Suicide Squad is a 2016 American superhero film based on the DC Comics antihero team of the same name. The third installment in the DC Extended Universe, the film is written and directed by David Ayer, and stars an ensemble cast featuring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood and Cara Delevingne. In Suicide Squad, a secret government agency led by Amanda Waller recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions and save the world from a powerful threat, in exchange for leaner sentences.
Cast:
Will Smith as Floyd Lawton / Deadshot:Jared Leto as Joker
Margot Robbie as Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn
Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag
Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
Jai Courtney as Digger Harkness / Captain Boomerang
Jay Hernandez as Chato Santana / El Diablo
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Waylon Jones / Killer Croc
Cara Delevingne as Dr. June Moone / Enchantress
Karen Fukuhara as Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana
Adam Beach as Christopher Weiss / Slipknot
Ike Barinholtz as Griggs
Scott Eastwood as GQ Edwards
Ben Affleck and Ezra Miller reprise their roles from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Barry Allen / Flash, respectively; while Jason Momoa makes a brief photographic appearance as Arthur Curry / Aquaman. Jim Parrack and Common appear as Joker's henchmen, Jonny Frost and Monster T. Shailyn Pierre-Dixon and Corina Calderon portray Zoe Lawton and Grace Santana, Deadshot's daughter and Diablo's wife, respectively. David Harbour and Alex Meraz portray a government official named Dexter Tolliver, and a Navy Seal named Gomez, respectively.
Plot: (FULL Spoilers)
In the aftermath of Superman's death, intelligence operative Amanda Waller assembles a team of dangerous criminals—the deranged Harley Quinn; elite hit man Deadshot; pyrokinetic ex-gangster El Diablo; opportunistic thief Captain Boomerang; monstrous cannibal Killer Croc; and specialized mercenary Slipknot—at Belle Reve Penitentiary and places them under command of Colonel Rick Flag, to be used as disposable assets in high-risk missions for the United States government. Each member has a small bomb implanted in their neck, designed to detonate should any member rebel or try to escape.One of Waller's intended recruits is Flag's girlfriend, Dr. June Moone, an archaeologist who is possessed by a witch-goddess known as "Enchantress" after touching a cursed idol. Enchantress quickly turns on everyone, deciding to eradicate mankind for imprisoning her. She besieges Midway City with a horde of monsters, begins creating a weapon, and summons her brother, Incubus, to assist her. Waller then deploys the squad to extract a high-profile mark from Midway. However, the squad is briefed and put under the impression that what is going on in the city is a terrorist attack.
Ahead of their departure, they are joined by Katana, who wields a mystic sword and acts as Flag's bodyguard. Harley's lover, Joker, finds out about her predicament and tortures Griggs, one of Waller's men, into leading him to the facility where the nano bombs are made. He blackmails one of the scientists involved in the program into disabling Harley's bomb. On their approach their helicopter is destroyed, forcing them to proceed on foot to their target. On the way, Boomerang convinces Slipknot that the bombs are a ruse meant to keep them under control. Slipknot attempts to escape and is killed, while the team is attacked by Enchantress' minions. The team manages to escape to their final destination at a safe room, where they learn that their mark is Waller herself, who is attempting to cover up her involvement.
The squad escorts Waller to the rooftop for extraction, but the arriving helicopter has been hijacked by Joker and his men, who open fire on the squad while Harley climbs aboard. However, the helicopter is shot down by Waller's men, and Harley jumps out while Joker seemingly perishes in the explosion, after which Harley rejoins the squad. Alerted to Waller's whereabouts, Enchantress' minions arrive and kidnap her. With Waller compromised, Flag relieves the squad of the mission, but chooses to continue. Realizing they have an opportunity to prove themselves, they soon rejoin him and locate Enchantress and Waller at a partially flooded subway station. A group of Navy SEALs, led by Lieutenant GQ Edwards, go underwater to plant a bomb underneath Incubus while the squad fights Enchantress and her forces. El Diablo embraces his abilities and manages to hold Incubus down as the bomb goes off underneath, killing them both as well as GQ Edwards.
