Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad
Review Written By: Adolph Vega
3D
The 3D presentation is inconsistent but interesting and well done. Most of the 3D heavy scenes are within the first half of the film. Several times, things will fly out of the screen toward the viewer. The different characters all have quick biographical sequence and the information presented pops off the screen and looks visually stunning, as many different layers of 3D are used. As the movie progressed, the 3D became less evident, but as an added bonus, the end credits scene also looks very pretty in 3D. You can clearly see multiple layers of 3D, and that they did a quality job in this conversation. This 3D wasn't necessary to enhance the movie, but it looks nice and definitely complements the movie experience.
Final Verdict: Good 3D
Movie
Suicide Squad is a very unique movie and the third movie in the DC Comics cinematic universe. It takes place immediately after the events of the previous movie "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". The movie has a distinctive punk rocker style, fabulous sound track and a massive cast of characters. The cast is actually mostly DC Comics villains and many have never been seen on big screen before.
Let me give you a quick rundown of the main cast of characters. First off is Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie. Harley is the Joker's main love interest and used to be his psychologist who has become insane / evil. She is very charismatic and I enjoyed this manic erratic crazy performance. Another character that I really enjoyed was that of Dead Shot, who was played by Will Smith. Dead Shot is a paid assassin for hire and is an expert marksman. Dead Shot’s love for his daughter makes him relatable, and he has a fantastic presence on screen.
Amanda Waller is a brutal bureaucrat that earns your respect and fear. Amanda Waller is essentially the originator of this team and has total control over them. Viola Davi’s performance as Amanda Waller is a character that you love to hate and is above all the most stand out
performance of this movie. The Joker is the iconic Batman villain re-imagined by Jared Leto to be psycho gangster. The Joker was only in the movie for a few minutes, but I liked the scenes he was in. I look forward to seeing more of this version of the Joker character in future movies .
Rick Flag, played by Aidan Devine, is a military leader of this motley crew. Rick Flag within the movie isn't interesting and is mostly forgettable. Another character is the Diablo, who is a pyro-kinetic meta-human. This character is cautious of using his powers, and I found this character fascinating and endearing because of the down to earth performance of Jay Hernandez.
Killer Croc is played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and is a human with a genetic condition that makes him appear as a crocodile. Sadly, this character is only given one or two lines of dialog, but they are memorable lines. Overall Killer Croc is an okay character and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje does an adequate job in this role. Katana is portrayed with dignity, and is a force to be reckoned with. Katana is a Japanese martial arts master and has an enchanted sword. Karen Fukuhara portrays Katana in an honorable fashion that fits the character. All her dialogue is spoken in Japanese with subtitles which I can appreciate because it stays true to the character . Katana isn't given more than a few lines of dialogue, but I do like her as a character.
Captain Boomerang is a Australian bank robber who uses boomerangs as his main weapon. Jain Courtney plays Captain Boomerang in a humorous fashion but isn’t given much screen time and isn't a particularly likable or interesting.
Finally, we have a dual performance of Cara Delevingne as The Enchantress and June Moone. The Enchantress is an ancient witch who can harness abundant magical power. This power includes teleportation, giving other people visions and many other untold mystic abilities. June Moone is a researcher who is possessed by the Enchantress and has a relationship with Rick Flag, and it's sort of like Marvel Comics' The Hulk / Bruce Banner dual roles. The enchantress lives within June and can transform into the Enchantress. I feel that this performance of Enchantress / June Moone is the weakest aspect of the movie. Her line delivery and character movement is way over the top and is cheesy. I understand what they were trying to do with this character, but I didn’t enjoy this performance at all. The motivations and actions of the Enchantress are vague, under explored and her powers are not given any clear limitations. The movie has many more characters, but this is the main cast that is important for this story.
The main villain characters are given a quick flashback, establishing scene for the audience. They are also given a quick title card sequence with basic stats and information on the main characters. These title card sequences are something I have never seen before in a
movie and remind me of a living breathing collectible playing card on screen. I love this idea within a comic book movie; it's flashy, fun, informative and fits this style of movie.
The movie mostly focuses on Dead Shot and Harley, and gives them the most screen time and back story. This choice is one that I agree with. because they are the most memorable and captivating characters within the movie. I actually really wish that more scenes existed with the
Joker and Harley Quinn characters, so we can better understand how she was charmed and fell in love with the Joker. For the most part I enjoyed this cast of characters and found it fun to watch them interact on screen.
The movie begins with Amanda Waller a government agent who is assembling the team of villains and acquiring permission from a committee . Amanda’s plan is to use this team of villains to help accomplish covert missions for the government. If a villain dies or the mission is unsuccessful, they can basically toss the villains under the bus. Amanda can pull strings for the villains to help ease their stay in prison, so they benefit from this arrangement as well.
This squad of characters works together to fight a power menace and attempt to take back Midway City. How the movie sets up the characters and scenario is interesting and captivating, but how it executes the actual story is a mess. The movie has some big problems, one of which is with giving it's huge cast enough screen time and back story. Like I mentioned earlier they are given a quick flash back but I wish they were more time to really get to know each other . I really feel that the ultimate villain of the story (which I won’t spoil) is too epic for this group to handle . This super villain is not given a clear rational for what they are doing. I do like the character dynamic, but I feel this cast is a little too big to care about each of them. The movie actually seems self-aware of this, so some characters are disposable. The movie falls apart in the final act, as the story becomes confusing, predictable and cliché. Even though the movie has many problems, I still found myself enjoying it. The several action scenes within the movie use the cast in effective ways, but are not that visually interesting. I enjoyed watching these villains being unleashed on screen and how they don't abide by the same rules of typical super heroes. The tone of the movie is off, but so are the characters on screen, so they match. The movie is a unique entry in comic book inspired genre, but also falls into some cringe worthy moments.
Despite the many issues I have with this movie, I found it fun and entertaining. Suicide Squad is very paradoxical movie for me, because I see both great aspects and some truly awful aspects mixed together to make a sloppily executed amusing ride. Overall, this eccentric cast of misfits make for a unique story, and I can mildly recommend this movie.