"THE SUICIDE SQUAD" (2021) Review

 

"THE SUICIDE SQUAD" (2021) Review

No one had felt more surprised than myself when I learned that Warner Brothers had plans for a new movie featuring the D.C. Comics characters - the Suicide Squad. Although a box office hit, the 2016 movie was a critical failure. "SUICIDE SQUAD" is also regarded as one of the worst films of the D.C. Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise.

Yet, Warner Brothers had went ahead with their plans. And the studio hired James Gunn; who had directed 2014's "GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY" and its 2017 sequel, "GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 2" for Disney Studios/Marvel Films; to write and direct its new film. Both Gunn and Warner Brothers claimed that their new movie, "THE SUICIDE SQUAD", was not a sequel to the 2016 film. Yet, they also claimed that it was also not a reboot. Both claimed that it is a "do-over". Huh. A do-over sounds like a reboot to me.

If "THE SUICIDE SQUAD" was not a sequel, I found it interesting that it had utilized at least four characters from the 2016 film - Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, Rick Flagg and George Harkness aka Captain Boomerang. It would have featured Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot as well, but Will Smith was unable to do the film. Even David Ayer, the 2016's film's director, had been slated to helm this second film . . . as a sequel. But in the end, Gunn received the assignment. And both the latter and Warner Brothers had decided this new movie would be a reboot. Hmmmm. Okay.

"THE SUICIDE SQUAD" began with Amanda Waller, Director of A.R.G.U.S., assembling members from Task Force X - inmates from the Belle Reve prison - for a new mission. Broken into two teams, "A" and "B", they were sent to the South American island nation of Corto Maltese after its government is overthrown by an anti-American regime, and are tasked with destroying the Nazi-era laboratory Jötunheim which holds a secretive experiment known as "Project Starfish". Waller's immediate subordinate Colonel Rick Flagg led Team A to land on the island and is nearly wiped out from Corto Maltese forces. Apparently, another Suicide Squad member, Richard "Dick" Hertz aka Blackguard, had informed the Corto Maltese of their landing. Only Flagg and Harley Quinn had survived. Team B, lead by sharpshooter/mercenary Robert DuBois aka Bloodsport, managed to land without being detected, due to the Corto Maltese being distracted by Team A's landing. The Corto Maltese managed to capture Harley. Team B searched for Flagg and discovered him taking refuge at a base camp for rebel soldiers lead by one Sol Soria. Flagg and the Team B managed to convince Soria to help them achieve their mission to destroy Project Starfish.

What can I say about "THE SUICIDE SQUAD"? It seemed to possess James Gunn's crazy brand of humor. This was especially apparent in the interactions between Bloodsport and another Team B member, the aggressively patriotic Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker; the deaths of most Team A members on the Colto Maltese beach; Harley's constant failure to recognize one of Soria's rebel soldiers and her final interaction with her captor dictator Silvio Luna. It also featured some interesting action sequences. I especially enjoyed the Suicide Squad's crazy ride through Valle Del Mar's streets, as the Squad and Soria's forces race to save Harley.

The movie definitely benefited from first-rate performances from the cast. "THE SUICIDE SQUAD" featured excellent performances from Idris Elba as Robert DuBois aka Bloodsport, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, David Dastmalchian as Abner Krill aka Polka-Dot Man, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, Taika Waititi the Ratcatcher, Juan Diego Botto as Silvio Luna, Storm Reid as Bloodsport's daughter Tyla, Joaquín Cosío as Major General Mateo Suárez and Sylvester Stallone's voice performance as Nanaue aka King Shark. However, the movie had its standout performances.

One such performance came from Margot Robbie, who managed to knock it out of the park as Harley Quinn . . . as usual, despite some cringey dialogue. I was also impressed by John Cena's portrayal of the uber-aggressive Peacemaker. In fact, I would go as far to say that his comic timing may have rivalled Robbie's. I was surprised to see Peter Capaldi as the Thinker, let alone in a comic book movie. Yet, he gave a complex performance as Gaius Grieves aka The Thinker, the lead scientist of Project Starfish who finally revealed the truth and the U.S. government's role in it to the Squad. For me, the best performance came from Daniela Melchior, who portrayed Cleo Cazo aka Ratcatcher 2, daughter of the Ratcatcher. Melchior gave a very poignant performance in one scene in which she described her relationship with her father to Bloodsport during the team's respite inside a bar.

