Is ‘Suicide Squad’ As Bad As The Critics Say?

This is a guest review by Bronte Mahoney.

Volume is not vision. Unfortunately, David Ayer, director and screenwriter of August blockbuster Suicide Squad seems to think that it is. Despite flaunting an extremely talented cast, compelling source material and pre-developed characters, Ayer has not provided justice for this league of anti-heroes.

Candy-clad, light themes are the backdrop for what should have been a film that cut deeper - especially when its characters rely so heavily on an interest in the deranged and morbid. Despite an unbridled passion and vision, the pressure to deliver for such a dedicated fan-base and reliant audience has obviously got the better of Ayer, letting him turn what could have been the grittiest DC comeback into a fairly generic action flick.

The film is set post-fall of Superman. U.S. Intelligence have no idea what to do with themselves and lethal officer, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) pitches for the worst of the worst to lead the world to safety. The first-third of the film therefore sets-up, introduces and makes us love these supervillains – this is the most promising part although disjointed. Once, however, we’re on the ambiguous mission, the film starts to fall apart. It simply becomes a string of exciting and compelling character moments built around a plot that lacks lustre.

Warner Bros.

The cast and characters carry Suicide Squad: Jared Leto’s appearances as the Joker play out like an exciting trailer – we keep wanting to see more of him yet that slick green and twisted little head of his never really gets a scene. Much of the characters feel a bit this way. Will Smith as Deadshot earns some dark laughs early on, and proves to be a gripping paternal figure with his sole motivation to have his daughter given the best life. Given the most backstory and introduction, it leaves other characters like Croc, Katana, and Jai Courtney’s hilarious Captain Boomerang as mere secondary characters with little flare and screen-time.

Warner Bros.

Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is the exception to everything wrong with this film. She’s unpredictable, fun and seems to have waited her entire career to swing that baseball bat around while popping gum. Ultimate girl crush aside, her performance is memorable and carries much of the film.

It’s a shame that so much life was pumped into the still developing acting chops of Cara Delevingne and her sensationalized witch character, Enchantress. She gets almost as much screen-time as Will Smith, but is criminally under-written, which really doesn’t play out for the film well when the third act centres around her imminent destruction of the world as we know it. *R.E.M. plays in the background*

Critics are slamming this piece, calling it a loud and cinematic mess. However, what many don’t seem to have considered is the fact that half of the plot is pre-determined source material. Fans of the work are lashing out, claiming that if those giving the film 20% on Rotten Tomatoes actually invested time in the character’s stories, they wouldn’t be as disappointed in what has hit our cinemas this week. They have a point. Despite David Ayer seriously lacking some plot coherency and latching on to some utterly cheesy and cliché filmic techniques, the film was made for the comic book enthusiasts and fans of the existing material.

It’s entertaining, it’s worth-seeing and it will make billions at the box office but it undoubtedly didn’t live up to its full potential.

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