"Suicide Squad" is fun but will probably leave you with a headache

Rating: 5/10 (28 August 2016)

Following the devastating events in "Batman V. Superman", top government agent Amanda Waller presents the idea to form 'Task Force X' - a combat team composed of the most dangerous villains within the United States' prison system. The squad's main goal will be to counter otherworldly threats that would otherwise be too difficult for the military to handle. In exchange for successfully completing their missions, members receive a ten-year reduction off their sentences. After a new, supernatural terror arises, the team is forced to band together and work under the supervision of Colonel Rick Flag and his squad.
The greatest strength of "Suicide Squad" is its cast. Margot Robbie shows her true acting chops as the delightfully devilish Harley Quinn; her performance of that iconic character is reminiscent to how she's portrayed in the "Batman: The Animated Series". She perfectly captures her unpredictable, goofy nature as well as her emotional/romantic side (there is one scene that particularly highlights this aspect). Her chemistry with the rest of the cast is palpable but especially strong with Will Smith's character, Deadshot.
Will Smith rocks it as Deadshot, being both a hardened, no-nonsense assassin and an all-around good guy with a concept of honor and respect. Unfortunately, Smith seems too comfortable in this role and, as a result fails to completely merge with his character. Most of the time he's on-screen, I don't feel like I'm seeing Deadshot, but just Will Smith being himself in an awesome-looking costume.
The rest of the cast doesn't compare to these two, but they still made an impression on me. Jared Leto proves he is worthy of playing the clown prince of crime; Jai Courtney is surprisingly absorbed into the role of Captain Boomerang (I didn't even recognize him); even Joel Kinnaman manages to bring some levity to the movie despite playing the hardened Colonel Flag (but his performance is bone dry). Viola Davis ties this stellar cast with a cold and menacing performance as Amanda Waller. Ayer does his best to salvage what he can from a script that probably received a million notes from Warner execs; the strongest aspect of his direction (for this movie) lies in his ability to create chemistry between the characters. However, aside from that, David Ayer has directed far better films in the past.
The script lies on the other end of the spectrum – it is riddled with plot holes, contrivances, sentimentality, and predictable moments. On the other hand, it suffers from a lack of meaningful moments, character development, and, of course, the Joker. The villain in this movie (Enchantress) is forgettable and is only evil because the story requires her to be. However, despite these story sins, I still had a fun time watching "Suicide Squad". All I had to do was turn off my brain and remind myself that I was about to watch a popcorn flick that had no intention of taking anything seriously.
Another thing about this movie that could easily irk people is its musical selection. Almost every major song that pops up in a "Suicide Squad" trailers also appears in the movie itself. Most of the songs are poorly utilized, but there are scenes that work really well with the musical selections (e.g. during each character's introduction).
"Suicide Squad" works well if you're a casual fan of DC's comic books. The cast is fantastic, the script could have been far better, and everything else – the VFX, the editing, the cinematography, etc. – is mostly hit and miss. I had a fun time watching "Suicide Squad" but will probably skip it should I run into it again.