My Rating: 3/10 – It doesn’t really matter that critics are giving this movie an average of 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. People are paying to see it anyway. The explosions and short-attention-span vignettes are what makes it very much like a comic and we all know how popular comics have become in pop culture.
Starring: Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Will Smith, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevingne, Jai Courtney, Jesse Eisenberg, Viola Davis, Jay Hernandez
Genres: Action
Directed By: David Ayer
Studio: Warner Bros.
MPAA Rating
R
In case you haven’t divined it by now, Suicide Squad is a comic movie made for comic fans. There is a lot to like about this film but there is also I found hard to follow in the plot. I found it recovered about halfway through and I ended up liking it for what it was.
Director David Ayer is known for his films set in Los Angeles. He is also known for directing Training Day which shines a light on the dark side of law enforcement in L.A.. In Suicide Squad, a set of high profile prisoners are commissioned by a secret government agency to battle an evil supernatural witch. The prisoners are offered less time for their sentences if they comply. These characters are fun to watch and they have a lot of crime adventures as they seek to take down the witch. Unfortunately, the story of how the witch came to be is a little hazy and she is, in my opinion, weak as a villain.
Everyone talks about Margot Robbie as the star of the film as Harley Quinn. I will grant her that but then again, there isn’t a whole lot of competition present here. Jared Leto as the Joker but the backstory about he and Harley Quinn takes away from the plot in my opinion and is not really necessary. I say if you are going to give the story of one you should give it for others. In all truth, I don’t think we need the history for any of these criminals, they should just let them do their work.
The plot starts out really slow but picks up 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through. Unlike a lot of the critics, I liked this film for what it tried to be. Comic books have simple, boxy cartoons that tell a story. This was sort of like “in your face” comic book pages flipping wildly. If you can put aside your desire for a traditional movie, it’s fairly easy to get in to this film. I know because I expected nothing and ended up enjoying it. It was clearly made for children, hence the PG-13 rating. I teach ten year olds and nearly my whole class told me they have seen it. It lost a couple stars with me, I give it a 3/5. Still, if you can shed your grownup sensitivities long enough for this funhouse ride, you might enjoy it. It’s a good idea to do that now and then you know?
I never got into it myself, but I do agree that people need to relax about critics. This movie is not high art. We all knew that going in. There are “good” movies and there are “fun” movies, and no score should stop you enjoying a film.