By

Justin Shanlian

“Suicide Squad” is superhero escapism at its finest. This film is a cinematic, fast paced, fun, exciting, funny visual treat. David Ayer is a master filmmaker when it comes to assembling stories with huge ensemble casts, and this film is his most ambitious and entertaining to date.

Plot-wise, the film is a bit simplistic, but “Suicide Squad” doesn’t need to try and be a Martin Scorcese or a Stanley Kubrick film. The story may not be overtly rich in narrative glory, but it displays many delightfully stimulating elements that keep the audience interested throughout. The beginning of the film works really nicely as we are introduced to some of DC’s biggest villains.

The action in Suicide Squad isn’t just fun and exciting it serves plot purposes and moves the story forward smoothly. Ayer is coming into his own as one of the top contemporary action directors in the world. He is not known for strong action, but his balls-to-the-wall brutal action sequences in this film are a nice addition to overall quality of the film. From the top down there is not a single bad performance. Ayer knows how to bring amazing performances out from every single member of his cast.  Will Smith, Viola Davis, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto really shine; it’s a testament to Ayer and his ability to work with some of the industry’s top talent and truly have them dive deep into their respective roles that add so many necessary layers to their individual roles.

As the Joker, it seems that Jared Leto has taken every version of The Joker from the comics and integrated them into his performance. It works so well. His voice seems to be a hybrid of Mark Hamill’s and Heath Ledger’s; it’s creepy and disgustingly immoral, just as readers would imagine. This version of The Joker only has one thing in mind: getting Harley Quinn back. It works, but it would have been better if his role allowed him more screentime. When Leto’s Joker is on screen he is electric, unpredictable, funny and completely terrifying. He is exactly what the Clown Prince of Crime should be. It’s a shame he didn’t have a more prominent role.

Margot Robbie nails her role as Harley Quinn. It is as if she was ripped right from the pages of  DC Comics and leaped onto the silver screen. She hits every nuance that we all know and love from Harley Quinn. She is even able to channel that classic Harley voice that we have become familiar with from Bruce Timm’s and Paul Dini’s Batman: The Animated Series. Robbie is campy, fun, creepy and mentally deranged. She also brought a lot of depth to the role as well, as those quieter moments and scenes had in the film truly resonate and add something special that audiences can truly embrace. Robbie is able to channel something dark and deep, that the audience can never truly pinpoint, and the further down the rabbit hole you go into her character the scarier she becomes.

There are a few issues with “Suicide Squad,” some more prominent than others. At times, some of the editing choices lead to pacing issues which can be jarring. Nevertheless, this doesn’t take away from the overall quality that has been established by Ayer and his production team. A few minor changes could be made to improve the future sequels that we’re all hoping for.  One of the more glaring issues of the film is the flashback between Joker and Harley, which takes the audience away from the main story of the Squad. The introduction t0 the members of Task Force X, however, was exciting and entertaining. Their individual stories are cut together in a lightning fast interesting way. When the film cuts to the Joker and Harley narrative it doesn’t necessarily drag, but it doesn’t move with the same fervor and intensity as the rest of the story. The moments between those two characters are necessary to future scenes and future films, but the way that they were edited together should have been done differently to mirror the pacing that was already established in the film. Some of these characters will be featured in future sequels, but in all honesty they could spin off into their own films too. Who doesn’t want a live action Deadshot film set in Gotham City? Or an adaptation Paul Dini’s Mad Love? Featuring Jared Leto’s Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.

The other main issue with “Suicide Squad” is the end of the film. The final action piece feels a bit “been there done that” as we have seen the portal-bringing-bad-guys-to-Earth trope in a few previous superhero films. It was anticlimactic and left viewers wanting more. Luckily the smaller, more private moments that each character feels during this final act make it work, but just barely. The character of Enchantress and her motivations were a bit underwhelming during that final battle. Just the way that her character was written and her motivations left a bit to be desired. Those final moments during the huge final battle could have been layered a bit more, with clearer motivations. The fight sequences between the Squad, Enchantress and Incubus should have lasted longer, too.

Those issues don’t negate all the good that is in “Suicide Squad” this movie is flawed, but the positives are throughout and the negatives only lurk for moments at a time. Will Smith is the emotional anchor for the film and he does a fantastic job. His father/daughter scenes are some of the best cinematic moments that we have seen this year. Let’s hope that he will be involved in future DCEU films — including the Ben Affleck solo Batman film.

“Suicide Squad” has a lot of heart, action and having Waller and Batman in your film doesn’t hurt either. Make sure you stick around for the stinger after the mid-credits too, for a nice dollop of things to come in future DCEU films. You don’t have to wait for the entire credit crawl to see some amazing Easter Eggs. Make sure you give this film a chance, don’t listen to critics who bash it. Be your own critic and judge the movie for yourself. You’ll probably enjoy this film as much as I did, flaws and all.
B/B+

Suicide Squad (4.5 / 10)

By Rheanna Haaland

After two years of  apprehension about aesthetics, casting, and trailers set to well-fitting music, it is a stretch to call Suicide Squad the worst movie ever. Particularly in light of the recent box office failure “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” Suicide Squad was an opportunity for moviegoers to regain faith in DC comic book movies. But for fans who went in praying for a movie on the level of Nolan’s 2008 “Dark Knight,” this film is a heartbreak. Suicide Squad isn’t horrible, but it isn’t good.

What the story lacks more than anything is a sense of dramatic tension. The element of suspense in Suicide Squad is borderline non-existent. If the movie had provided any conflict that took longer than a few minutes to resolve, the audience may have been able to overlook the lack of development in characters and overall story. The antagonist’s motivations and schemes are overly simplistic and underdeveloped. When the real world has so much for a big screen villain to be upset about, the rationale behind this antagonist’s destructive actions are decidedly weak.

