Movie Review: Suicide Squad (2016)

It's been one heck of a summer blockbuster season for the year 2016, with plenty of movies that showed heroes flying high and kicking each other's ass when conflict and tension pitted them against one another. While there's still plenty of films to look forward to as the year continues, one of the most anticipated ensemble cast films and the second film in the growing DC Extended Universe finally sees release with director David Ayer's "Suicide Squad" - a film that literally sees the bad guys forced to do some good in exchange for lighter sentences and their lives intact.

After all the hubbub and criticism lashed at last March's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", the opening weekend of Suicide Squad also saw critics lash out at the newest addition to the growing DC Extended Universe that Warner Bros. Pictures is building. Despite this, the movie has earned $247 Million on opening weekend, and becoming the HIGHEST GROSSING FILM to open on August - a huge feat for an R-Rated film... And a superhero film no less. That's not to say the movie doesn't have its flaws, but it does entertain in SPADES too.

That being said, here's my review for the film featuring the so-called "Worst Heroes Ever" and officially designated "Task Force X". Special thanks goes to Warner Bros. Philippines for inviting me, as well as my friends who cosplayed the "Squid Squad", to the premiere last week and the other screenings on Squad Week!

Taking place some time after the events of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and Superman's selfless sacrifice to stop the rampage of Doomsday, "Suicide Squad" follows the formation and exploits of a covert ops group known as "Task Force X" - composed of the worst kind of bad guys, metahumans, and assassins that have been locked away at a secret facility called Belle Reve. Commanded by a cold yet tough as nails director named Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), a team consisting of captured villains like Deashot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) is formed to handle a situation gone out of control in Midway City. Led by the veteran field commander Col. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), this team is forced to comply with explosives planted on their necks. If they disobey, they die. If they live and follow orders, they may just get parole and leniency on their sentences. Either way, they earn the name "Suicide Squad" for their actions, cause no matter what good they do for redemption, freedom, or otherwise, they'll always be remembered as the bad guys through and through.

First things first... THIS IS A FUN MOVIE TO WATCH. While by no means a perfect film, Suicide Squad does combine a good cast of actors and actresses who play their parts well and literally keep the audiences entertained no matter what. Will Smith leads the cast with his portrayal of the World's Greatest Assassin Deadshot. He's a guy trying to make a living killing for money to support his daughter, but he's eventually captured by a certain Dark Knight and ends up with Task Force X. The same goes for Harley Quinn, aka The Joker's deranged girlfriend. She also finds herself in the middle of the black ops situation, but her Mister J (Jared Leto) obviously wants her back and works up a plan to get his clown girlfriend out of the situation. Joel Kinnaman plays Col. Rick Flag - a dutiful yet conflicted soldier who follows orders and leads the Squad on their mission, but has a personal stake on things because his girlfriend June Moone is the host to the metahuman Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) - who's responsible for the mess they have to clean up in Midway City.

Suicide Squad - Official Trailer 1 [HD] The other characters that make up the squad also have some screen time to shine and prove that they aren't just faces in the background. Chief among these is El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), who proves he's the most grounded and guilt-ridden member of the villains posse who hesitates using his powers but eventually comes to do so when his team needs him. Then there's the Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who plays a pretty mean yet "beautiful" version of the Batman rogue who's someone you don't want to piss off any time soon. Then there's Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) - the comedy relief who's an unstable Aussie villain who just loves his Pinky and Monster Energy drinks. Finally, you have Slipknot (Adam Beach)... Who I can't say much about because there are no more words. All these guys are watched and secured by Flag with the help of Katana (Karen Fukuhara), who's pretty much faithful to her comic book counterpart and has a sword that steals the souls of those it slices and kills. I'd say more about The Joker, but his role is akin to an "extended cameo" and there's so much cut from the final release that I wish made it to theaters. Hopefully an extended cut or deleted scenes with the home release down the line will show fans more.

Bottomline, Suicide Squad is an IMPROVEMENT for the DC Extended Universe and adds the momentum needed to carry things over for DC Films and the eventual rise and debut of the "Justice League" in cinema. It's by no means perfect however, and there's plenty of cut material and sequences that could have been edited a lot better for story purposes. That's not to say the film is supposed to be an "Oscar" worthy entry - this a comic book film pure and simple, and the cast pretty much nailed it and brought these versions of the DC Villains to life and entertained for over two hours. If you're among the critics who were searching for substance, then the disappointments are going to be there... But these guys did their mission enough and showed that the bad guys can hold their own in their own film. I can't wait for more - maybe an eventual Harley solo flick or a sequel to this!

Suicide Squad - Official Comic-Con Soundtrack Remix
Oh yeah, I also dig the soundtrack choices for this film for the most part. Bohemian Rhapsody and Ballroom Blitz!

Rating - 3.5/5