Imagine if The Avengers was the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And then imagine that version of The Avengers started at the battle of Manhattan. That's, essentially, what Suicide Squad is. It's a 2 hour third act of a movie without any character set up or development. It's a movie so bad and disjointed that it should join Catwoman, Green Lantern, and The Fantastic Four (2015) on the Comic Book Mount Rushmore Hall Of Shame. It's not even bad in a so-good it's bad kind of way... it's just bad, and if it's not the nail on the coffin of the DC Cinematic Universe, it's definitely the lid.
I had high hopes for this movie. It delivered another spectacular trailer (I'm starting to realize that DC should be in the trailer business and not the movie business), but once the (nasty) reviews started rolling in, I began to gasp. I started to believe that maybe there was credence to the "Is Rotten Tomatoes conspiring against DC and Warner Bros.?" rumors circulating the interwebs. The reviews seemed almost personal in a way that would never befall Marvel. They were the same for Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice and I actually enjoyed that movie (especially the better but not perfect R-rated director's cut). I talked myself into that being the same for Suicide Squad. On-set turbulance and reshoot rumors be damned... I was going to enjoy this one.
It was clear from an early stage in this "film" that I was wayyyy wrong. There is almost no character development, and each Suicide Squad member gets a (really cool) few minute introduction. Before you know it, the squad is assembled and they're off to "save the world (said in Will Smith's voice). The trouble is, the main villain isn't even introduced until after they've started their mission. Essentially, they (and the audience) don't know what their mission is about. It just goes down hill from there. They even introduce a Suicide Squad member and kill him off without him ever saying a line of dialogue. Why should we care about this group when they're so expendable (man, I wish I was sitting through The Expendables 23 instead of this one)? Jared Leto makes random cameos as The Joker, but his weirdness isn't enough to save this one. His character seems forced and out of place.
I won't bore you with any more plot details since there isn't a plot. I really hope DC can pull their stuff together in time for Wonder Woman (another great trailer, by the way). Justice League is happening, but I doubt the universe survives post JL if Wonder Woman fails.
I'm giving this movie 1 out of 4 stars. There's a couple bright points in this movie. Margot Robbie does a great job as Harley Quinn and the graphics for the Squad character intros were really cool.
There's a post credit scene setting The Justice League with Ben Affleck (still the best part of the DC Cinematic Universe) and Viola Davis (who wastes her talents in this one). In short, DC is working backwards. They're introducing the cart before the horse and it's hurting their product. I'm glad I had a gift card and didn't waste money on Suicide Squad.
Finally... Dear Hollywood... please stop trying to make Jai Courtney happen. K, thanks!
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