Despite its virtues, certain aspects of "THE SUICIDE SQUAD" did not sit well with me. For example . . . the details behind the slaughter of Team A. If Blackguard had not ratted out the mission to the Corto Maltese military, Team A - along with himself - would have never been slaughtered. How did he do it? How did Blackguard managed to make contact and make a deal with the Corto Maltese Armed Forces before leaving the U.S. for the island? While he was a prisoner at a maximum prison like Belle Reve? How did he do it? What makes this so frustrating is that Gunn's screenplay never revealed how Blackguard was able to contact the Corto Maltese in the first place.

And why did Amanda Waller assign Rick Flagg, her trusted second-in-command, to lead Team A? You know, the team that nearly got wiped out by the Corto Maltese troops upon landing? The team that was used as a distraction from Team B's landing. Why did she do this? At first, I thought she had finally regarded Flagg as disposable. And yet, once she had discovered that Flagg had survived Team A's slaughter, she ordered Bloodsport and Team B to rescue him. So, if she wanted Flagg rescued, why in the hell did she assign him to Team A in the first damn place?

If Waller never had any intentions of killing Flagg, why did she bother to recruit Bloodsport to act as Team B's leader? Why did she do that? Why not simply assign Flagg as leader of Team B? In fact, she wanted Bloodsport as leader of Team B so badly that she blackmailed him by threatening to incarcerate his delinquent daughter Tyla at the Belle Reve prison. It seemed bad enough that Waller did not assign Flagg as Team B's leader. But she had to blackmail Bloodsport into assuming the role? Why? If she had wanted Bloodsport on the mission so badly, Waller should have reminded him of the mini bomb planted in his skull. This whole scenario regarding the Corto Maltese landing, Rick Flagg's situation, and the leaderships of both Teams A and B seemed like a vicious circle of contrived writing that produced several plot holes in the end.

I find it amazing that both Gunn and Warner Brothers had insisted that "THE SUICIDE SQUAD" was a "do-over" or reboot of "SUICIDE SQUAD". Not only were four characters from the original film brought back for this movie, Gunn had utilized a good number of characterizations and plot points from the 2016 movie.

For example, Bloodsport nearly came off as a remake of Deadshot. I realize that Gunn had originally intended for Deadshot to be one of the leading characters. But once he was unable to cast Will Smith, he hired Idris Elba to portray Deadshot. Then he changed his mind and decided to have Elba portray another D.C. Comics marksman - Bloodsport. The problem is that aside from some minor differences, Bloodshot reminded me a bit too much of Deadshot. Both were portrayed by actors of African descent. Both are considered among the best marksmen within the D.C. Comics universe. And both characters had complicated relationships with their daughters. When Gunn realized that he was going to have Elba portray Bloodsport, instead of Deadshot, I feel he should have been more original with the former character.

Like "SUICIDE SQUAD", Harley Quinn had a romantic interest in "THE SUICIDE SQUAD". In the 2021 film, she had a romance with Corto Malta's leading dictator Silvio Luna. My problem with this romance is that it had no impact upon the movie's main narrative . . . unlike her relationship with the Joker in "SUICIDE SQUAD". Yes, I found Harley's breakup with the dictator to be one of the film's funniest moments. But I found the entire romance a big waste of time. I wish Gunn had thought of another way to handle Harley's experiences between surviving Team A's slaughter and joining Team B. Gunn had Harley discover Luna's plans to use Project Starfish against other nations. But so what? Even Waller had suspected that might happen. That is why she had sent Task Force X to Corto Malta in the first place. I am sorry, but I found Harley's romance with Luna to be a big waste of time.

