DC on life support

Rating: 6/10 (4 August 2016)

I wanted to like this movie. I really did. The trailers and advertising was so good that it was impossible to not feel some hype. I'm also a big DC universe fan and really wanted to see them finally find some footing. Sadly this movie was a let down. The first act is all one giant spoon fed exposition as we have only a few of the casts backstories jammed down our throats. The rest of them are left one dimensional and they never feel more real than cartoons. A good film doesn't need to spend so much time shoveling out exposition. Look at Guardians Of The Galaxy. That movie just did such a great job creating rich characters, each earning their time on screen, who's chemistry with each other was electric that you got everything that you needed to know about them.
Will Smith is great at playing Will Smith. He's as charismatic as ever and definitely adds some fun moments. However he is NOT Deadshot and portrays the character far more as a redeemable hero than he is meant to be. Margot Robbie is every bit as good as we all hoped. She's one of the few things that the movie totally delivers on. Jared Leto as Joker ... where oh where did you go wrong? This is the first cinematic version of the character that falls flat. He brings nothing memorable or interesting to the character. With how much he was hyped, with his method acting and claims about how terrifying he was on set, I definitely expected more. True his screen time is minimal but the second you saw the other Jokers that's all you needed to know that they were iconic. This Joker just wasn't. I mean he wasn't bad but he fell into that just barely serviceable category which is extra disappointing in a way. I expected so much more from him and now I'm very unenthusiastic of him appearing in future films. Jai Courtney is fun but under used. I kept forgetting that Killer Croc was in this movie. The rest of the cast does OK with what little they have.
The threat in the film is way too supernatural and cartoony to fit the gritty dark world surrounding it. It's amazing how many possibilities they could have taken with villains and that this was the best they could do is pretty baffling. The action has it's moments but is also pretty repetitive at times. Sure there was some key moments that I enjoyed. It's just as a whole the movie was a let down. The cameos were fun I guess. The music was solid but the movie some times felt like a giant advertisement to buy the soundtrack with how often songs were forced in. All in all it's just another brick in the wall. Uninspired and unmemorable. It's not going to do much to help establish the DCEU. They really need Wonder Woman to be something special to pull this series out of this state of just being "OK". They need to be great next time.