Harley Quinn deserves a better film

Rating: 4/10 (28 February 2017)

Sloppily edited and veering wildly in tone, 'Suicide Squad' is a textbook example of what can go wrong when you try to change the mood of a film halfway through making it. The darkened streets, depressed characters, murderous senators and constant rain give it an especially grim atmosphere. With David 'Fury' Ayer directing, it's clear this was originally meant to be a brooding and cynical film, but every now and then someone will drop a one-liner, or the soundtrack will liven up with 'Ballroom Blitz.' It's almost as if they were verge of calling it finished when someone in Corporate Headquarters decided the burgeoning DC Movie Universe needed it's own 'Deadpool' and called for urgent re-shoots to make it more fun.
If so, this was a dreadful mistake. The majority of 'Suicide Squad' is miserable, po-faced and moodier than a fair-weather Goth kid who just spent a weekend reading Nietzche and binging on Opeth albums. The titular squad are essentially a comic book version of The Dirty Dozen, a group of expendable assets brought together to do the Government's rotten jobs in a world where super-powered humans can demolish skyscrapers with their fists.
And almost all of them are completely depressed. Deadshot (Will Smith) for example, is a lethal assassin who's killed enough people to fill a football stadium but who really just wants to see his kid again. El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) is a heavily tattooed gang member who can summon fire from his fingertips but is tormented by the death of his family, while Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is the utterly humourless leader. Granted, in the mission against a crazed Sorceress that takes up most of the movie, he does have a lot to lose, but does he really need to spend so much time furrowing his brow and musing on whether they're doing the right thing?
The Government Agents who set up the team meanwhile are ruthlessly sadistic and motivated entirely by self-interest. They're corrupt, murderous and just as bad as the supposed villains. It's a horribly cynical view of the world, but it's not convincing. It's so completely devoid of hope and humanity that 'Suicide Squad' winds up feeling like it was written by depressed 4Chan members. The world is hell man, you snowflakes just don't get it.
But strangely, this shadowy and oppressive misery-marathon has the most upbeat and jovial soundtrack this side of 'Guardians Of The Galaxy.' Unlike Peter Quill's mix-tape however, the music here just does not work. None of the songs match what is happening on screen, they're just shoe-horned in haphazardly. Everybody likes 'Bohemian Rhapsody' right? Stick it over some of the prison scenes, 'no escape from reality' totally fits.
However, 'Suicide Squad' isn't entirely without merits and there are a couple of decent moments to be found. Some of the acting is pretty good too, Will Smith manages to be effortlessly watchable even when he's in a bad mood, while Jai Courtney actually manages to make his antipodean answer to Snake Plissken likable. Shame he's called 'Captain Boomerang' and has been saddled with a truly rubbish gimmick, he makes a good antihero when not playing square- jawed heroes.
If the film absolutely gets one thing right though, it's Harley Quinn. From the minute she first appears, sitting in a homemade hammock in the middle of an isolation block and flirting murderously with her guards, Margot Robie's performance is spot-on. She's equal parts psychotic and childish, as memorable as Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' and they couldn't have picked a better actress to play her. 'Suicide Squad' might be a long way from perfect, but it does create an instant icon and it's no surprise that 2016 saw legions of lookalikes turning up at Halloween parties.
As good as Robie is though, it's impossible to deny that 'Suicide Squad' is a bad film. It's a massive missed opportunity and can't make up it's mind if it wants to be free-wheeling comic anarchy or a deep, tormented soul. Imagine watching a dismal stand-up comedian who looks suspiciously similar to a wanted murderer for two hours and you'll get the idea. It's made enough money to fund a real super-villain however so a sequel is inevitable, let's hope it's better than this turgid effort.
Margot Robie really is good though.