Gunn had created his own "bar scene" in "THE SUICIDE SQUAD". Perhaps he had added this sequence to give his protagonists a breather. Or perhaps he wanted to repeat the bar scene from "SUICIDE SQUAD", which is regarded as one of the best aspects of the latter film. How did I feel about it? This sequence featured a great performance from Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2. Yet, it failed to impress me, unlike the 2016 film's bar scene. For me, a woman discussing her loving relationship with her father was not as interesting as a man regretfully confessing to killing his loving wife and kids in a fit of rage. And I still ended with the feeling that Gunn had simply attempted to plagiarize David Ayer's scene.

I also found it interesting that the main villains for both movies were telepathic. And both - the Enchantress and Starro - had been exploited by the U.S. government. However, the Enchantress had been revealed as villainous before being discovered by Dr. June Moone and used by Waller. Starro did not work as a main villain for me. He had simply been an innocent captured and experimented on by the U.S. government. And his experiences had driven him to murderous behavior. Frankly, I feel as if the Thinker would have made a better "Big Bad" than Starro. The latter simply ended up as cartoonish and over-the-top to me. And his death . . . gruesome.

There were other aspects of the movie that bothered me. Whereas Ayer had wasted the Slipknot character in "SUICIDE SQUAD", Gunn managed to waste a slew of characters in this film's first twenty minutes. And one of those characters proved to be Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang. Another wasted character proved to be Michael Rooker's Brian Durlin aka Savant. The movie's opening sequence had spent a good deal of time on Savant's time in prison and preparation for the Corto Malto mission that his fate took me by surprise.

And then there was the matter of the mini bombs planted inside the heads of the Task Force X members. In the film's final sequence, Waller tried to prevent the remaining team members from stopping Starro in his rampage against the Corto Malta inhabitants. Why did she want to prevent the team from saving the Corto Malta citizens in the first place? In the end, her staff knocked her out and prevented her from setting off the bombs inside the remaining squad members' heads. The problem I have with this scenario is the device Waller had planned to use to set off the mini bombs. It resembled a piece of technology straight from the mid-to-late 20th century, instead of the late 2010s or early 2020s. What happened to the smart phones used by Waller and Flagg in the 2016 film? Did Gunn deliberately downplayed the bomb switch technology so that he had an excuse to prevent Waller from carrying out her executions . . . and give Bloodsport enough time to set her up for blackmail, using the Operation Starfish file? And why was Waller’s operations stationed at the Belle Reve Prison, instead of the A.R.G.U.S. headquarters in Washington D.C.? All of this . . . it simply smacked of contrived writing to me.

I also had a problem with King Shark. Earlier, I had pointed out that Sylvester Stallone gave a first-rate voice performance as this character. But I cannot say the same about how Gunn had written King Shark. The latter character struck me as rather infantile and cartoonish. Now I realize that King Shark was originally a human/shark hybrid from Hawaii named Nanaue. But was he portrayed in such a childish manner in "THE SUICIDE SQUAD", to the point I almost found it irritating and offensive. After all, the character had been portrayed with a great deal more intelligence in the comic books, the Harley Quinn animated series and in Arrowverse's "THE FLASH". Why Gunn had decided to portray King Shark as someone with limited intelligence, I do not know.

Over the years, I have noticed that when non-American directors - especially those from Europe - make action films set in the United States, they have a tendency to raise the level of gore and violence that American directors rarely use. I also noticed that Gunn utilized an unusually high level of gore and violence for "THE SUICIDE SQUAD". I found it ironic. Many critics had praised this movie to the skies and rarely anyone complained about the level of violence in this film. Whereas DCEU movies like "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE" received a great deal of complaints about its violence, "THE SUICIDE SQUAD" did not. Yet, I found the violence in the 2021 film ridiculously excessive. Huh.

