2016 has had a cavalcade of superhero movies from Deadpool to Dr. Strange and it seemed that it would take special effort for Suicide Squad to stand out. And it did look like these rag tag band of misfits would deliver.
This year has seen it’s share of superhero flicks soaring high with Deadpool officially becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie and Civil War doing incredible numbers while the world lay divided by Dawn Of Justice.
That evil maniacal Jared Joker laugh had everybody’s hopes high.
The stage was set for what could have been the greatest anti-hero movie of all time. With the likes of Will Smith bringing in some serious box office attraction, a cast of characters that looked the part as well, it all seemed like the stars had finally aligned to create a franchise within DC that could do well on its own. Most anticipated was Jared Leto donning the green hair dye and playing the iconic character of the Joker. The legendary portrayal by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight brought back a comic book character that has always had the most viable of the villainous potential. These were mighty big shoes to fill and the run-up to Suicide Squad promised a Joker that was different, unique and yet, bat-shit crazy.
So how did it do?
It could have been so much more. Suicide Squad fails to do what Guardians of the Galaxy did for Marvel i.e. create a band of misfits that could have their own chronicles in sequels to come.
The movie could have told a great story and introduced a slew of new arch nemesis to the DC cinematic universe. But it starts and stops worse than a student driver on his first day of driving school. The movie is plagued with vague storytelling and half-hearted character building. Take for example the first time you see Jared Leto’s Joker in this movie. DC had built to the unveiling of the Joker quite beautifully. In the teaser and trailers alone, they would introduce all the other characters and then finally bring in the Joker. His appearance on screen meant something and one would think that it would be done so in the movie as well.
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The Joker’s first appearance, however, is a part of Harley Quinn’s flashback and the softest debut of a villain ever.
But before I go any further, how good was Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn! Robbie absolutely nails the part of the psychotic sidekick. The mannerism, her laughter and just how drop dead gorgeous she was during all of it, makes her the heart and soul of the movie. Her delivery and interactions with the various characters (including, spoiler alert, Batman!) are brilliant. She is the saving grace of a movie which otherwise fails to build any other characters well.
Will Smith plays, well, Will Smith. Watching him in Suicide Squad is like watching him Bad Boys or Men In Black. It is the same rehashed ‘Will Smith’ role, the cool but cocky character who wins in the end. At this point, Smith is becoming a caricature of himself.
The others Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang and co. just fall on the way side and never really connect to the audience. Viola Davis as Amanda however, is a true badass. The callous with which she plays the role of a manipulative power hungry covert ops leader is remarkable and she does come off as the true villain of a story where people are popping up from ancient times to kill all mankind.
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The movie could have just made amends and gone longer. The news coming from DC is that the uncut version (much like Superman Vs Batman: Dawn of Justice) is a way better watch than the theatrical release. David Ayer, the director could have stuck to his guns and/or done a better job not letting the movie lose pace through out its timeline. Suicide Squad introduces its characters in the fastest way possible with weak story telling and tries to balance it with the main mission at hand, comical dialogues, heavy gun battles and superhuman called Enchantress.
But what is the most unsettling aspect of the movie is Jared Leto’s Joker himself. It is one that is hard to figure out. No real questions are answered. Rather, you come out of the theatre wondering if his portrayal or even the movie, in general, was good or bad. The plot was simple but Ayer fails to captivate the audiences. Sadly, the movie falls way short of all the hype it garnered and bar Viola Davis and Margot Robbie, none of the actors really make a ripple.
What an opportunity wasted.