DC has never been known for quippy one-liners or good jokes, particularly in contrast to Marvel movies, but the interpersonal dynamics between members of the Suicide Squad’s  leaves so many opportunities for more clever dialogue than the script offered. Characters calling each other “pussy,” “psycho” or “bitch” is only funny so many times. The profanity didn’t seem excessive so much as it seemed lazy. Within the comic books, the members of the Suicide Squad have always been eccentric or occasionally catty, but for the most part they’re smart, well-spoken people. Most of the movie’s best dialogue is charmingly sarcastic, but even that element is too ubiquitous to stand out.

Even with the brilliant score that highlighted high energy combat scenes, the few thematic elements that were meant to draw the cast together are heavy handed and brought in too late. The ensemble seems to hate one another slightly less at the end of the movie than they did at the beginning, but the lack of growth in the group’s dynamic leaves much to be desired. This is particularly unsatisfying given the amount of praise director David Ayer received last month at San Diego Comic Con for his ability to bring the cast together. Even though the actors are unwaveringly well suited to their roles — particularly the badasses Will Smith and Viola Davis — every character in the movie comes off as one-dimensional. The cast members are visibly dedicated to their parts, but the script leaves them so little to work with it almost doesn’t matter. This is particularly tragic in the case of Margot Robbie’s character Harley Quinn, a character who’s cult-like obsessive fans have anticipated her debut on the big screen for over a decade.

Since the first promotional photos were released in 2014, Jared Leto’s Joker and his gaudy aesthetic have been under severe scrutiny. Many die-hard DC fans have been quick to point out that Heath Ledger casting as the Joker in Nolan’s “Dark Knight” in 2007 warranted a similar reaction, but sadly the comparisons stop there. In the enormous clown shoes of Ledger’s legendary performance, Leto is frankly forgettable.  
Perhaps the most disappointing however, is the relationship between Harley Quinn and the Joker.

Quinn’s character in the cartoons and comic books has always been the tragic comic psychiatrist who falls madly in love with a sociopathic patient. In relation to Quinn, Joker has been unwaveringly depicted as manipulative and physically abusive. Until now. Ayer’s version of their relationship portrays the two clowns as equal, if blissfully insane, partners. Joker at one point, even tells Harley “I’d do anything for you,” which in any other medium would have been accompanied by abuse or used as a gaslight tactic. Leto’s version of Joker seems to genuinely care for Harley Quinn, which — on the part of the writers — undercuts and blatantly disregards the origins, depth, and potential for growth in Harley Quinn’s character.  While no one condones domestic violence, this could have been an opportunity to spotlight and fundamentally explore the toxic relationship between them. Although every character in the movie lacks some dimension, the absence of an arc in Harley Quinn as well as her romance with Joker is Suicide Squad’s greatest shortcoming.
At the end of the film, DCs intention for one or more sequels is far from subtle. Although the poor quality of DC’s output is not necessarily deliberate, the amount of heartbreak their fans are willing to suffer has been called into question. When the scripts are tensionless and lackluster, even when there is no shortage of funds, it remains to be seen how far the Suicide Squad movie franchise will stretch the fans’ masochistic dedication. Suicide Squad will be released in theatres everywhere on August 5th.

In less than a week “Suicide Squad” debuts in cinemas across the globe. But, have you ever wondered what the the ‘Squad’ would be like directed by say… Quentin Tarantino? Then check out this hysterical Quentin Tarantino fan made trailer from the guys over at LootCrate to see what the Suicide Squad would look like if it was led by Jules, Django, Aldo and some of Tarantino’s other famous movie characters.

This summer… The Bride, Django, Jules, Gogo and Aldo slice through the bad guys as Quentin Tarantino assembles a team of his most diabolical ANTI-HEROES in this “SUICIDE SQUAD” parody trailer!

Source: LootCrate

Thanks to Team Coco for sending us this clip from tonight’s special San Diego Comic Con episode of Conan O’Brien. Not only did we get a first look at an action scene from the upcoming film “Suicide Squad,” but  we were able to hear Jared Leto talk about his preparation for the role as The Joker.

This action sequence that was shared may only be 30 seconds long, but we get a first glimpse  of Harley Quinn and The Joker taking on Batman.

Source: Team Coco

A brand new trailer for The Lego Batman movie made its debut during the Warner Bros. Hall H presentation. Check it out below.

Making its way to the big screen on February 10, 2017 The Lego Batman movie features the voices of Will Arnett as Batman, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred, Michael Cera as Robin, Rosario Dawson as Batgirl, and Zach Galifianakis as the Joker.

Thanks to our great friend Bill over at Batman-On-Film.com he has heard from a few  sources on where the next solo Batman film might take place. Now we should all take this with a huge grain of salt as the film doesn’t even have a release date yet. At any point over the next few months the script could change completely and this plot point may have been re-written or edited out.

If you don’t want to know where the film will be set make sure you don’t read any further as some might consider this a MAJOR SPOILER

****POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

So according to the rumors that BOF has heard from his various sources, the solo Batman film directed by Ben Affleck will take place in Arkham Asylum. Not only that, but Batman will have been locked up in the Asylum with all the famous Rogues from the Bat-Universe. 

So there you have it folks, what do you think of the next Batman film having our greatest hero being locked up for a majority of the film? As much as this sounds great to us, we prefer them to do an adaptation of the game Arkham City that was written by the great Paul Dini. That is where we would like to see the film take place. The idea of Batman being locked up in Arkham Asylum is cool, but you don’t get that large scale that is Gotham City when you spend a majority of the time in that building.

By Justin E. Shanlian

Source: Batman-On-Film.com