Yes, "THE SUICIDE SQUAD" had its virtues. It featured some good action sequences and excellent performances from the cast led by Margot Robbie and Idris Elba. But I believe that thanks to James Gunn's writing, the movie featured an unsatisfying main villain, too many plot holes, too many flaws and unnecessarily excessive violence and gore. By the time the surviving members of the Suicide Squad had its final confrontation with the main villain, I found myself despising this film. Perhaps one day, I will give this movie another chance and learn to appreciate it. Who knows? But right now, I despise and regard it as one of my least favorite comic book movies of all time.

"THE SUICIDE SQUAD" (2021) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "THE SUICIDE SQUAD", the second adaptation of the DC Comics series. Written and directed by James Gunn, the movie stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, and Viola Davis:




"THE SUICIDE SQUAD" (2021) Photo Gallery

"SUICIDE SQUAD" Showdown

"SUICIDE SQUAD" SHOWDOWN

The 2016 D.C. Extended Universe (DCEU) film, "SUICIDE SQUAD", featured an interesting post-credit scene between A.R.G.U.S. Director Amanda Waller and billionaire Bruce Wayne aka Batman. In the wake of Task Force X aka Suicide Squad's confrontation with former team member, the sorceress Enchantress, Ms. Waller requested a meeting with Bruce for a special favor.

Apparently, Ms. Waller found herself in hot water with the U.S. Department of Defense, due to the Enchantress' attempt to wreck havoc upon the world and rule it. After all, the sorceress was known to be a former member of the Suicide Squad. Ms. Waller met with Bruce in order to use his Washington D.C. connections to protect her from the backlash against her role, as Task Force X's creator, in the Enchantress' rampage. In return, she provided him with government files files on the expanding meta-human community . . . along with documents on both Barry Allen aka the Flash and Arthur Curry aka Aquaman. Following Bruce's agreement to help Waller in exchange for the files, the pair had this little conversation:

Amanda Waller: There’s the difference between us. You believe in friendship, I believe in leverage.
Bruce Wayne: Good night.
Amanda Waller: You look tired. You should stop working nights.
Bruce Wayne: You should shut it down, or my friends and I will do it for you.

When Ms. Waller had first hinted that she knew Bruce was Batman, his first response was to warn her to shut down the Task Force X team, also known as the “Suicide Squad”. When I first saw the movie, I had taken Bruce's warning at heart. Especially since she had asked for him to protect her from facing the consequences of using Dr. June Moone aka the Enchantress as part of her Task Force X. And the recently formed Justice League would be more than capable of physically breaking up the squad and keeping its members behind bars. In the end, it took me a while to realize that on a deeper level, Bruce’s warning was hollow. It was just as hollow as Waller's insinuation that she knew he was Batman.

One, the formation of Task Force X "Suicide Squad" was not illegal. It was sanctioned by the Department of the Defense and the White House. With the exception of Task Force X leader Colonel Rick Flagg and his bodyguard, Tatsu Yamashiro aka Katana, the other members were convicted criminals. Which meant that Waller or any other member of the government or law enforcement had the right to “recruit” them to work in the interest of the country/community. The Thirteen Amendment (1865) of the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. Which meant that convicted and imprisoned criminals can be used as forced labor. And this is exactly what Waller did when she had nano bombs implanted in their necks and coerced them into working on behalf of the government . . . with the threat of death if any Suicide Squad member did not cooperate.

Two, if Batman and other future members of the Justice League had interfered with any of the Task Force X’s operations, they would find themselves in legal trouble. Especially since the Task Force X is a legally sanctioned intelligence unit. And when Bruce had issued his warning about the squad, he should have remembered that Ms. Waller not only knew about his identity as Batman, she also knew about secret identities of the Flash and Aquaman. After all, she was the one who had provided Bruce with information about the pair. Considering Ms. Waller’s talent for acquiring information, it would have been a matter of time before she discovered Diana Prince's identity as Wonder Woman, Victor Stone 's identity as Cyborg and Clark Kent as Superman. If she does not know the truth about them already. After all, Lex Luthor does.

