Supervillains unite for plenty of action, but not enough wit

Rating: 5/10 (7 August 2016)

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe skyrocketing in the popularity, the DC Universe has been subject to various attempts to get caught up on their path. DC was up to a fairly good start in the summer of 2013 when they rebooted the Superman franchise with 'Man of Steel', a spectacular cinematic representation of the one of the most iconic superheroes in store. Their progress however, fell short after the disappointing release of 'Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice', the film that failed to bring nuance and justice tot the portrayal of our heroes. DC Universe's second chance is then lied into the hands of this dark supervillain flick directed and written by David Ayer (Fury, End of Watch). Though this movie glorifies great creative autonomy in the portrayal of DC's notorious individuals, the heart of this cinematic piece finds itself plagued in the sea of mediocre writing and a lack of substance; though there is some fun to offered here. Following the events of Batman V. Superman, the film enters Viola Davis as intelligence operative Amanda Waller who recruits a gang of notorious villains on a mission to stop the evil Enchantress, who is possessed the body of archaeologist Dr. June Moone (played by Cara Delevingne, from taking over the world. Under the supervision Black Ops Colonel Rick Flag (played by Joel Kinnaman), the team includes gun-totting Deadshot (played by Will Smith), the sexy but deranged Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie) who is more interested in reuniting with the Joker (played by Jared Leto), the slick thief Captain Boomerang (played by Jai Courtney), the monstrous green creature Killer Croc (played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), the flame wielding El Diablo (played by Jay Hernandez, master assassin Slipknot (played by Adam Beach), and expert swordsman Katana (played by Karen Fukuhara).
For a film as highly anticipated as this, this one may have the fun and humor to make up for an okay experience, but it definitely falls short of expectations, especially for the fanboys those who read the comics; and there a plenty of flaws that taint this highly anticipated vehicle. The first twenty minutes began with Viola Davis's character and her plan on assembling team. During this point, we are given spoon-fed introductions on each villain including their tragic backstory and their paths that lead them to the sadistic criminals they are. Out of all of them, only Harley Quinn and Deadshot's story truly stand out, and their character arcs speak more than volumes; the rest of the gang is left as two-dimensional figures with much more to speculate. The romance and partnership between Harley and The Joker is beautifully told, capturing the true image of the two iconic villains; and the same can said about Deadshot's story of his journey to the darkside and his eagerness to return to his daughter who witnessed the grim change in her father's character. Other than this, the character development remains less than seldom. And the worse part is that the most disappointing character (ironically) happens to be The Joker who is sadly reduced to just only eight minutes of time on screen, making him feel more of a guest character than a true villain of the story. It's quite dispiriting considering the maniacal vibe Jared Leto delivers as the iconic villain. Of course, this performance is far leveling up to what Heath Ledger brought in 'The Dark Knight' or even Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's adaptation. Arguably the most charismatic performance here would Margot Robbie who brings plenty of dark humor and pure insanity as the criminally insane Harley Quinn, and by her side is Will Smith who deliver right on the spot as Deadshot. The rest of the cast including Jai Courtney in what is easily his most charismatic role show off some credible performances, but nothing entirely memorable.
As the plot revolves around the team's mission to defeat the Evil Enchantress, it descends into silly incoherent mess that favors a long stretch of visually compelling action sequences with plenty of special effects and explosive visuals to please the eyes, but not enough plot development. Through the antiheroes' battle against constant hordes of monstrous, zombie-like creatures lead by the Evil Enchantress, the story spends a great amount of time going almost nowhere. Don't get me wrong, these sequences are fun as the characters treat us to some clever (and occasionally crude) one-liners and some solid chemistry. After awhile, it's grows a little repetitive. And it certainly doesn't help that the scenes undergo some choppy editing with plenty of scenes cut out by the wishes of Warner Bros studios who wanted the story to go for a more "humorous" tone than a less dark approach, despite the fact that the Dark Knight Trilogy (centering on a hero) captured a pretty dark and gritty feel. If you are gonna edit out some scenes, it would probably look better if it wasn't so obvious.
Suicide Squad may have the fun and humor to make for a darkly funny ride, but it fails to capture the spirit of it's critically acclaimed source material or bring proper nuance to it's likable villains. In the end, it only further pushes the DC Cinematic Universe away from reaching the road to popular ranks of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.