Suicide Squad Mini Review

Suicide Squad Mini Review
Director and Writer: David Ayer

Coming on the heels of a certain dispute-centric gloomy critical bomb, Suicide Squad tries it’s best to find it’s own identity.

That identity is essentially what has already been seen in the trailers – it’s a bombastic, off-kilter, gaudy, neon-splashed introduction to our team of anti-heroes. The official synopsis for which is this:

“It feels good to be bad… Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?”

Stylistically shot – again like the trailers – sexy slow-mo shots with classic pop tracks playing over them.
Will Smith carries the film as Floyd Lawton (aka Deadshot), a hitman who never misses a shot, and charges a million per hit (like a certain golden gun wielding hitman – how was the cost of a hitman not gone up with inflation?!)

Margot Robbie puts in a suitably unhinged turn as Harley Quinn, and had some great Harley-esque lines, but not quite enough for my liking. In addition to this, her origin isn’t really fleshed out all that much (again, stylistic, neon-drenched flashbacks serve to fill us in).

For all the fuss made over Leto’s Joker, there isn’t really enough of a performance here to even judge. Shown in one scene as an unhinged mob boss, he doesn’t really have much of his own identity, and only really serves as a device to move Harley’s plot along.

The plot itself revolves around the squads first mission, which is to contain one of their own, which – spoilers aside – makes a change from the standard boss battle, as this one has slightly more pathos attached to it.

Verdict:
See it! Overall, it’s an enjoyable romp, and the best DC film so far (not particularly high praise, I know), but I wasn’t bored, and I didn’t hate it, so it’s a step up for the Distinguished Competition…