Three, Waller's insinuation that she knew about Bruce's identity as Batman struck me as equally hollow. Even if she had exposed him as the Dark Knight, chances are Bruce would not hesitate to find a way for her to face the consequences of her role in the Enchantress' rampage. If he could not personally achieve, Bruce would probably arrange for his security chief, Alfred Pennyworth to expose Ms. Waller on his behalf.

Perhaps it would have been best for both Bruce and Ms. Waller to realize that when it came to secrets and protection, they were in a standoff. Waller should have never made such a useless threat. And Bruce should have realize there would be legal consequences if he and the other members of the Justice League had interfered with Task Force X. And both should simply consider leaving each other alone.

"SUICIDE SQUAD" (2016) Review

"SUICIDE SQUAD" (2016) Review

The year 2016 has proven to be a strange one for Warner Brothers Studios and fans of DC Comics. Their creation - the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise had released two films that proved to be box office hits, yet critical flops. One of those movies was the Zack Synder film, "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE". And the other was the summer film, "SUICIDE SQUAD". 

Three years before the release of these two films, the DCEU franchise witnessed its kickoff with the release of "MAN OF STEEL", another origin tale of Clark Kent aka Superman. Whereas "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN" seemed to be more of a direct sequel to the 2013 movie, the narrative for "SUICIDE SQUAD" seemed to be something of a reaction to Superman's death in "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN". 

Written and directed by David Ayer, "SUICIDE SQUAD" began several months after the previous film. Amanda Waller, director of the Federal agency Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans (A.R.G.U.S.), convinces the Defense Department to allow her to assemble "Task Force X", a team of dangerous criminals imprisoned at Belle Reve Prison in Louisiana, to engage in high risk black ops missions. The criminals that she has selected are:

*Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot - an elite marksman and professional assassin, who has a warm relationship with his only daughter

*Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn - a former psychiatrist and crazed supervillain who is in a relationship with the psychotic gangster "the Joker"

*Chato Santana aka El Diablo - a former Los Angeles based gang member with a powerful pyrokinetic ability, who had turned himself in after accidentally killing his wife and children

*George "Digger" Harkness aka Captain Boomerang - an Australian-born thief with an unpredictable personality and a talent with deadly boomerangs and knives

*Waylon Jones aka Killer Croc - a supervillain who suffers from a skin condition that causes him to develop reptilian features and a powerful strength

*Dr. June Moone aka Enchantress - an archaeologist who is possessed by an ancient evil force that transforms her into a powerful sorceress

*Christopher Weiss aka Slipknot - a mercenary and assassin who specializes in tactical grappling and scaling

Waller assigns an Army Special Forces officer named Colonel Richard "Rick" Flagg to lead the squad into the field. He is assisted by a group of Navy SEALS led by GQ Edwards, and a widowed Japanese vigilante and martial arts expert named Tatsu Yamashiro aka Katana, who also happens to be a friend of Flagg's. While Waller and Dr. Moore are in Midway City, the latter transforms into the Enchantress and manages to escape from the former's control. The Enchantress then frees her brother Incubus from a South American artifact, allowing him to take control of a Midway City businessman's body. While both the Enchantress and Incubus besiege the city, the former transforms many of its citizens into her monstrous minions and decides to build a mystical weapon to eradicate mankind. Meanwhile, Waller finally decides to deploy the squad to extract a high-profile mark from the besieged Midway and from possible capture by the Enchantress.

As I had earlier pointed out, the moment "SUICIDE SQUAD" hit the theaters, most of the critics trashed it. I must admit that I was baffled by their reactions. It is one thing to trash the DCEU's earlier entry, "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE", even though I did not agree with their negative opinions. But "SUICIDE SQUAD" got trashed as well? Two DCEU movies in one year? 

"SUICIDE SQUAD" was not perfect. One of the problems I had with the movie's narrative is that the setting struck me as a bit constricted, considering its 123 minutes running time. At least two-thirds of the film was set during one night in the downtown area of a major city. Also, I never understood why Amanda Waller and Rick Flagg went out of their way to keep the identity of the high-profile mark that the squad had to rescue a secret. Even if they had revealed the truth to Deadshot and the squad's other members, the latter would have been forced to go ahead with the rescue, due to the nano bombs injected into their necks that coerced the squad to cooperate. 

