draws out his words, and is all around embarrassing to watch. Why can't we have Jack Nicholson again? In reading about "Squad" you'll learn that many of his scenes were cut from the final edit: in watching his performance, it's easy to see why. It's as if instead of a vat of chemicals, this version of the joker fell into a septic tank.
Speaking of septic tanks, Harley's hot pants are constantly riding up, so we're given unwelcome wide shots of her bare cheeks *constantly.* It makes me think of the ad campaign for "Squad" in the weeks leading up to this movie's release: mostly Harley and shots of her pale clown butt. Did you know that pornography is related to necrophilia? No resistance, no rejection.
So, bad stuff so far. Onto the good: Killer Croc's makeup looks fantastic and Will Smith is as charismatic as ever (despite playing an ultra one-dimensional character. He's doin' it for the kids, yo.) Plus, it's pretty funny when Quinn's baby doll voice slips into normal.
But that said: for as stale as the superhero genre has become, I'm glad the movie DC universe is fleshing itself out with films like this. Don't let Marvel take all of the cake, guys.
On a final note, Captain Boomerang makes me think of Tom Hardy from Mad Max, which is a much superior film. Watch Mad Max instead.