SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)

The DC Cinematic Universe began in 2013 with MAN OF STEEL. And I enjoyed Man of Steel but I am not an avid Superman fan. Changing the formula as Zack Snyder did wasn't a problem for me. The second film in the DCCU debuted last March: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - DAWN OF JUSTICE in which Batman was a murder-happy slave of fear and Superman was an all-powerful yet impotent brooding depressing ineffectual God-like figure. Some people loved BVSDOJ and others did not. For me the film was disappointing in that these two characters were very different from their comic book counterparts. Snyder's approach to the story seemed to say that being a superhero in this world is a curse.

If it sucks to be a hero in the DCCU then why not be a villain?

SUICIDE SQUAD, the third film in the DCCU, just hit theaters and I am pleased to report that it is more satisfying and entertaining than the dark depressive world of BVSDOJ. Why? The characters feel somewhat closer to their comic book counterparts. Batman feels more like he should (less fearful and less murdery). And because villains have more fun. Visually the movie is spectacular. Suicide Squad packs a ton of content and comic book goodies for the preexisting fans and those meeting these characters for the first time.

FYI, I really enjoyed the New 52 Suicide Squad comic book, so I had a predisposition to like this movie.

THE PLOT

Belle Reve is a super-max prison housing the worst of the worst of criminals that aren't being held in Arkham Asylum. Run by the cold-hearted government employee Amanda Waller, Belle Reve's population of meta-humans (super-powered individuals) has been growing of late. When Superman emerged he changed everything. Now meta-humans are everywhere and some of them are not as nice as Supes. Waller looks over her wards serving life-sentences and forms a covert black-ops team. Composed of criminals, coerced by Waller to follow orders, TASK FORCE X is born. Their mission, to stop any meta-human threat that may arise with extreme prejudice.

A meta-human threat arises. Task Force X is deployed. The fun begins.

THE GOOD

Pure fun. Suicide Squad doesn't attempt to wax philosophically about what it means to save people, to have power over people, or how the world perceives super-powered people. There's an appropriate place for such musings and BVSDOJ did its best to tackle those subjects. Suicide Squad just has fun. Fun with its imagery, fun with its characters, fun with its soundtrack. In short, the movie is very entertaining. The movie is fast paced with the peddle to the metal the whole way, exciting and enjoyable.

Expansive. This is the third film in the DCCU. The MCU (the Marvel Cinematic Universe) has thirteen films (soon to be fourteen). The DCCU has some catching up to do to say the least. It seems their approach to catching up is to jump directly into the middle of the timeline instead of starting at the beginning. Both Suicide Squad and BVSDOJ enter a world where a ton of history with these characters has already happened. The characters in Suicide Squad have already lived full lives and experienced many story arcs prior to where we meet them in the film. It's an interesting approach, one that makes the DCCU world feel as if it has a long history already.

Because of this approach there isn't much world building because it's already there. It's as if they're skipping all the origin story movies and part two's and going straight for the trilogy crescendos. This approach places the DCCU instantly at pace with Marvel who is currently beginning their trilogy crescendos. What I'm trying to say is Suicide Squad's plot is big. The threat they face is world-ending. This isn't some get to know the team, maybe someone might die, establishing plot. The threat they face is huge. People do die. And that threat is probably my favorite part of the film.

The Enchantress. This character is far and away my favorite character in the film. She feels a little like Gozer the Gozerian and many times I felt like I was watching Ghostbusters. Enchantress' character design is scary. Her voice and her movements are scary too. Then when she fights she is hands down the biggest badass in the movie. This movie has loads of fun characters in it, Captain Boomerang especially. But for me Enchantress was the most appealing. I thought she was sexier, deadlier, and more badass than Harley Quinn in every way. For the most part all of these characters are enjoyable too.

THE BAD

Villains? As with any movie you want to have characters the audience can relate to. Depending on your personal feelings towards humanity, I'd venture to say most people going to the movie theater to see this film are more than likely good people. How does one get good people to relate to bad people? Well, maybe the bad people aren't so bad after all.

"Zangief, you are badguy, but this does not mean you are bad guy." Zangief in WRECK-IT RALPH.

Through the course of the movie you find out that Deadshot isn't such a badguy. He doesn't kill women or kids. He has a daughter who means everything to him. He's the super deadly assassin with a heart of gold. My cynical side in me is going, "Awww... that's nice... BARF!" The story tries to humanize these characters too much instead of pulling the trigger and making them remorseless unrepentant villains. They're badguys but not "bad guys." I understand why they did it but it still makes you wonder what it would've been like had they actually committed to making these characters villains.

The Joker. Jared Leto's Joker was hit and miss with me. There were moments where I thought his performance was great, as with Harley's flashbacks in Arkham and at Axis Chemicals. But then I had an equal and opposite reaction at times, the scene where Joker is just hanging out at a nightclub talking with the actor Common. The Joker was also ultimately superfluous to the film and the movie would've functioned just fine without him (kinda like Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War).

Again, I understand why the filmmakers went with such an extreme departure from previous iterations of the character. Leto or any other actor stepping into that role doesn't want to merely repeat what Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger did for fear of being labeled a seamstress. That's the problem with truly amazing performances of the past. You can't repeat them unless the original actors are the ones to do it lest you be crucified by the populace at large. Mark Hamill, you are still the best Joker there ever was.

Disjointed. After the truly polarizing effect of BVSDOJ many reshoots where done to Suicide Squad in hopes of not repeating this. As a result the movie feels at war with itself at times. The reshoots seem noticeable here and there. You have deadly serious moments in which the actors are portraying their characters as such. Then within the same scene the actors showcase radical shifts in character to something more blase' and fun. There is a place for dark and dour super-hero movies (the approach Snyder took for BVSDOJ) and Suicide Squad was probably it. Oh well. I still enjoyed the movie.

THE VERDICT

Villains truly do have more fun in the DCCU and Suicide Squad is pure fun. The characters are enjoyable and the plot is simply good ol' fashion entertainment. The film doesn't revolutionize anything nor does it bring anything new to the table of super-hero films. It's visually dazzling and fun from start to finish (I really need to use a new adjective other than "Fun"). I enjoyed this film more than BVSDOJ as it feels more like DC than BVSDOJ did. I don't feel it deserves all the critical bashing that it has received but at the same time I can see easily where one could tear this movie apart.

Taking all three films of the DCCU into account I'd say Man of Steel is still my favorite but Suicide Squad is a close second. After Wonder Woman comes out this coming June I expect we'll see a dramatic shift in the approach to the DCCU films beginning with Justice League on out.

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10

For more of my thoughts on the DC Cinematic Universe check out the review below!

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016)