Speaking of the nano bombs, I found myself thinking about the character portrayed by Adam Beach, Christopher Weiss aka Slipknot. I hate to say this, but David Ayer really wasted his role. Unlike the other members of the Suicide Squad, there were no glimpses of his backstory in flashbacks. In fact, his name was not even mentioned in the scene in which Amanda Waller introduced her scheme to create the squad. Nor was he seen in the sequence in which Waller and Flagg "recruited" the other members. Audiences knew nothing about Slipknot's role in the film, until he made his first appearance at a military base, where the other squad members had gathered. So . . . what was the point of Slipknot's role in the movie? Utilizing a scene from one of the comic books for "Suicide Squad" in which Captain Boomerang managed to convince Slipknot to join him in an escape attempt from the military, he was merely used as a plot device to show what would happen to the squad's other members if they try to escape. Death by an explosion from an injected nano bomb. That is all.

Despite the above problems I had with this film, overall, I liked it very much. Okay, who am I kidding? Hell, I loved this movie! It was a hell of a ride and a lot of fun. And it did a great job in expanding the DCEU even more. Just as Zach Synder had connected "MAN OF STEEL" with "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE", David Ayer did the same by connecting the latter with "SUICIDE SQUAD". More importantly, he also connected this movie with one of the upcoming DCEU films, "JUSTICE LEAGUE" in one scene featuring Captain Boomerang getting arrested by Barry Allen aka the Flash in a flashback and in a post-credit scene featuring Amanda Waller and Bruce Wayne aka Batman. The latter scene proved to be a special connection between Waller's failed attempt to make the Enchantress a part of the squad, her files on other meta humans like the Flash and Aquaman, and Bruce Wayne's government contacts that would allow her to avoid any consequences from the whole Enchantress/Midway City debacle. 

I also enjoyed how "SUICIDE SQUAD" began with the introduction of the squad's "recruits". While Amanda Waller narrated, the movie embarked upon a series of entertaining flashbacks that revealed the squad members' talents, crimes and how they were captured. Naturally, my two favorite backstories were about Deadshot and Harley Quinn. Both of them revealed how their encounters with Batman led to their incarceration. I was surprised to see another member of the future Justice League of America, namely the Flash, in Captain Boomerang's flashback. 

Another aspect of "SUICIDE SQUAD" that I found interesting was how the squad's members managed to form a well tight unit on their own, even when their ties to others were either disconnected like Deadshot's to his daughter Zoe during his time in prison; questionable like Harley Quinn's disturbed and abusive romance with the Joker; and in the case of three other members, non-existent. El Diablo has spent most of his time in prison mourning over the family he had killed and indulging in self-isolation. Killer Croc's reptilian appearance has led him to be isolated and reviled by his fellow criminals and society at large. As for Captain Boomerang, he made it quite clear in a flashback when he double-crossed a colleague that he preferred to work alone. Despite these disparate situations, the squad learned to work together. More importantly, they even learned to work with Rick Flagg, Katana and the Navy SEALs, despite the distrust between the squad and their military watchdogs.

There had been a good deal of criticism from critics and some fans about how Ayer dealt with the relationship between Harley Quinn and the Joker. Many seemed to believe that Ayer had whitewashed the abusive nature of their relationship. That is not the relationship I had seen on screen. It really was not that difficult for me to notice how the Joker seemed to be in control of their relationship. Flashbacks revealed how he had exploited her infatuation for him. I also noticed his disturbing penchant for infantilizing her at times. Even the wardrobe that Harley wore to Midway City seemed to indicate that the Joker regarded her as his possession - namely her "Daddy's Lil Monster" T-shirt and "Puddin" choker:



