First they drive you mad, and then they drag you to war

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2016)

I have been a DC fan since the 90s, read thousands of issues, including every Squid Squad comics EVER. It' s my favorite US team comic of all time and the DCEU now produced the 3rd source accurate, yet critically despised film in a row. John Ostrander, the creator of the Squad (look him up!), "loved" this movie, yet it is being ripped apart for every sin under the sun. Including being an insult to the comic I was deathly afraid that the same insanity would tank BvS (read my 9,5/10 review for the UC) but it didn't. I am now happy that the critics hated this movie as I can't see myself liking a DCEU film they would. I am also a big Marvel film + comic fan, but why do they get universal acclaim for producing inferior movies that radically change the source material? NO comment, to the review:
The narrative has a 2 act structure. The 1st half is an over the top black comedy with constantly changing "theme songs" to give quick characterization in a crowded cast. Guardians of the Galaxy had pop songs too, but so did Watchmen and the Crow. Stop the rip-off comments, and i liked all 3. The editing is universally criticized and was so fast that even i needed 5 minutes to adjust, and then it HIT me. The director tried to drive me mad, to get inside the character's heads, who are mostly mentally unstable convicts. Genius! All but Flag, Katana and Waller (debatable) are villains, yet the film is being ripped apart for having "bad role" models and violence. The film logo has bullet holes, and features the Joker! WTF? The films isn't exactly a feelgood movie either, never blindly compare it to Guardians again. Deadpool is the only US comic movie with similar ideas. Than hell on Earth, literally, breaks loose, and the mission starts.
The 2nd half is a borderline bleak war movie, with the Squad and a Special Forces unit cleaning streets and rooms for about 1 hour. A few, universally spectacular flashbacks still occur, a few songs, outside of the well done score, still play but things get dark. That drove critics mad. A war movie about unwilling convicts being dark is a plus! A lot of action in an action film is good! A light in the sky, faceless hordes of enemies and an end-of-the-world plot show up. Just as in the hit comics or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Were these by Marvel too? That's the story. Simple and clean, yet twisted as a pretzel, including a few JLA cameos. Now, the very diverse Squad in alphabetical order:
Amanda Waller: Davis nails it, and she ends up being the worst human in the movie, outside of the Joker. The body count on her head makes her the deadliest DCEU (anti-)villain to date. Let's see if she can redeem herself later. Captain Boomerang: Courtney again reminds us that he can act, if the script is good. He even comes back like a + 1 for the safety Unicorn. Deadshot: The 70s version is played well by Smith and his well-used daughter has a comic counterpart. You can see how happy The Fresh Prince of Belle Reve is to be in a good movie, for once! El Diablo: Hernandez made a mostly unknown villain a highlight, as such characters are Ayer's forte. The way he was forced to "power down" is fascinating and very daring for a (hard) PG-13 movie. Enchantress: Delevingne's ability to go from creepy to deliberately campy inside the same scene is impressive. Certainly the best version of her, critics can suck it. Another great DC big-bad and her romance with Flag had heart, hehe. Who further cares that her "brother", who serves as muscle in cool action scenes, is left unexplored. He is an enforcer, based on a 2 issue villain. How can this be a MAIN criticism? Good on WB for daring a witchcraft-based villain, despite knowing that it would get the film banned in China! Harley Quinn: Robbie played the New52 version, who is a child-killer, so let's stop the role model criticism, and her creator liked her. This version also said that another character needed to "own" being a child-killer here. The Joker (Azzarello's grounded mobster + Morrison's Thin White Duke), also showed genuine love for "his creation", so this movie nailed their dynamic. Especially during her chemical transformation. The movie's best moment and a highlight for the genre. Joker: Leto was the best part of the movie but I am glad that his constant presence was trimmed down by the constantly misreported (surprise?) re-edits. Longer scenes with him would have derailed the picture BEYOND recognition and only 1 whole scene (a short 3rd act gunfight) appears to be left out. He is also the most comic accurate movie version to date and our second perfect interpretation in a row. Katana: Fukuhara did well for a debut perforce and I hope that her backstory will be further explored later. The cracks in the dog on a leach persona were already telling. + 1 for Japanese dialogue with subtitles. Killer Croc: Akinnuoye-Agbaje's inhuman make-up deserves an Oscar, and he is based on the Azzarello version. These movies aren't afraid to dive deep! Rick Flag: Kinnaman played the no-nonsense soldier with conviction well and hints of inner darkness were a pleasant surprise. His repertoires with Deadshot were spot on. A straight man and shooter. Slipknot: Beach did the one thing the character was supposed to do right, 'nuff said.
The action-driven black comedy will ultimately please fans of the DCEU and haters will continue to be baffled by their popularity. David Ayer ain't a perfect, yet innovative, director and delivered his best movie, together with End of Watch. He now earned a life-long fan with me. The DCEU's future never looked brighter and don't forget to read this month's Suicide Squad Rebirth. 8,5/10