Suicide Squad is an impressive film. Not because it’s particularly good or particularly memorable, because it isn’t. Rather, it’s impressive that a big-budget studio film, particularly one featuring well-known comic book characters, can be so utterly and completely average in every conceivable way. From performances to story to tone, every element here seems almost deliberately calculated to meet the bare minimum requirements required to pass muster as entertainment. Take it for what you will, but that’s actually a pretty special achievement.
Director David Ayer, who has made a career off of gritty, thrilling, anything-but-average films like End of Watch and Fury, seems like the perfect filmmaker for this kind of material. But even his considerable talents are squandered in a misshapen jumble of bravura auteurist flourishes and cynical studio pandering.
The Squad in question is formed in the shadow of Superman and what he has come to represent to planet earth. What if another super powered, unstoppable being comes along who isn’t so nice? Wouldn’t it be nice to have some insurance? So argues bureaucrat Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, whose performance is clearly the best part of the film), and she somehow convinces the U.S. government to assemble a cadre of violent, deranged criminals should the appropriate crisis arise.
These criminals, holed up in a maximum security penitentiary surrounded by Louisiana sludge, are a veritable who’s-who of psychos. There’s lethal sniper Deadshot (Will Smith), the increasingly unhinged Harley Quinn (Margo Robbie), pyrotechnic Diablo (Jay Hernandez), mercenary Slipknot (Adam Beach), master thief Boomerang (Jai Courtney) and deformed monster Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).
They’re put under the care of Special Forces soldier Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), who calls them out after an ancient paranormal threat known as the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), threatens to (say it with me) destroy the world, with the help of a zombie army. It may not come as a surprise that these folks aren’t too keen on being cooperative. But the promise of a shortened prison sentence, combined with the explosive charges implanted in the criminals’ necks, may hopefully keep them in line. Can these baddies find it in their hearts to put aside their self-interest and work together for the sake of each other and the world?
Even before a conflict is introduced, the film takes its (very long) time introducing us to each member of the Squad, not only their criminal backstories but also, in some cases, their ties to their past, perhaps the very things keeping them human. Deadshot, for example, desperately wants to be involved in the life of his young daughter. And Harley, of course has her doting Mr. J, aka the Joker (Jared Leto), scheming up a way to break her out. It’s great to get to know so much about the major characters early in the film, but it’s a slow burn as we wait for something to actually move the plot forward. There’s a balance somewhere between story and character, and Ayer’s script misses it.
Suicide Squad is a bland and derivative comic-based film that still contains some impressive performances.
Once the film gets going, it’s…fine. The banter between the Squad is pretty fun (if often cheesy), and I liked seeing the group’s camaraderie grow as the film goes on. One scene in particular, in which the group lounges in a bar, feels like it’s taken from a much better and more interesting film (though even this scene is marred by the film’s ridiculous over-use of flashbacks). But the central conflict, and the action sequences in general, feel completely derivative, and for a film with such talented performers and memorable characters, that’s disappointing.
Thankfully, the film does get a lot of mileage out of its performances. Davis does a fantastic job with Waller, an icy and ferocious snake who is every bit as vicious and unpredictable as the criminals she brings out to play. Robbie is a joy as Harley, feasting on each of her snarky lines and playing it over-the-top without feeling like a cartoon character. And Smith brings a lot of emotional weight to Deadshot; you feel the desire he has to be reunited with his daughter, but he still conveys the danger and power the character should have.
Unfortunately, the rest of the performances feel forgettable, and that’s most obvious with Leto’s Joker. For a character so iconic, it’s strange that the film relegates his best moments to flashback scenes. Although his character is crucial to Harley’s development, he plays no major role in the central plot. I think Leto does okay with the character, but I didn’t really get to see enough of the Joker to make a judgment on that. For big fans of the character like myself, that’s a shame.
Suicide Squad made the news when Warner Bros. decided to employ reshoots to “lighten” the humorous elements of the film after the relative box-office disappointment of Batman V. Superman. But the studio seems to have a short memory. Christopher Nolan’s lauded Dark Knight trilogy was grim and gritty, but people loved the films because they had considerable dramatic heft and, more importantly, a soul. It’s not about whether a film is “gritty” or not; it’s about whether the film is good. The only mark of quality is, well…quality.
With that in mind, I didn’t really feel the uncomfortable imbalance between the humorous and darker elements of the film some were expecting. It’s occasionally kind of funny, but never gets as bleak or self-serious as some of the stuff in Batman V. Superman. My problem is that there appears to be so little lack of effort surrounding the film in general. There are no terrible elements here; everything basically works. But why should we settle for “basically works” as a measure of quality? There’s nothing to really get mad about, but also nothing to stir much of a reaction beyond a shoulder shrug.
Suicide Squad is like the Arby’s of comic-based superhero flicks. It leaves the audience feeling like it has eaten a meal without giving it any particularly memorable flavors to enjoy. It’s bland and forgettable, but it still qualifies as food. At least there’s no danger of contracting salmonella.