And yet, I do not recall the Joker wearing any clothing or accessories hinting that he is Harley's possession. Curious. In fact, the controlling nature of their relationship seemed indicative in other relationships in the movie. The Enchantress proved to be something of a control freak. Brimming with resentment over humanity for imprisoning her and her brother Incubus, the sorceress decides to mankind. And yet . . . she transformed many of Midway City's citizens into her minions and seemed to be the dominant half of her relationship with Incubus. On the other hand, Amanda Waller seemed to be the "Queen of Control" in "SUICIDE SQUAD". She uses her position as Director of A.R.G.U.S. to assume control of the criminals who form the squad. And to insure that they will cooperate, she has small nano bombs implanted in their necks. She also tried to use her possession of the Enchantress' heart to control the latter. And she encouraged a romance between Rick Flagg and the Enchantress' human identity, Dr. June Moone, to guarantee Flagg's undivided cooperation. 

What can I say about the cast? Personally, I thought the cast members were the best thing about "SUICIDE SQUAD". I have not seen Will Smith in a really good movie since 2012's "MEN IN BLACK III". And I really enjoyed his entertaining, yet first-rate and ambiguous portrayal of sharpshooter Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot. Margot Robbie gave what has turned out to be a superb performance as the hilarious, yet somewhat insane Dr. Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn. Frankly, I think her performance was one of the best in the movie. Another performance that really impressed me came from Viola Davis, who nearly ruled above the others as the ruthless and diabolical Amanda Waller, Director of A.R.G.U.S. The ironic thing is that Waller's character was not the movie's main antagonist, yet Davis' portrayal of her was so scary that she might as well have been. 

Jay Hernandez was marvelous as the emotionally tortured Chato Santana aka El Diablo, whose guilt over his family's deaths have led him to be reluctant to participate in the fight against the Enchantress. Karen Fukuhara was equally marvelous as Tatsu Yamashiro aka Katana, the expert martial artist/swordswoman, who guarded Rick Flagg and mourned her dead husband with the intensity of El Diablo's flames. Speaking of Rick Flagg, it is amazing that I have never noticed Joel Kinnaman before this movie. I was surprised to learn that he was not the first choice for the role, for I believe he fitted it like a perfectly well-tailored suit. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's role as Waylon Jones aka Killer Croc was not as big as I would have liked. But the British actor still managed to give a great performance as the isolated supervillain, who managed to maintain a healthy attitude about his own self-esteem . . . despite what others may have thought about him. The biggest surprise proved to be Jai Courtney's portrayal of Australian criminal George "Digger" Harkness aka Captain Boomerang. I have seen Courtney portray a series of intense characters - both heroes and villains. I never knew that he had a talent for comedy. Because . . . dammit! The man was funny as hell. 

I thought Jared Leto gave one of the most interesting and original portrayals of the D.C. Comics supervillain, the Joker, I have ever seen. It was . . . well, very dangerous, but in a very sexy way. A sexy Joker. I never thought I would ever say that about the famous villain. But Leto did give a rather sexy and entertaining performance. "SUICIDE SQUAD" also featured some solid supporting performances from the likes of Cara Delevingne as Dr. June Moone aka the Enchantress, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne aka Batman, David Harbour as a Federal official named Dexter Tolliver, Shailyn Pierre-Dixon as Zoe Lawton, Corina Calderon as Grace Santana, Scott Eastwood as Navy SEAL GQ Edwards, Common as a Gotham City criminal named Monster T and yes, even Adam Beach as Christopher Weiss aka Slipknot . . . despite his limited appearance.

Although I had a problem with director David Ayer's use of the Slipknot character and other minor aspects of the narrative for "SUICIDE SQUAD", I must admit that I enjoyed the movie a lot. Very much. In fact, it has become my favorite movie from the summer of 2016 and one of my favorite movies of the summer. Despite what other critics may have thought about it, I thought it was one hell of a film. I look forward to a sequel.

"SUICIDE SQUAD" (2016) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "SUICIDE SQUAD", the recent adaptation of the DC Comics series. Written and directed by David Ayer, the movie stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis: 


"SUICIDE SQUAD" (2016) Photo Gallery