Matt Monroe
Web Editor
“Suicide Squad” is not a bad movie. However, it’s not really that good either, which honestly makes it more disappointing than if it were bad. I expected the worst from this movie, but instead I just got something mediocre.
The plot of Suicide Squad revolves around a squad of imprisoned supervillains put together by government official Amanda Waller, played by Viola Davis. The squad is then set to perform dangerous black op missions that save the world in exchange for leaner sentences.
Despite the fact that the movie claims these characters in the Suicide Squad are metahumans, that’s far from the truth for maybe half the squad. Deadshot, played by Will Smith, is just really good at shooting. Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie, is just a psychopath who’s in a relationship with the crime lord of Gotham City, the Joker, played by Jared Leto.
Since I just mentioned him, let’s just get it out of the way and say Leto’s performance of the Joker is… meh? I only say meh as he’s only in the movie for about 10 minutes or so and has no interaction with any of the main characters except for Harley Quinn, and whenever he’s on screen he’s just kind of there.
I think I like the idea of this version of the Joker on paper, but in execution it takes away everything that people love about the Joker. In this movie he’s just a mob boss with some quirks, not a psychological mastermind like previous interpretations of the Joker. It’s very obvious a lot of Joker material was cut from the film, and I have no idea whether or not that was a good or bad thing.
The plot, which is thinly written and filled with holes, has some seriously jarring cuts in the movie that hurt the film a lot.
For example, the transition from recruiting members to the squad to them going into the action just makes you scratch your head. We barely know anything about these characters and all of a sudden here they all are in a team and they work together great!
Pretty much the only redeeming part of the movie is the performances, which are actually quite good despite the terrible dialogue the actors are given.
Smith brings his signature charm to the table. Robbie is given some of the worst material of the entire movie but somehow is able to carry on and give a very convincing performance in spite of it.
Jay Hernandez, who plays El Diablo, gives the best performance in the entire film as he’s the only character in the Squad you can actually sympathize with despite doing the most morally reprehensible thing of all the characters.
The fact that you still care deeply about this character despite his actions and the awful writing of the movie just shows how great Hernandez’s performance is.
Because of this, it is very easy to get bored watching Suicide Squad. If these characters are horrible people but not compelling, then what is the point? This is a movie that is heavily focused on its characters yet they all aren’t developed enough for me to care.
Suicide Squad is a disappointing experience despite me going in with no expectations. It’s not bad enough to get mad over and it’s not good enough for me to praise endlessly. It’s just a movie that is just kind of there.
