Review #1,118: 'Suicide Squad' (2016)

With the DC Cinematic Universe properly established with Zack Snyder's overstuffed Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, itself a sequel to 2013's Man of Steel, David Ayer's Suicide Squad is an attempt to introduce a gallery of their lesser-known rogues and misfits - albeit characters who are no doubt familiar to any comic-book fans or avid viewers of DC's animated works - and have a bit of fun before getting down to business with the likes of Wonder Woman and superhero team-up Justice League, both due next year. Surely intended to be DC's answer to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), a fun, funky and colourful exploration of a host of wilder supporting characters, but the film loses the energy and spunky appeal of the first half as it gives way to a more generic, CGI-heavy climax.

With the near-omnipotent powers of Henry Cavill's Superman now public knowledge and 'meta-humans' popping up all over the place, the government is left scratching its head at how to tackle the next inevitable global threat. No-nonsense intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) wants to assemble Task Force X, a mini-army of super-powered and highly-skilled criminals currently locked up in Arkham Asylum. She gets her wish after she demonstrates to her bosses the power of Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), an ancient witch who has possessed the body of June Moore, the girlfriend of super-soldier Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman). Waller keeps the otherworldly being's heart on her person at all times, thus controlling her, but when Enchantress' brother Incubus (Alain Chanoine) escapes his confines, she is soon free of Waller's influence and seeking to end our world.

The bulk of Suicide Squad's attention is given to the hitman-who-never-misses Deadshot (Will Smith), an emotionless assassin missing his young daughter, and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), the beautiful but unhinged girlfriend of Jared Leto's Joker. The rest of the group, including cannibal Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), pyrokinetic former drug lord El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), drunken Australian thief Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) and a character deemed so unimportant that he's the only one not given a background story, Slipknot (Adam Beach), are little more than window-dressing. Flag is given command of the Task Force, and has his own sidekick in Katana (Karen Fukuhara), completing a massive ensemble Ayer has little control over. Ayer has always been a poor storyteller, but here he also struggles to maintain a constant tone, with the funny and playful introduction suddenly shifting gear and taking us into yet another end-of-the-world story which offers little to no explanation to the huge thingamabob beaming light into the sky.

In pitting its 'heroes' against a global threat, the film loses the opportunity for intimacy between its characters, Only Deadshot feels properly developed, and even he doesn't truly convince as the emotionless killer he insists that he is. Robbie is very good in her role, but her rushed back-story with the Joker feels shoe-horned in, hampered further by Leto's one-note performance and limited screen-time. The most interesting character of all is El Diablo, the one-time drug lord seeking redemption for his past actions, and Hernandez's performance offers a glimpse to how interesting the film really could have been. Yet Ayer is unable to handle the sheer weight of all the personalities on show, and in failing to give the squad a more low-key mission to allow its members a bit of breathing space, the film gives way to CGI overkill and goes mainstream when it should be punk rock and rebellious. A brief appearance by Ben Affleck as Batman ties Suicide Squad to the extended universe, but DC seriously need to step up their game if they expect anyone to care for the world they are building.


Directed by: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Jared Leto, Cara Delevingne, Jay Hernandez, Jai Courtney, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Karen Fukuhara
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie