'Suicide Squad' is a big disappointment and a waste of a lot of potential
After trailers of varying quality and lengthy reshoots, DC's latest entry into its cinematic universe is a major disappointment. It's unfortunate, because it had a lot going for it.
In the movie, a government agency recruits a rag-tag team of supervillains for a special operation in exchange for reduced jail sentences. This is an interesting premise off the bat, as a lot of recent superhero movies both never allow you to root for the villains and also have trouble creating strong villains. Now, the villains are the main characters.
And yet, "Suicide Squad" is a giant waste of its potential.
It has great characters, but doesn't know what to do with them.
Something the movie can't be faulted for is its cast. Will Smith reminds you why he became a movie star in the first place with his performance as Deadshot. Jai Courtney, who's never been a major standout, gets in a few big laughs as the unpredictable and over-the-top Boomerang.
Perhaps the two most hyped characters are the most disappointing, though.
Jared Leto plays The Joker almost as a parody of the great villain. And Margot Robbie, one of the best talents working in Hollywood today, is misused. Director David Ayer turns what could have been the villain of the year into a walking catchphrase machine. You can tell that Robbie has bigger ideas for the character that the movie isn't smart enough to service.
After spending much of the beginning of the movie going long and introducing some major characters, it throws a few new members into the squad, and gives them no depth whatsoever.
Trying to balance this many characters is hard, but after "Captain America: Civil War" did it so well earlier this summer, nobody else has an excuse anymore.
It has multiple competing visions that can't make a complete movie.
Earlier in 2016, "Suicide Squad" went through reshoots. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a darker version from Ayer and a lighter studio-approved version were both tested. Instead of picking a side, they decided to mash both of these into one movie and it made watching "Suicide Squad" a confusing experience.
In the few moments where you see the villains bond with each other, there's an extremely confusing plot involving the worst CGI supervillain creations since "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."
Because all of the promising moments are left up as part of a messy whole, it makes "Suicide Squad" more disappointing. It's not an outright disaster the way "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" was. You can feel all the potential being wasted. I'm not mad, but I am very, very disappointed.