The squad members battle Enchantress together, but are ultimately defeated. Enchantress offers to fulfill their deepest desires in exchange for their allegiance, and Harley feigns interest in order to get close enough to cut out Enchantress's heart. Just after, Killer Croc throws explosives into the weapon as Deadshot shoots them, destroying the weapon. Flag takes Enchantress's heart and crushes it, killing Enchantress and freeing June. The squad members are then returned to Belle Reve, but with ten years alleviated from their sentences and special privileges. Shortly afterward, Joker, who survived the explosion, arrives with his men to rescue Harley. In a mid-credits scene, Waller meets with Bruce Wayne, who agrees to protect her from the backlash of Enchantress's rampage in exchange for access to the government's files on the expanding metahuman community.
The Verdict:
Going into this film, I made it a point to not watch many of the promotional teasers and trailers since I didn't want that to sour my impressions of this film much like it did for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice for the months leading up to that film. Right off the bat, director David Ayer has an unique style for this film and it works for the most part with it's unique presentation and visual style. The film adds a sense of color and life to an universe that has been painted mostly in black and white tones for the most part and it's rather odd that one would have the villains bring this emotion to the table instead of the depressing and brooding stories that viewers have come accustomed to from the DC Extended Universe thus far. The best thing about this film for me has to be soundtrack from start to finish. I definitely have to applaud Ayer in that aspect, but that's where I have to draw the line on his brilliance in this film for the most part.
After seeing the film, I've heard that Ayer stands by the theatrical release, even though the film has been chopped to pieces, re-shot and re-cut repeatedly after the fallout of BvS, but you can tell that the narrative suffers greatly as a result. Casual fans aren't going to care for the most part as they were happy just to see Harley Quinn and some of these other characters make their live-action theatrical debuts period but a lot of the storytelling here comes off as a rushed clusterfuck.
The opening introductions of each of the villains in the form of various flashbacks were a nice touch but they gave away Slipknot's fate when they threw him into the mix without a shred of a backstory nor bothering to let viewers know who he is or what he could do outside of "he can climb anything". Seriously, how the hell is that a noteworthy skill that could get you onto a team like this? That's like saying that I can join for the ability that I can breathe oxygen and have a fully functioning brain. I knew that loser was dead the second that they just threw him in at the last second. I don't get why Ayer went out of his way to make all of the villains have sympathetic qualities when they are like what Harley Quinn said, "We're the bad guys!" That being said, outside of the flashbacks, you couldn't even tell that this was a team of super-villains if you walked into this film twenty to thirty minutes into the run-time. It seemed like Ayer was pitching for a band of misfits story like Marvel Studios' hit-stake gamble with Guardians of the Galaxy. Outside of roughly a handful of noteworthy scenes, this cast of characters can't really even be characterized as villains in my eyes. The whole premise of this film about a group of villainous individuals is lost for the most part as this film is more dead-set on humanizing and sympathizing these villains rather than establishing why they were labeled as villains in the first place. The film repeatedly said this team of villains were all VERY bad people but viewers weren't provided anything to think otherwise outside of word of mouth from other characters about how "bad" they are supposed to be. That ultimately ends up being the biggest flaw in this film and takes away from the dynamic that was advertised. Instead of a rebellious gang of super-villains, this story is too much of buddy flick in the same vein of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy where a band of misfits and unlikely heroes band together for a common interest to do good.
Deadshot
I think this character suffered the most from having his villainous edge tainted from the sympathy factor. That was amplified by Will Smith's typecast nature of playing these types of characters where he's the dad thrust down a difficult path in life but perseveres only for the love their own children - in this case, Lawton's own daughter. I honestly busted out laughing that Flag was carrying around the letters from Deadshot's daughter during their mission that entire damn time. Like c'mon, Flag came off as a bigger villain than the rest of the team for doing that. What was he going to do with them, throw them in the trash if Deadshot pissed him off?
I'm not saying Will Smith's portrayal of this character was bad. It's just that we have seen Smith play this type of character so much that it's redundant at this point. Sure, he pulled it off but I was looking for more depth and a bit more villainy. I can't blame Smith for that much for the most part; that mistake falls on the shoulders of the writers of this film.
