The 2016 movie Suicide Squad is based on the DC Comics fictional organization of the same name, originally published in 1959 and then another version created and published in 1987. This film, directed by David Ayer, stars Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jan Hernandez, Adele Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Scott Eastwood, Ike Barinholtz, and Cara Delevingne; an ensemble cast of some really good actors doing their best in this weak adaptation of the DC comic.
So what is this film about? Let’s go back to the comic and see. The Squad was originated as a work release initiative and a team of anti-heroes of incarcerated supervillians who worked as coverts assets of the U.S. government, performing high-risk missions in exchange for possible commuted sentences. Working for Amanda Waller, they operated from Belle Reve Penitentiary. Various versions have been presented throughout the DC Universe over the years, from the original one, Silver Age, to the post-Crisis version to the New 52 reboot.
The original Squad team definitely included Rick Flag, Jr. and his girlfriend Karin Grace, Dr. Hugh Evans and Jess Bright and as time went on, they were considered a replacement for the Justice Society of American. But when they were revived, the concept revolved around the government using them to perform missions that were suicide runs. Often put with the other government agency used in DC comics, Checkmate, they were sometimes seen as a paper emulation of the movie The Dirty Dozen and/or the television series Mission: Impossible. The Squad was top secret and were under investigation by none other than Lois Lane and Batman, who was forced to quit his inquiry by Amanda Waller who said she would report his identity if he did not let the investigation alone.
In the comics, only a few were permanent members of the Squad…Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and Bronze Tiger…the other members consisted of rotating minor villains who were seeking a commuted sentence from prison. The Squad was successful most of the time, but did fail on occasion where a few members were killed, most notably would be Rick Flag, Jr., killed off in the books at the end of the second year. These comics did seem to look at the lives, psychological makeup, and motivations of the characters which made they interesting read for many people.
This year’s movie is the third in the Extended DC Universe and deals with a secret government department, led by Amanda Waller, who recruits supervillians from prison to have them perform missions, saving the world from powerful villains, in the hopes of having their prison terms commuted to lesser time.
The storyline deals with what is going on in Mid-City after Superman’s death and Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis) putting together a group of very dangerous criminals that consists of Deadshot, a hit man, played fairly well by Will Smith, El Diablo, a gang member, played by Jay Hernandez, Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie, a mentally unstable psychopath and girlfriend of The Joker (played like the insane maniac that he is by Jared Leto, but who originally was offered to Ryan Gosling); Captain Boomerang, an Australian thief, played by Jai Courtney; Killer Croc, a cannibal, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje; and Slipknot, another special thief, played by Adam Beach. They work out of Belle Reve Prison and are under the command of Colonel Rick Flag. To keep them all from escaping or rebelling, a small bomb was put in their necks to go off when either Waller or Flag press the button to detonate them.
The Enchantress, a witch goddess ,has possessed Flag’s girlfriend, Dr. June Moone, played by Cara Delevingne, and becomes the weak villainess in this storyline, deciding to eliminate the human race for imprisoning her in a doll. She creates monsters from the citizenry of Midway City, a weapon and brings her brother, Incubus, to help her. The squad is used to bring out a very high profile person from the city, which just happens to be Waller, but the Squad is attacked and led to believe that it is a terrorist attack. Katana, played by Karen Fukuhara, joins the group as a bodyguard to Flag and who uses a mystical sword.
It is here that the Joker (Leto) learns of Harley’s (Robbie) situation, tortures one of Waller’s men, and blackmails one of the scientists to disable Harley’s nano bomb placed in her neck. The helicopter is shot down and the team has to walk to the city on foot. Convincing Slipknot that the bombs are a fake, Boomerang talks him into escaping, but he is killed, all the while, the group is under attack by The Enchantress army. The Squad escapes to the safe room, where Waller is located and manage to attempt to extract her from the building, only to have the helicopter fire on them as it has been hijacked by Joker. Unfortunately, the helicopter is shot down, with Harley jumping out to safety and Joker dying in the explosion.
The Enchantress’ army kidnaps Waller. Believing that they can prove themselves, the Squad joins with Flag and help him locate Enchantress and Waller at a subway station. Along with some Navy SEALs, Killer Croc goes underwater to plant a bomb beneath Incubus, while the squad continues to fight Enchantress and her army. Embracing his talent, El Diablo holds Incubus down as the bomb goes off, killing both of them as well as the Navy SEALs. What seems like a defeated Squad, Enchantress offers to fulfill their deepest dreams if they will bow before her. Harley pretends so she may get close enough to remove Enchantress’ heart, which she does. Killer Croc then throws a package of explosives into the weapon created by Enchantress, as Headshot shoots and destroys the weapon. Flag crushes the heart killing Enchantress, but freeing June from her control.
Returned to prison, the Squad has ten years removed from their sentences, and have been granted special privileges. Unbeknownst to everyone, Joker has survived and goes to the prison to get Harley. A mid-credit scene has been added where we see Waller talking to Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), who will protect her from the talk about the trouble in Midway City in exchange for the files on the metahuman community (namely, Enchantress and Aquaman to name a few — and to set the audience up for the future films in the DC Universe over the next few years) which she gives to him.
This was a disappointing film, which could/should have been much better depending on the cast playing the characters in the movie. Since I did not view the Batman vs. Superman film, I cannot testify to the fact that many believe this film is better than that film. I saw this film and almost got up and left. But I stayed to the bitter end…glad I did…the best part of the film was the mid-credit scene with Ben Affleck and Viola Davis, who by the way was to this writer the scariest villain in the movie. Cool and calculating. I have to give credit where it is due…I liked the music…it was fitting to the overall theme presented by the poor direction by Ayers. It kept my interest and kept me from walking out. The CGI was appropriate to display the violence and conflict inflicted by the so-called terrorist, Enchantress. The dialog was weak as was the overall plot and lack of real continuity and proper editing. Given the limited script and dialog this all-star cast had to work with, they did as well as could be expected, some better than others . Jared Leto, however, with the director’s approval, played the Joker way too far over-the-top. (He went for the violence and anger, not the insanity). Will Smith’s Deadshot and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn were the only real relief in the film. I believe I have said this many times before…directors should direct…and writers should write…which means that Ayers should have done one or the other and not both…perhaps then the film would have worked better. (I don’t believe he is really that good at either…my opinion.) The choice for the bad guy (or woman in this case) should have been better. She wasn’t very interesting (or perhaps, again, the direction of the actor for the character was just off and the acting itself).
I have to admit also that I may have been spoiled by the Marvel Universe movies and my expectation of quality films with good storylines, characters, and plot. True, not all of those have been winners, but on the whole, much better than the attempts by Warner Brothers and the DC Universe. Also, I have been watching many quality, well-written television shows that truly to me have put many major movies to shame. My favorite movie so far in this genre has to be The Lobster. (See it…awesome film!)
My opinion…see this film if only to view what not to do in an action, semi-science fiction movie; otherwise, just wait for it to come out on DVD, which I bet will be soon. GRADE: 2 of 5 crowns (mostly for the outrageous music)
Thank you for the review, Sue! Mike and I had already been really disappointed in what folks were saying about the movie because we were super excited when the previews came out. Your review affirms our decision to skip it. No need to support bad filmmaking.
Posted by: HannaH Jane | 08/11/2016 at 11:17 AM