Sadly, the best DC has to offer

Rating: 6/10 (5 August 2016)

Suicide Squad is yet another disappointing entry into the DC Cinematic Universe. Unlike its predecessors, Suicide Squad is exciting although it suffers from a wonky storyline, cheesy dialogue, and a lack of direction.
The first thing that you will notice about this movie is that Deadshot (Will Smith) is the main character. The first shot is of him, the most time is spent on his backstory, and he appears first in pretty much every possible way. This is both a good and a bad thing. I am not a fan of changing the source material to accommodate for a big Hollywood name. It seems like Deadshot will have a large part to play going forward in future movies. The bright side of this is that Will Smith kills it in this movie. He makes the assassin very likable, and more importantly, hilarious.
Harley Quinn shares the spot light as well, and Margot Robbie does a great job with the character. She is funny and her acrobatics make for the most fun fighting sequences. Unfortunately, paired with Robbie's Quinn, is Leto's Joker, which may be the worst part of this film. The Joker is not scary, disturbing, or creepy instead he leaves you feeling second hand embarrassment for Leto. Also, in an attempt to show you how crazy The Joker really is, effects are used on multiple of his scenes. The production is crap, and it just looks tacky. The Joker in this movie is a major disappoint, in comparison to any other Joker that I have ever seen.
Although both Will and Margot do a great job, it is still a disappointment that other members of the team do not get more screen time. Killer croc, Boomerang, and Diablo all had potential to be great additions to the cast, but are barely given time to develop. Their introductions last a fraction of the time that Deadshot's and Quinn's do. They have their moments later on, but are never given a real chance to develop. It seems like they are just there to fill in the blank space and make jokes. Towards the end of the movie, Diablo plays a much bigger part, but because he was never fleshed out as a character, it comes off as very forced and out of nowhere. Katana appears later on to help control the villains, but she is completely forgettable, and completely non-essential to the plot. Slipknot makes an appearance out of nowhere and with no explanation, just to be made an example of to the rest of the squad.
The plot to the movie is very convoluted and random. The action starts quick and out of nowhere. All of a sudden the task force that everyone was against, is now up and ready for action. The plot is often moved forward by the characters stupid decisions or by things that just don't make any sense. Why was Amanda Waller's (Viola Davis) building crawling with the enchantresses minion? Why did they allow Waller to leave on her own helicopter with no superhuman protection? How did they allow Deadshot to find top-secret information all alone in the wreckage of the helicopter? Why did Flagg bring the letters from Deadshot's daughter on mission?
The same joke is also constantly used over and over. The punch line is always the same being, "We are bad guys." It gets old very quickly. Another card that DC has already overplayed in just three movies is the death fake-out. With the Joker fake out in this movie combined with Superman's inevitable return, it is just lazy writing. Overall, Suicide Squad misses the mark on it's "dark" and "disturbed" target. The film comes off as pretentious and messy. The film is a fun popcorn flick, but flops when it comes to having any meaning or heart. Suicide Squad is another stumble for DC as they try to catch up to super hero flick giant Marvel.