Suicide Squad

Just a little bit Insane                                                      3/5



Soundtrack
    You herd them in the trailers, and their all in the film

Standout!
     Will Smith as Deadshot is his best blockbuster role in years

Original Song
    Its called Heathens by Twenty One Pilots and its awsome. 

Thematic
    Themes of Redemption and Sacrifice are highlighted throughout 


Rotten Tomatos 26%                                    Cinemascore: B+

The only reason I give Suicide Squad a passing score is because their are sparks of brilliance in this film, and ultimately despite the films various flaws they shine through and delivered me a fun time. However buyer beware, Suicide Squad's plot and pacing is just as zany as some of its titled characters: plotholes, awkward cuts and editing decision, all this and more exist in spades in this DCEU sequel. Even some of the character motivations and origins are poorly explained and executed. Check your mind at the door ladies and gentlemen, this film will defy your understanding otherwise.

First let me address the positives. Positive number one: the performances. Everybody here has a character to fill and for the most part they all do it well, particularly Will Smith as Deadshot, who embodies the heart and soul of the Suicide Squad while also caring most of the action on his shoulders. Positive number two: the message. This is a film about redemption; Director David Ayer in an interview said that the difference between being just a bad guy and being evil is that even a bad guy can be redeemed. This movie emphasizes this message very well; I site a remember a particular scene featuring The Squad at a bar that won me over. Lastly this movie caries a particular swagger to it and its just plain fun. The same swagger and fun may have been lost somewhere in the second act, but its still worth acknowledging it effectiveness in introducing the cast.

Now for the negatives, and dare I say there are many so I'll try to summarize. The biggest flaw by far in Suicide Squad are the various plotholes, the biggest of which are Jared Leto's Joker and star Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. The two characters are played very well, but simply put there was no need for either character to be in this movie. Its a shame too because these characters are iconic, yet while watching the movie it became apparent quickly that Harley Quinn serves as a detriment to her team. If Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is so tactical, why did she enlist Harley who would ultimately bring out the joker risking her entire operation? It's just poor script writing and feels more forced then anything. This is just one of the many plotholes that plague the production, but the muck doesn't stop there. A lot of the action is poorly edited and just uninteresting, characters leave and show up with barely any warning, and the last ten minutes is a complete clusterf**k.

This year the DCEU released two movies. Batman v. Superman tried to be grand and philosophical but fell on its head and dropped the goods. Suicide Squad doesn't make the mistake of being bigger then it should be, and instead when it fails (and it fails a lot) it doesn't feel as disappointing. Perhaps thats secret strategy of Suicide Squad, shrinking the scope so that when it fumbles its not out of it's league. Maybe it's just a bad movie and I'm only going soft on it because I love comic book adaptations? But despite all this I genially believe their are nuggets of greatness in this movie that deserve greater thought and discussion to them, the irony is you have to check your brain at the door to ignore everything else.