Poor Suicide Squad, getting all these bad reviews when it’s really just a big bowl of popcorn fun. Sure, it has issues, maybe more than a few of them, but Suicide Squad still delivers the big, bold characters, lots of action, laughs, jumps and a desire to see these folks again.
Step 1: How to handle the material. Writer/director David Ayer, who is best known for his gritty crime drama End of Watch, handles the action chores with aplomb, with a pretty action-packed final climactic scene. Ayer thankfully doesn’t shake his camera around or zoom in so close you can’t see who is fighting who. But Ayer may have bitten off a little more than he could chew in the story department, trying to pack too many details into a two-hour chunk. This #Squad, the “worst of the worst,” are meta-humans, who – if you can control their wayward, criminal behavior – would be ideal to take down even more dangerous super entities, ready to destroy Earth. Really? Seems like a big flaw in logic that even the shady government agent Amanda Waller (the always-good Viola Davis), who brings together these criminals, doesn’t entirely believe in. Half of Suicide Squad is spent watching the bad guys bucking against the authority who want them to be good guys.
Step 2: Create great characters. Ayer does his best, though, to bring these folks to life, and there are a few characters that truly steal the show. Much has been hyped about Margot Robbie’s performance as hot mess Harley Quinn, and thankfully, it’s justified. Robbie has way too fun playing bubble-headed crazy with a bat, but there are moments of pathos that cross her pasty white face – and it’s those moments you notice. Will Smith also does a nice job as Deadshot, the hitman with pinpoint accuracy who is conflicted by his work because he’s also a dad to a precocious 11-year-old daughter. You definitely wish more than once that you could watch movies just about these characters. In fact, the whole cast really delivers, including Jared Leto as the Joker. His take on the iconic character is definitely more gangsta and a tad over the top, but you can’t take your eyes off him and are left wanting more.
Step 3: Damn Marvel. You might have to also chalk up the lackluster critical response for Suicide Squad to bad timing. For the anti-heroes banding together to fight a common enemy, we have the superb Guardians of the Galaxy. For sarcastic, raunchy, sticking-it-to the man mentality, there’s Deadpool. It’s like those Marvel people have a better movie for everything. I mean, if we are to compare Marvel and DC Comics and why Marvel seems to have a better success rate, it comes down to tone. Marvel has found their rhythm with the characters, combining humor with action, but DC Comics is still trying to figure out which way they want to go. DC’s universe seems like it’s inherently darker, broodier than Marvel, which is the way Christopher Nolan went with his Dark Knight trilogy, but now DC seems to be having trouble owning that. Most critics are at least giving Suicide Squad the benefit of being a better film than Batman v Superman, but one wonders if things will trend upwards for DC with the upcoming Wonder Woman and Justice League movies.
Step 4: Just have fun. If you are fan of the comic or a fan of having fun in the theater, then Suicide Squad should be right up your alley.