[yasr_overall_rating]
A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency.
Let me start off by saying that I was never a comic book nerd. Even as a kid, comics were not my thing, instead, I was outside with my friends making 8mm movies. Even up to a few years ago, had someone said to me, do I know the difference between the MCU and the DCU, I would have slapped them upside their head and told them to lay off the drugs. A few years later and a little wiser, I think I can safely say, I enjoy the MCU a lot more and after DC’s latest offering of “Suicide Squad,” Marvel has little to worry about. Even with next year’s mega-planned “Justice League,” DC’s equivalent to “The Avengers,” I honestly don’t think it’s going to keep Kevin Feige up late at night.
However, having said that, I went into “Suicide Squad” with absolutely no expectations. I knew nothing about the characters, the storyline (other than what was hinted at in the trailer), and sometimes, as a critic, I think that’s the best way to approach a film, especially one as big as this. After the events of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” the U.S. government is having sleepless nights now that one of their mighty superhero saviors is apparently gone. When intelligence operative Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) suggests to her superiors, that they allow her to assemble some of Gotham’s most dangerous criminals, to be used in treacherous and life-threatening missions for the U.S. instead of soldiers and Marines, to say that they are very apprehensive, is an understatement but Amanda puts forth a good case; insert a small explosive chip into their heads so they have no way out, and should they try to escape, they will meet an explosive, grisly demise. And to top it off, if they are caught, the government will have plausible deniability. After all, who would believe a bunch of escaped, hardened criminals?
So the team is brought together under the command of Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), including hit man Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), pyrokinetic ex-gangster El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), an Australian thief named Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), cannibal Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and mercenary Slipknot (Adam Beach). After it surfaces that Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne), Flag’s girlfriend and a famed archaeologist, has become possessed by an ancient otherworldly witch known simply as the Enchantress, it is up to Flag and his ragtag team to prevent her from destroying the world.
David Ayer, having directed Keanu Reeves in the highly enjoyable “Street Kings,” the ultra-violent Arnold Schwarzenegger outing “Sabotage,” and Brad Pitt’s gritty and realistic war story “Fury,” here tones things way down and even though this is a superhero/villain outing, where suspension of disbelief has to be applied, he still manages to retain a certain amount of realism, something the MCU has very little of. Will Smith is in top form as the charismatic but lethal Deadshot and Margot Robbie, as quirky and sexy Harley Quinn, manages to keep her own, while being surrounded by top-notch actors. In fact, the entire cast is superb, with each character playing well off those next to them but when it comes to Jared Leto’s The Joker, the one performance everyone has been eagerly awaiting, ever since this film was announced, the end result is a big letdown.
While Leto is an accomplished Academy Award-winning actor, and has given some truly remarkable performances in his career, his incarnation of one of Gotham’s most notorious psychotic villains, leaves a lot to be desired. And I don’t think the fault lies with him. Or even director David Ayer. Ever since Jack Nicholson’s larger-than-life portrayal of him in Tim Burton’s “Batman,” and the late Heath Ledger’s sadistic and capricious representation of him in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” I think it is going to be almost impossible for any actor to live up to those standards, and that’s not even including Mark Hamill’s interpretation of him in several of DC’s animated films, including this year’s “Batman: The Killing Joke.”
All in all, “Suicide Squad” is a fun night out. It is far superior to “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” but whether it holds up to next year’s anticipated juggernaut, “Justice League,” we’ll have to wait and see. While it is too dark and gritty to rival any of Marvel’s outings, those very elements are what keep it interesting. There’s a time for lighthearted and fun and there’s a time for somber and seriousness and if you’re in the mood for the latter, then you will enjoy “Suicide Squad.”
In theaters Friday, August 5th
