Set in a post-Batman v Superman world,
the nation’s leaders are concerned about the growing threat of
metahumans. But the world's leadership is equally unsure who can protect
them from the massive world-destroying abominations the super-powered
beings have been fighting. Enter high-ranking government official Amanda Waller (Viola Davis): she proposes the invocation of a team of super-villains to fight other super-powered enemies. Problem solved.
Suicide Squad introduces
an ensemble cast of comic book characters that the general movie-going
audience has likely never heard of--save the Joker--but writer/director
David Ayer handles this brilliantly. Like the film's well-received
trailers, Suicide Squad mixes comic-influenced imagery with familiar
songs to create catchy themes for each character. Tonally, it sets Suicide Squad apart from other comic book films while also keeping it grounded in the familiar.
Once
the introductions are over, the music is toned down, and the action
ramps up. You can't expect a group called a "suicide squad" to face
anything less than the threat of death at every moment. But that sense
of imminent sacrifice also forces you to see the team in a different
light. Over the course of the film, the individuals become more than
simple one-dimensional villains forced to fight a massive, even eviler
force. They're still bad guys, but they're bad guys you can root for.
One
of the primary reasons the villains work so well comes down to the
massive talents that portray them. Will Smith eschews his normally
light-hearted demeanor to embody the somber Deadshot, a role he takes on with the same skill as some of his heavier character-driven work. Jared Leto gives us a Joker
like we've never seen before. His Joker is as ruthless as you would
expect, but you'll be surprised with how he runs his operations. His
dynamic with Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn
runs contrary to what some traditionalists may expect. Robbie also does
an excellent job handling the complexity of Harley's mental instability
without making it feel over-the-top or out-of-place. Not every
character gets the same deep dive into their motivations, but this make
it feel like there's more material to broach in the inevitable sequel.
If there's a weak point to Suicide Squad,
it's the inconsistent pacing. After the introduction concludes and the
mission begins, it's almost as if you're thrown into a separate movie.
The film then starts to yo-yo between frenetic action highs and slower
dialogue-heavy moments, but it never brings them together seamlessly.
And the mix of realistic-looking action juxtaposed against late-movie
CGI-heavy moments feels jarring. The CGI does work in those scenes. It
just feels a little out of place with the rest of the movie. When the
climax of the movie occurs, you'll probably have a good idea how things
will play out.

Despite the mostly predictable ending, Suicide Squad
is the movie the DC Cinematic Universe needs right now. It retains the
already established dark tone of its predecessors while injecting some
much-needed moments of humor and humanity. And it feels all the more
impressive that the characters who finally get that tone across are
traditionally the franchise's villains. Who would have thought a bunch
of bad guys could bring so much hope to the superhero genre?