Lifetime comic book fan that is 100% satisfied

Rating: 10/10 (5 August 2016)

PROLOGUE: Here's the deal guys, I don't know what movie the critics are watching, but please go see this one for yourself. We went six people deep and not a single person was let down. Two people have texted me tonight, knowing i'd write this review, telling me it's their new favorite super hero film. I CANNOT understand how all of these film critics thought the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy (where our hero tries to have a dance off with the massively underdeveloped villain followed by unexplained magic stuff winning the day followed by a dancing cartoon baby tree) was brilliant, but try to claim there was anything wrong with the way this film went down. The similarities are staggering (besides the stupid dance off) So lemme spin it for you. First off, this movie is FUNNY. It doesn't make fun of itself the way some superhero films do with their comedy, just the characters themselves are funny, and we get a fun bit of profile on all of them early on (besides two and they were both pretty underused (gripe #1)) I LOVED that the presence of The Bat and The Joker were background elements, sort of like two different myths in the villain world that are on opposite ends of the bad spectrum. This is definitely not their movie, but I appreciate their inclusion (not putting them into this world they helped create would've been dumb). If you couldn't tell from the trailer Deadshot and Harley get most of the screen time, and honestly deservedly so. This was Will Smith at the top of his game, he was easily one of my favorite characters to watch the whole film. Everyone else (besides those two I mentioned) get their screen time, their action, and their jokes in. I was surprised at how much use they got out of these characters, especially considering how much the reviews bagged on that very subject. (pro tip, if you wants loads of extra backstory on these characters beyond what the film gives, I recommend comic books. The backstory exists in spades.) My second gripe (and my ONLY other gripe) is that while the source of the conflict was a pleasant surprise (given that the trailers don't spoil any of it) the actual villain was pretty mysterious and we don't get many answers on that subject. It's just one of those things you, as a viewer in a superhero movie where magic and superpowers exist, are going to have to take at face value. For the most part the villain basically exists to bring these characters together and provide action when necessary, but we're given a pretty cool climactic sequence because of it. TL:DR - I'm a comic book fan, I'm an action movie fan, I'm an ensemble fan, and I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It's funny, the action is dope, the acting is great, Amanda Waller was perfect, the Joker cameos (because they are basically cameos) were fun and gave Harley's character some extra spice, the Batman Cameos were short but solid, and STAY AFTER THE CREDITS for some extra stuff : ) Favorite characters: - Deadshot - El Diablo - Amanda Waller