Like seriously, explain to me how this performance was different than any other performance Will Smith has played over the last two decades outside of the language?
One more thing... What was the point of Deadshot having a mask if Will Smith was only going to wear it for maybe two 2 minute shots out of the entirety of the film?
I'm not saying Will Smith's portrayal of this character was bad. It's just that we have seen Smith play this type of character so much that it's redundant at this point. Sure, he pulled it off but I was looking for more depth and a bit more villainy. I can't blame Smith for that much for the most part; that mistake falls on the shoulders of the writers of this film.
Like seriously, explain to me how this performance was different than any other performance Will Smith has played over the last two decades outside of the language?
One more thing... What was the point of Deadshot having a mask if Will Smith was only going to wear it for maybe two 2 minute shots out of the entirety of the film?
By the way, bravo to Ayer's costume department... The costumes in this film look freakin' amazing. They might have Marvel Studios beat in that regard as everyone looked like something pulled right off a page of a comic book.
The Joker and Harley Quinn
Sixty percent of this film's flashbacks involved these two and laying down the foundations to their relationship. One Easter Egg that's not getting a lot of press that I've noticed is the caption on Harley Quinn's bio in the film that she's credited as the accomplice to the death of Robin. Yeah, the same Robin whose costume was littered with graffiti by the Joker in the Batcave during BvS. That's freakin' HUGE but it's reduced to a mere caption that I didn't notice until my second viewing of this film and I'm pretty sure most people missed it the first time too. The fact that she was an accomplice to Robin's death doesn't bother me, but the fact that it was reduced to a mere caption instead of the film showing viewers what happened is the bigger crime. It seemed like a huge missed opportunity to omit that from the film. I rather them not mention it at all if they weren't going to show it.
Harley's backstory borrows aspects from both her original origin story from Batman: The Animated Series, as well as aspects from her current comics continuity. I love that Ayer went out of his way to provide some Easter Eggs showcasing Harley and Joker's relationship throughout the montage, such as her trademark red and black harlequin costume.
Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is the reason why most people will want to watch this movie in the first place and I will be first to admit that she delivered on her performance - for the most part. Her delivery on Harley's trademark "Boston" accent is a bit inconsistent at times while her delivery and timing on jokes is a little off, but I think she will warm up to the role with more appearances in this future of this universe. She had a lot of pressure on her shoulders being the first woman to portray this character in a live-action feature film, so I'm willing to forgive and overlook these minor gripes I had with her performance.
Harley's backstory borrows aspects from both her original origin story from Batman: The Animated Series, as well as aspects from her current comics continuity. I love that Ayer went out of his way to provide some Easter Eggs showcasing Harley and Joker's relationship throughout the montage, such as her trademark red and black harlequin costume.
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| I thought that this was the best Easter Egg in the entire film for those who know where it came from... |
Jared Leto's Joker didn't do anything for me. I wasn't neither impressed nor dissatisfied with his take on The Joker. I'm pretty indifferent about it as at this stage, that character has no significant weight in this universe. I have to admit that I'm not crazy about the Joker's affections towards Harley Quinn are legitimately genuine in this universe instead of the abusive relationship that they have been known for roughly two decades now. I was confused on how Leto's Joker knew how to locate the Belle Reve prison AND managed to know about the nanomachine bombs placed inside each of the members of the Suicide Squad with enough foresight to locate and devise a means to disable the device. After two viewings of the film, I found that this was never explained. It just comes across as this information just happens to land into the Joker's lap one way or another. I hate to be the one to point it out, but the Joker's mere presence in this film (even though it's very, VERY minor) brings it down a few pegs. The Joker's mere presence in this film distracts from the rest of the cast that the rest of the film suffers on multiple levels as a result.
Before people throw a hissy fit about the Joker and Harley Quinn's inclusion, hear me out. The Joker should have been limited to either ONE flashback in Harley's origin story or the lead-up to her capture and/or at the film's ending where he busts her out of Belle Reve to tease what's next for these two characters. They could have saved everything else for the next solo Batman film. Alternatively, he could have been the featured villain for this film front and center. It worked for Batman: Assault on Arkham (a MUCH better take on the Suicide Squad if you ask me by the way...) and I don't see how it could have gone wrong here. It would have been a perfect chance to establish The Joker as a major villain in this continuity (as he should be) as well as ironing out the messy details on Harley Quinn's origin and relationship in fell swoop instead of scattering it around aimlessly throughout this film's narrative.
