A Disappointment.

Rating: Null/10 (8 August 2017)

This is a difficult film for me to review because I am a huge DC Comics fan. I wanted this movie to be great. Ultimately, however, I think that Suicide Squad is disappointment.
Directing: I heard that David Ayer had a lot of trouble with Warner when making Suicide Squad. Warner wouldn't respect whatever vision the acclaimed crime movie director had for his movie about criminals, so they shoehorned in extra scenes and forced humor . The result just makes the movie feel as disjointed as GI Joe: Retaliation.
Special effects: Since Suicide is a big-budget, Warner Brothers superhero film, the production value is astronomical. I would complain about an overuse of CGI if it didn't look so good most of the time. Some of the characters near the end of the film were sort of boring to look at, however. They certainly made the ending feel more dull.
Costume Design: I would say that costume design is pretty good for this film overall, with a few exceptions. Deadshot's mask is great, but he takes it off a lot. My biggest issue is with the Joker. I can tolerate most of his tattoos, however... THAT STUPID 'DAMAGED' TATTOO ACROSS HIS FOREHEAD MAKES ME FURIOUS! I can admire the risk-taking with Joker's design, but the forehead tattoo looks so dumb to me. I can't take Leto seriously because of it. Also, the costumes for all characters could be more colorful.
Writing: This is the most painful part of the film for me to revisit.

Overall - Suicide Squad is disjointed, and its tone is inconsistent. It can't decide whether to be dark or funny, and many of its characters are just vehicles to make strange, annoying jokes. There is also a sequence where the viewer sees some of the deepest desires of each character. This makes no sense, and can be very upsetting for comic book fans due to its lack of consistency with what the established values are for the characters. Viewer discretion is advised.

Deadshot - I've been a fan of both Deadshot and Will Smith for a long time. I enjoyed Smith's performance quite a bit even though it's not always true to character. His introduction scene is extremely entertaining and funny.

Joker - What a waste of fine acting talent. It seems like Jared Leto tried hard to make the Joker demented - sometimes too hard. It also feels like he's only in the movie for about 10 minutes. During that time, he's supposed to make the viewer feel scared, but he ends up making some weird decisions that make me skeptical of his criminal mastermind skills. I can't see him lasting ten seconds against Ben Affleck's Batman.

Harley Quinn - I've never been a terribly big fan of Harley, but Margot Robbie kills it in this performance. Still, as with most of the characters, some of her jokes feel forced and artificial. Her backstory is very poor. I did not enjoy her intro as much as I enjoyed Deadshot's. Still, I look forward to seeing Robbie's Harley in a better DC movie.

Amanda Waller - I enjoyed Viola Davis' performance, though she did something particularly... homicidal that I didn't think was character- appropriate.

Rick Flag - Joel Kinnaman does a decent job here as the straight man. I admire the fact that Kinnaman can act like he's in charge even though he is being bossed around by Waller.

Killer Croc - I'm usually afraid of Killer Croc. I made my brother play through his mission in Arkham Asylum because I was so terrified of him. In Suicide Squad, he seems slow and dumb. His jokes seem the most forced of all, and he doesn't eat as many people as I wanted him to.

Other performances - I admit that I saw this film partially for Batman. I love Ben Affleck's performance. As always, he nails it here, though one of his sequences with Deadshot is written poorly. Also, Flash cameos. Ezra Miller looks like he's having a lot of fun with this role, and I can't wait to see him in Justice League.

Everyone else - Most characters feel underused. El Diablo's arc gets worse and worse after his great introduction. Katana, Slipknot, and Boomerang are wasted opportunities. These characters and actors deserve better.

Acting: I think the acting is decent in Suicide Squad. The characters that have emotional scenes deliver their lines well, but many of those lines need some work. Smith and Robbie shine in a few spots.
Music: A spectacular trailer using Bohemian Rhapsody made me excited for the film's soundtrack. I liked it for the most part, but I don't think the songs really fit together well.
Cinematography: Many shots in this film felt very repetitive. Most weren't as exciting as they could have been. The colors in the movie were dull and lifeless.
Editing: The first half of this film has pretty good editing. The second has some strange shots that are pieced together in such a way that it's difficult to figure out exactly what's going on.
Conclusion: As a comic book fan, it's hard for me not to be harsh with this film. Warner interfered too much. They tried to make Suicide Squad into something that it wasn't, and the story suffered. For me, the great scenes were few and far between, and the movie just left me feeling disappointed and angry.
The after-credits scene is pretty cool though.