It’s been a funny year for Blockbusters, the latest Star Trek, X-Men and Jason Bourne movies have all not been as well received as previous outings. However, Suicide Squad was expected to be the one film to buck that trend.
Afer faltering starts from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, Warner Brothers were hoping this film, also based on DC Comics characters could be the one to compete with the almost unstoppable Disney-backed, Marvel Comics universe.
However, the film opened to indifferent reviews, but we would suggest (as we always do) if want to see the film, do go and make up your own mind, but these are our thoughts on the film =)
From Writer/Director David Ayer, who last gave us Fury starring Brad Pitt, Suicide Squad has a really rocky start, we see various sketches, although as each uses a theme tune so to speak, you could call them music videos, we meet the members of the squad, as well as get a bit of back story.
We see various deadly prisoners, brought together to make the squad; Deadshot (Will Smith); Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie); Boomerang (Jai Courtney); Diablo (Jay Hernandez); Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje); Slipknot (Adam Beach) and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) as the soldier tasked with controlling them all.
These sequences basically go into how they were caught, which means we see Batman (Ben Affleck) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) as well as a bit of personal information.
Deadshot loves his daughter; Rick has fallen for June, who has been turned into the film’s big bad, Enchantress (both played by Cara Delevingne) and the story that most will be most excited by is Harley’s as it also features her romance of The Joker (Jared Leto)
Once all these introductions are out the way, we learn that the suicide squad, are actually known as Task Force X, have been created by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to help fight crime, following the supposed death of Superman. She has control of them all by use of the injection of a tracking device, which if the squad try to break free, can be detonated to kill them instantly, as we learn from the early death of one of the squad when he makes a break for it.
She has control of them all by use of the injection of a tracking device, which if the squad try to break free, can be detonated to kill them instantly. We learn this from the early death of one of the squad members, when he makes a break for it.
With Rick and the team, which also now includes sword expert, Katana (Karen Fukuhara) enter the city, the film does start to improve. Here they come across the cause of the destruction of Midway, from the hands of the out of control Enchantress.
The squad come across an army of monsters created by Enchantress, and it is here we see the big action sequences we expect from these comic book blockbusters. The film also during these battles switches to a film score, rather than the use of popular music, and the film feels better for it.
The squad battle on until they face Enchantress, in a giant battle where they must remove her heart in order to save the day.
The film has done well in casting, whilst from the marketing, you would think Deadshot; Harley Quinn and the Joker are the only characters in the film, which is an injustice to a lot of the cast.
However the majority do well, Joel, we found especially good as Flag. Jai so often the target of failing franchises and Adewale give the film some much-needed humour as Boomerang and Croc. Viola is great as Amanda, the government official tasked with keeping them all in line.
Margot does steal a lot of scenes as Harley, and certainly does in our opinion, a better job than the 2 A-List stars she spends the most time with.
Will Smith, was not as dominant you would think, for a leader of a group this bad, it is because of this, Joel stands out so much. Leto’s joker has so little screen time, but when he does, he makes for an interesting character, but he really is not as good as Heath Ledger’s turn in The Dark Knight.
As Enchantress, Cara, who won great plaudits for her role in Paper Towns, is for us the weakest of the cast, she is great as June but seems to lose her way when dealing with all the CGI etc that comes with being the film’s big enemy.
The ending of the film where the obvious ending of the beating of Enchantress does seem a bit of a let down as nothing really spectacular, compared to the battles with monsters, destruction of all forms of transport and big fire sequences from the hands of Diablo prior to it.
All in all, this is an average blockbuster, it is not as bad as the critics would have you believe! It is certainly enjoyable but its pacing feels a bit of a mess. With a sequel almost guaranteed, without the introductions and the addition of a better enemy, this could be a vast improvement, as the cast
With a sequel almost guaranteed, without the introductions and the addition of a better enemy, this could be a vast improvement, as the cast in general, are very good. In fact, some like Boomerang and Croc, we would like to see more of.
A final issue is the BBFC certification. The film has been rated 15 and not 12, which is the norm for the comic book films in the UK, we’re not sure why as didn’t seem much different to the levels of violence in say Captain America: Civil War, so it will be interesting to see if a sequel increases the violence along the Deadpool route or reduces it to secure the lower rating!
What did you think of Suicide Squad? What has been your favourite blockbuster of the 2016 Summer season? We would love to hear from you here at Barking Mad About Films
Suicide Squad is rated 15 and also available in 3D and Imax formats
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