Before people throw a hissy fit about the Joker and Harley Quinn's inclusion, hear me out. The Joker should have been limited to either ONE flashback in Harley's origin story or the lead-up to her capture and/or at the film's ending where he busts her out of Belle Reve to tease what's next for these two characters. They could have saved everything else for the next solo Batman film. Alternatively, he could have been the featured villain for this film front and center. It worked for Batman: Assault on Arkham (a MUCH better take on the Suicide Squad if you ask me by the way...) and I don't see how it could have gone wrong here. It would have been a perfect chance to establish The Joker as a major villain in this continuity (as he should be) as well as ironing out the messy details on Harley Quinn's origin and relationship in fell swoop instead of scattering it around aimlessly throughout this film's narrative.
El Diablo
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| El Diablo with his own variation of "Spirit Fingers"... |
I personally saw this character as an amalgamation of all of the iterations of this character from the comics as Ayer seemed to have borrowed something from each of those aspects of that character's publication history. Given Ayer's previous work on gang violence and such on the silver screen, it was no surprise that this character stood out more than the rest.
The Flag/June Moone/Enchantress Love Triangle?
I don't see why WB were so gung-ho about putting Enchantress in this film unless it was one of two possibilities. One being that they are just being petty and want to get their Enchantress introduced into this continuity before Marvel Studios does the same in their own universe as that's one of the rumored castings for the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok. The alternative is that WB/DC are looking to expose Superman's vulnerability to magic in a future film and Enchantress would be the perfect adversary to expose this weakness in combat.
As for Enchantress' showing in this film, I thought her initial design as a mock voodoo queen was a nice touch until I saw how she was literally half-naked underneath all of The Ring-inspired special effects. I thought it was rather far-fetched to have the Suicide Squad defeat her in their first outing as a team, especially for a group consisting of mainly C to D tier villains against an obvious A+ tier level villain threat, even though her master plan was just as silly as the main antagonist's master plan at the end of the Ghostbusters reboot.
Cara Delevingne was a good fit in the role even though I wasn't too crazy about her Lord of the Rings-style demeanor during the film's climax, but she did well for the most part with what little she was given to work with for both Dr. June Moone and Enchantress. Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag wasn't bad either as he was completely unrecognizable as the same guy who starred in the recent RoboCop reboot. Flag seemed like a better fit for Kinnaman and I wouldn't mind seeing the character continue to pop up occasionally in this universe. My only issue with Flag in terms of the narrative was that he really never had any control of the team from start to finish. He brought in a squad of his own hand-picked soldiers that only served to be completely expendable when the actual fighting started while he looked incompetent at every turn while Enchantress' subordinates were making him look like a pushover at every opportunity. I saw that as the film subtly communicating that Enchantress was targeting him to take him out of the equation as she still had that weakness to her mortal heart since Dr. Moone held affections for him and didn't want that to come into play later. It made me question that why didn't she kill him right off the bat if she didn't already have some feelings for him as well...
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| I liked Cara Delevingne as the Enchantress. She could be eerily creepy as Enchantress but mousy and timid as Dr. June Moone. It's a shame that her multi-layered performance will be overlooked in favor of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn by most viewers. |
Cara Delevingne was a good fit in the role even though I wasn't too crazy about her Lord of the Rings-style demeanor during the film's climax, but she did well for the most part with what little she was given to work with for both Dr. June Moone and Enchantress. Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag wasn't bad either as he was completely unrecognizable as the same guy who starred in the recent RoboCop reboot. Flag seemed like a better fit for Kinnaman and I wouldn't mind seeing the character continue to pop up occasionally in this universe. My only issue with Flag in terms of the narrative was that he really never had any control of the team from start to finish. He brought in a squad of his own hand-picked soldiers that only served to be completely expendable when the actual fighting started while he looked incompetent at every turn while Enchantress' subordinates were making him look like a pushover at every opportunity. I saw that as the film subtly communicating that Enchantress was targeting him to take him out of the equation as she still had that weakness to her mortal heart since Dr. Moone held affections for him and didn't want that to come into play later. It made me question that why didn't she kill him right off the bat if she didn't already have some feelings for him as well...
