Suicide Squad Review: Bad in all the Right Ways!

In this day and age when superhero films are a dime and a dozen, it can be difficult  for movie to stand out in this crowded genre. For sometime now moviegoers have seen an array concept from superhero movies such as origin stories and team up films. However of all the type of superhero movie filmmakers can possibly conceive,  one idea that yet transcend to the celluloid format has been the idea of a supervillain film. Supervillains play a major role in comics to the point where certain rogues have received their very own lineup of stories. So it only makes sense that this concept could one day be brought to the silver screen-and that day has finally come. Now in theaters is the next installment in the DC Extended Universe: Suicide Squad. Directed by David Ayer Sucide Sqaud is based on the popular team  from DC Comics that is made up  of an array of villains who are tasked by the government to take on covert missions. With its massive cast, dark humor and exciting action, Suicide Squad looked to be a blockbuster to enjoy this season; but is this supervillain film truly one of a kind or should it have remained behind bars?

Suicide Squad centers on Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) who seeks to bring some of the most notorious criminals together to become an elite task force. Sure enough Waller is successful as she requires villains such as Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and El Diablo (Jay Hernandez). Things go array though when one of Waller's recruits, June Moone/Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) goes rogue and awakens a mystical force in Midway City. To stop Enchantress Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) leads Task Force X into the city to deal with this supernatural threat; but that is easier said than done as the group not only has to deal with the witch's minions but also The Joker (Jared Leto)-who devises a crazy plan to get Harley back.



In the case of story, Suicide Squad was simple but effective. When dwelling on the film's events, the plot was not one that you could call complex; but then agian it did not have to be. When it came to sticking to ts concepts, the story passed with flying colors. The movie told the tale of supervillains coming together to become a team and the result was a tale that created an intriguing world that helped to expand on the DC Extended Universe. Even factors such as having a sporadic narrative and fast pacing worked to the stories advantage as it created a narrative that was as much of a thrill ride as it was stylish. The plot to Suicide Squad may be as simple as a story can get; but that does make this villainous tale any less enjoyable.

The cast to Suicide Squad is perhaps one of the best ensemble I have seen all year. Every member to this super powered cast felt like a character worth seeing while each actor played hot potato with the spotlight. It was hard to say just which performance stood out from the rest as everyone shined in their own way whether it was Will Smith's solid performance as Deadshot, Margot Robbie's show stealing antics as Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman's s direct role as Rick Flag, Viola Davis's intense nature as Amanda Waller or Jai Courtney's hilarious moments as Captain Boomerang. Even minor characters like El Diablo, Killer Croc and Katana (Karen Fukuhara) had their moments to shine; particularly Jay Hernandez as El Diablo. I also found Cara Delevigne effective as the villainous Enchantress. Perhaps her motives could have been stronger but the Enchantress' concept and Delevingne's performance more than made up for any short comings to this witch. Then there was Jared Leto as The Joker. The actor certainly had an up hill battle to contend with as Leto would be compared to predecessors like Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger. Yet I found the end result to be quite interesting as Leto's take on the Clown Prince of Crime was twisted to say the least. The actor's performance was quite dynamic, and yet I managed to keep true to the iconic character's best traits. The only issue that Joker suffered from his lack of screen time, but that was not necessarily a bad thing as Leto's take on the psychopath only made me eager to see more on this new take to iconic supervillain.

Seeing that we are dealing with a concept like Suicide Squad, it only made sense for the film's technical elements to be over the top. The movie's action was quite fitting. While it may not have been as definitive as the action seen in Captain America: Civil War or Batman v.Superman, this factor still worked for the movie as it led to moments that were both exciting and intense. The cinematography also played to film's benefit. While it did have some crazy moments at the beginning, the likes of cinematography and visuals were effective by giving the movie a sense of style. Along with these aspects was the movie's soundtrack which was just as outlandish as everything else. While the use of pop music could be a little excessive, it still worked  by creating the right mind set for Suicide Squad; not to mention syncing well with the score by Steven Price.

Like Batman v.Superman, Suicide Squad is not your typical superhero film; despite it playing to strength seen in most summer blockbusters. Its strong sense of style and character makes the this dastardly movie both enjoyable and creative. While it may not change the wheel that makes up superhero films, Suicide Squad executes its strengths to near perfection; making this blockbuster not just the first of its kind but a must see for 2016.