I cannot believe I am saying this, but, Suicide Squad makes me appreciate and maybe even like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice more. The latter is a flawed overly ambitious movie that wanted to achieve something and had coherence to it. Squad achieves nothing, becoming a 2-hour study in the natural momentum of film editing as a replacement for storytelling.
Suicide Squad is bad. Batman v Superman’s theatrical cut may have been an exercise in excising establishing shots but its flimsy plot held itself together (mostly). In Squad you have Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) appearing to leave the team in one scene and show up in the cool slow motion, yet another needle drop moment, in the next scene! Basic temporal distortions such as when helicopters come flying in and the sky is light in one shot and dark in the other despite moving maybe 20 feet in film. It’s shocking to watch these movies have such clear technical shortcomings from a major studio. In the case of both recent DCEU features the editing, the foundation of filmmaking as a storytelling medium, is just bad. And not in a French New Wave or Stephen Soderbergh stylistic way; it’s just poorly done. There is some of that referential fun to be had in Amanda Waller’s 20-minute Squad introduction, explaining how each villain came into her possession – mostly thanks to Batman – with everyone getting neon tinged tales of the tape at the start of each brief flashback. This is probably the peak of the movie in terms of consistency. The films second and third acts are a mess, wandering aimlessly through the destroyed Midway City as the Squad goes on their vaguely defined ever changing first mission. The movie just keeps repeating itself over and over, telling us something rather than showing us or telling us something after showing it twice minutes before. For example, Deadshot(Will Smith) is introduced at least 3 times, it’s like the movie is so unsure of itself it needs to repeat things as a mantra for its own benefit. It would not be surprising to here tell of a “director’s cut” that may or may not be rated ‘R’ announced soon afterwards.
The film is stitched together by cloyingly musical accompaniment; I counted 10 painfully on the nose “needle drop” moments. In the film’s opening 5 minutes the film goes through 3 of them. This gives the feeling of a strange concept album made into a film but that’s too cool for what this is. Suicide Squad feels like Frankenstein’s Monsters as movie. A movie pieced together from a bad script, notes, and the twin reactions to an uber-popular Bohemian Rhapsody set trailer, and the complete rejection of Batman v Superman. It’s third act feels like someone subdued all the inherent rebellious energy and went about checking off generic dramatic formula boxes, earning none of it. Proclamations about family and friendship are made when there is no such bonding in this movie, they are marginally sold by the performance and nothing else. It isn’t that Squad fails to breathe new life into tired genre tropes, it doesn’t even try to justify any of their existence. There’s a shiny sky portal-death machine mcguffin, and anonymous eldritch inspired henchmen; existing because I guess that’s what happens in these kinds of movies.
Talking about the plot of a movie like Suicide Squad isn’t useful, it is ostensibly a deadline plot of some form. As Col. Rick Flagg tells them, they’re being sent into a place (Midway City) that’ll likely get them killed to do some “good”. In return for their service they’ll get time off their sentences and maybe some special privileges. In order to be kept inline, Amanda Waller has placed nanite explosives in their necks. There is an inherent tension to a Suicide Squad story. From the often deadline plot of stories like in Justice League Unlimited S02E04 “Task Force X”, to the desire to freedom from you fascistic oppressors. And in the best of them, all of that coupled with an odd liking and comradery amongst team mates. None of this exists in Ayer’s Suicide Squad, scenes are cut to the bone and then some, for sheer expediency to get to the next plot beat and maybe a dimly lit poorly executed action sequence. Without that tension, the movie becomes something of a bad rollercoaster ride that neither entertains in the way Transformers franchise dose (for all its faults the editing is at least on point) or the fun of a campy 80s action movie – despite the marketing’s posture. There are moments and brief scenes (mostly super quick flashbacks) that’ll make excellent YouTube videos to watch when this hits home release.
For all of its many ruinous structural issues, the characters are reminiscent of their comic book counter parts and some of the actors manage transcend the badness around them to deliver interesting performances. These performances are in no part because of the movie but by the actors doing their jobs. Will Smith as Floyd “Deadshot” Lawton is given a simple desire and makes you care about a Dad who just wants to do right by his daughter. The MVP and true villain of the piece is Amanda Waller, she is perhaps more ruthless and cold blooded here than anywhere else. Viola Davis plays her with a detached steely resolve that is captivating and at times comedic. Much has been made about Margot Robbie and Jared Leto as Harley Quinn and the Joker respectively. Robbie has proven to be a great performer but she is given so little to do in the movie, beyond being lecherously ogled by the camera in her shot hot pants, that I can’t make heads or tails. She has the presence and the look of Harley Quinn and like everyone in this would much appreciate if they were in better movies. Leto is the equivalent of Wonder Woman from Batman v Superman, except he is a pointless poorly grafted on inclusion that just feels meaningless. Leto’s Joker is something like an amalgamation of every Joker from comicdom and film-TV but there is so little for him to do his performance is all style and no substance.
Suicide Squad dose at least make for a nice component too Zack Snyder’s view that circumstance and presentation make the hero not moral fiber and character. The members of Task Force X are presented to be more heroic then Batman and Superman have been. Damming statement for the state of heroism in the DCEU aside, this exposes the kind of rich themes DC could and the MCU has been playing with for nearly a decade. And yet these offerings are never fully explored.
This movie is a gigantic mess, perhaps entertaining in the moment in a cotton candy kind of way but devoid of any value. Wait for the cool clips to be posted on YouTube, there is no center to this vapid day glow movie. There is nothing to think except why is this happening (even if they explain that ad nauseam). Nothing is achieved. Warner Bros. has consistently gotten interesting casts for these movies I just wish they weren’t wasted in terrible movies.
I am Michael Mazzacane you can follow me on Twitter and at ComicWeek.org
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