Amanda Waller
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| Give a hand for Viola Davis' performance as Amanda Waller. |
I personally felt that Davis' performance delivered more than Robbie's Harley Quinn and added more to the table going forward for the DC Extended Universe. There's only so much one can do with Harley Quinn as piece on the chess board for structuring this universe going forward. It's a much better gamble to establish Waller as a prominent character moving forward.
Everyone Else...
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| This looks cool and all, but it sums up this film in a nutshell. The cool kids up in front, while others are either in the background, neglected due to time, or just wondering around aimlessly. |
Katana was a last second addition to this team in more ways than one. To say she was supposed to be Flag's bodyguard, she was doing a piss-poor job at that. Harley and Deadshot were protecting his ass and getting him out of harm's way more than she was. After how well this character was represented in CW's Arrow and Beware the Batman, I hated to see this character wasted here. I hope we get to see more of her later down the line.
I shook my head that no one thought of having Katana just stab Enchantress and take her soul into the Soultaker Sword and free Dr. Moone that way...
I shook my head that no one thought of having Katana just stab Enchantress and take her soul into the Soultaker Sword and free Dr. Moone that way...
Captain Boomerang was a complete flop in this film. I guess he was just there for comic relief but Deadshot and Harley Quinn - even occasionally Killer Croc too - had that role down for the most part. Hell, even Killer Croc had better comedy bits than he did. I know that they have to have a Flash villain on the Squad's ranks, but they could have dug up someone better than this. The current comics continuity of the Squad had Reverse Flash on their ranks for a brief period but I doubt that would have worked here if they are saving him for The Flash's first solo film later down the line. I would have liked Boomerang more if they didn't just make him look absolutely worthless in almost every exchange or fight the team found themselves in. By the end of it all, I was going why the fuck is this loser still here? He should've gotten killed with Slipknot if he was just going to be dead weight.
Killer Croc was cool for the most part, but I had to shake my head at the black stereotypes they had to paint onto the character. It's 2016, folks. We don't need that shit just to make something "entertaining" - it's bad enough that professional wrestling still goes that route for cheap pops. No offense to Adewale, but Ayer could have found someone else who was a little more bigger and physically imposing to play that character. It was rather odd to see him look smaller or the same size as just about everyone else on the team. Sue me, but I've said it a hundred times by now but I'm a stickler for how these comic book characters "should" look in a real life setting compared to their comic book incarnations if we're trying to suspend belief here. Croc was another victim of being shortchanged in terms of character development.
Slipknot... Do I need to go on? That dude was there just to get killed off. He served no other purpose. Allegedly, he was supposed to have a scene shown where he was apprehended by Wonder Woman, much like Flash's cameo when he caught Captain Boomerang, but that was cut due to time constraints. I still can't get over that they went with a Z-tier bottom of the barrel villain like Slipknot in this... Just wow.
I felt that scene would have held more merit and weight behind it if WB/DC didn't already reveal the Justice League trailer at Comic Con a few weeks prior to this film's release. Instead, it just made it come off a bit silly for my taste - even more so that Batman has the files from Lex Luthor's drive on metahumans so what else does he need from Waller? It's not like Luthor's information wouldn't be enough as I would like to think that a genius at his level wouldn't be slack on details on something very important like that.
Still, it was fun to see Bruce Wayne and Amanda Waller meet up in a live-action setting like this as their encounters in both the comics and in animated media have been nothing short of awesome...
I still have a huge problem with the lack of heroes coming to investigate the situation in Midway City after all of the chaos that Enchantress was causing around the world though...
I would have included KGBeast who has been identified as one of the operatives in Lex Luthor's mercenary operation to "frame" Superman from the beginning of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Anatoli Knyazev. He ends up taking the role in the film that Slipknot did where he's just the example of the nanomachines work and Amanda Waller wasn't bluffing about blowing their heads off. People already think he's dead from being roasted alive by Batman during his rescue of Martha Kent, so it won't hurt to put the exclamation point on his demise here.
Slipknot... Do I need to go on? That dude was there just to get killed off. He served no other purpose. Allegedly, he was supposed to have a scene shown where he was apprehended by Wonder Woman, much like Flash's cameo when he caught Captain Boomerang, but that was cut due to time constraints. I still can't get over that they went with a Z-tier bottom of the barrel villain like Slipknot in this... Just wow.
The mid-credits teaser
I felt that scene would have held more merit and weight behind it if WB/DC didn't already reveal the Justice League trailer at Comic Con a few weeks prior to this film's release. Instead, it just made it come off a bit silly for my taste - even more so that Batman has the files from Lex Luthor's drive on metahumans so what else does he need from Waller? It's not like Luthor's information wouldn't be enough as I would like to think that a genius at his level wouldn't be slack on details on something very important like that.
Still, it was fun to see Bruce Wayne and Amanda Waller meet up in a live-action setting like this as their encounters in both the comics and in animated media have been nothing short of awesome...
I still have a huge problem with the lack of heroes coming to investigate the situation in Midway City after all of the chaos that Enchantress was causing around the world though...
*** BONUS *** My vision for Suicide Squad:
Deathstroke would have been a "surprise" late addition to the roster as Waller was bringing in members at the last second, much like how Slipknot was brought in briefly with no backstory. The only reason this possibly would not have worked is that Deadshot and Deathstroke have similar designs and skill sets and that would have ended up confusing casual viewers in the long run.I would have included KGBeast who has been identified as one of the operatives in Lex Luthor's mercenary operation to "frame" Superman from the beginning of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Anatoli Knyazev. He ends up taking the role in the film that Slipknot did where he's just the example of the nanomachines work and Amanda Waller wasn't bluffing about blowing their heads off. People already think he's dead from being roasted alive by Batman during his rescue of Martha Kent, so it won't hurt to put the exclamation point on his demise here.
I would have included Black Manta since we need to establish Aquaman's main antagonist since it's going to be a long time before we get a solo Aquaman film. Sure, he's Aquaman's top adversary but you can introduce him here and do the cameo where Aquaman caught him and left him off-shore to the police. They could always pull Ocean Master for Aquaman's solo film as the main antagonist there anyway.
My take on The Joker would have retained The Joker's vanity for himself over any compassion over Harley Quinn instead of the silly Bonnie and Clyde-sque dynamic that they share in this universe. Ultimately, The Joker would have been the main antagonist here with him trying to control the Enchantress for his own misdeeds. It wouldn't be a stretch for him to do this as he has managed to manipulate entire Justice League and pit them all against the Dark Knight, so controlling a wildcard like the Enchantress shouldn't be too much of a stretch either. Waller's hook on getting Harley to obey would be her jealousy that her "puddin'" has taken a new girl under his wing and has "replaced" her, but in the end, Joker ends up fooling her to betray the Squad. Harley's own Stockholm syndrome ultimately ends up being her own downfall as the film would shed light on her past of her abusive relationship with the Joker. The Squad ends up being prepared for the double-cross by Harley since Waller has a back-up plan for that outcome (of course she does...), and that's when and where you bring in Deathstroke to take out Joker to the shock of the Squad as a last minute addition. Joker escapes while Deathstroke and Batman are at a stalemate ('cause Batman can't beat him straight up without help...) and the rest of the Squad are dealing with a deranged Enchantress.
Keep Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Diablo, Killer Croc, and Flag. Drop Slipknot, Captain Boomerang and Katana. Why introduce another "hero" when it's extremely unlikely that Katana will be enlisted for the Justice League anytime soon? It's not like Warner Bros. are going to do an Outsiders live-action film, so I honestly don't see the reasoning behind having Katana on this iteration of the Squad outside of fan-service, so she's out. Captain Boomerang is fucking lame, even for the goofs that call themselves The Flash's archenemies. I know he's a main stay for this team, but that doesn't mean that he translates well on this team. When Marvel did Guardians of the Galaxy, they weeded out a LOT of the bullshit and lame duck characters that were considered members of that team over the last few decades. They stuck with a roster that works for a live-action film and was simple enough to keep things interesting.
After the mess that was Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice earlier this year, you might as well watch this to get the bad taste of that movie out of your mouth in relation to DC Comics' live-action properties. Unlike the many reviews on this film, I don't think that I've took a massive dump on it like everyone else has. This film is nowhere perfect, but there's some decent moments that make up for that film's vast shortcomings while managing to keep a lighter, upbeat tone than previous titles in the DC Extended Universe. I still find that rather ironic that the one films about the VILLAINS of this universe has a lighter, fun tone than the films about the titular heroes in the same said universe.
With that being said, I walked away from this film with a huge "meh" impression after leaving the theater. I was neither blown away nor completely disgusted with what I saw - I was merely indifferent on my opinion on the state of the DC Extended Universe going forward. If this was an independent film without any having any ties to establishing nor laying the groundwork to future DC Comics-based properties, I would have been a lot more forgiving on this film. Sadly, it's not and I was left expecting and wanting a LOT more from this experience. Most casual fans will be happy with just the fact that Harley Quinn and the Joker are in this period, so knock yourselves out, but there's going to be a lot more comic book fans and film-goers in general who are going to walk away from this film desiring a lot more out of this as well.
My take on The Joker would have retained The Joker's vanity for himself over any compassion over Harley Quinn instead of the silly Bonnie and Clyde-sque dynamic that they share in this universe. Ultimately, The Joker would have been the main antagonist here with him trying to control the Enchantress for his own misdeeds. It wouldn't be a stretch for him to do this as he has managed to manipulate entire Justice League and pit them all against the Dark Knight, so controlling a wildcard like the Enchantress shouldn't be too much of a stretch either. Waller's hook on getting Harley to obey would be her jealousy that her "puddin'" has taken a new girl under his wing and has "replaced" her, but in the end, Joker ends up fooling her to betray the Squad. Harley's own Stockholm syndrome ultimately ends up being her own downfall as the film would shed light on her past of her abusive relationship with the Joker. The Squad ends up being prepared for the double-cross by Harley since Waller has a back-up plan for that outcome (of course she does...), and that's when and where you bring in Deathstroke to take out Joker to the shock of the Squad as a last minute addition. Joker escapes while Deathstroke and Batman are at a stalemate ('cause Batman can't beat him straight up without help...) and the rest of the Squad are dealing with a deranged Enchantress.
Keep Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Diablo, Killer Croc, and Flag. Drop Slipknot, Captain Boomerang and Katana. Why introduce another "hero" when it's extremely unlikely that Katana will be enlisted for the Justice League anytime soon? It's not like Warner Bros. are going to do an Outsiders live-action film, so I honestly don't see the reasoning behind having Katana on this iteration of the Squad outside of fan-service, so she's out. Captain Boomerang is fucking lame, even for the goofs that call themselves The Flash's archenemies. I know he's a main stay for this team, but that doesn't mean that he translates well on this team. When Marvel did Guardians of the Galaxy, they weeded out a LOT of the bullshit and lame duck characters that were considered members of that team over the last few decades. They stuck with a roster that works for a live-action film and was simple enough to keep things interesting.
I know that this isn't as good of some of my other pitches, but I'm just throwing some ideas out there.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
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| Margot Robbie sipping on that tea while she doesn't give a flying fuck about the reviews of this film say as she's going to get her own solo spin-off no matter what as that's ultimately what this film was - an audition/demo reel for a Harley Quinn solo film. |
With that being said, I walked away from this film with a huge "meh" impression after leaving the theater. I was neither blown away nor completely disgusted with what I saw - I was merely indifferent on my opinion on the state of the DC Extended Universe going forward. If this was an independent film without any having any ties to establishing nor laying the groundwork to future DC Comics-based properties, I would have been a lot more forgiving on this film. Sadly, it's not and I was left expecting and wanting a LOT more from this experience. Most casual fans will be happy with just the fact that Harley Quinn and the Joker are in this period, so knock yourselves out, but there's going to be a lot more comic book fans and film-goers in general who are going to walk away from this film desiring a lot more out of this as well.
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