Suicide Squad

Magic at last. DC has managed to pull ahead of Marvel with this movie. Suicidal editing sacrificed integrity for tempo. I see the diabolical hand of the producer in this. A forced, soundtrack of songs (I admit that they’re great songs, hats off) often clumsily accompanies the introduction of characters to give them greater “dynamism", but it drowns out what might have made those flashbacks interesting. Make the opening longer not shorter and give it a purpose in addition to the obligatory introductions. Ayer handled the interplay of the self-centered assholes extremely well, even though Will is still a good guy (so they’re killing people, so what?), all team scenes work flawlessly. Unsurprisingly, it’s Harley who steals the whole movie. Margot Robbie is perfect and her storyline with the Joker is romance of the highest caliber (even if it goes a little against the aim of the comic concerning domestic violence). This movie would have been great with an R-rating, particularly in the Joker torture scene. Suicide Squad suffers from New 52 syndrome (from klutzy Geoff Johns, who also oversees the movies), when DC lost its balls while trying to please the younger public. Ayer is fighting against this, and the characters presented are all super. Jai Courtney in a live role! The Enchantress/Flag storyline spoils the ending a little, whereas the creators shouldn’t have been afraid to bring it to an end, but I say that the magic separates Suicide Squad from the rest. Overall, quite content, but they could have done better. They had the team for that. I hope there will be a director’s cut that will return the missing scenes from the trailers and give it a stamp of originality. Trying to be like Guardians of the Galaxy just doesn’t suit this movie. (08/03/2016)

I can’t say that a witch out of a 1980s fantasy B-movie is what I've been missing from current comic-book flicks. In fact, she is a completely interchangeable DC villain who wants to destroy the world simply because she can. Not even the (unintended) creation of the evil Enchantress by those who are supposed to protect the world is innovative by today’s standards (which immediately gives away the point of the film, which is that working with villains can backfire on you). Most of the film’s other elements are also interchangeable, as Ayer mixes them together willy-nilly, albeit with a certain sense of rhythm. The first hour comes across as a condensed recapitulation of a ten-part series – all exposition, no development. In terms of time and space, the second hour is a slightly more cohesive super-villain variation on war movies in the mould of The Dirty Dozen and westerns like The Wild Bunch (including fatalistic dialogue before the final conflict, but without any significant development of the relationships between the characters or their ability to work together). Though the prologue indicates that Deadshot and Harley will be the protagonists of the narrative, their private dramas (their relationship to the daughter/Joker) do not drive the narrative, but rather slow it down, as they have minimal impact on the direction of the plot. The Joker, who looks like a goth who’s off his meds and inspires more sympathy than unease, always just shows up, does a little damage and disappears, like the returning bosses in some computer games, which seemed to be a source of inspiration for Ayer when he was slapping the plot together on the fly (or at least it seems so). Nothing would change if the Joker wasn’t here. The whole film is still needless and half-assed and unpolished, and while it manages to get and hold your attention with its witty characters, driving soundtrack and slightly psychedelic visual stylisation, the end result is merely two hours of loud, colourful distractions without any serious points of interest. 55% (08/04/2016)

I was expecting something brisk and cheeky, and I got a hilarious mash-up of elements that work in Marvel movies, but not in DC. Their new multiverse is confusing and disjointed pulp that gives the impression of something born in the heads of suits at table and not in the head of a person who really has an overview and a clear vision of what the whole should look like. Someone like Kevin Feige is missing here (DC Sandbox guardian Snyder is not even able to look after his films, let alone the whole universe). Ayer is desperately groping in terms of directing and the screenplay (the only twist in the zero plot is the scene the viewer saw shot after shot an hour before, wtf?), the types of sociopaths are rather good at first and often unused (Leto's over the top Joker as a romantic filler?). The soundtrack is so puffy and eclectic that it fades out into nothing. Scenes with Deadshot mainly kick ass, which Will Smith made into a pure pleasure (because ***) and a few scenes with sexy Margot Robbie. Otherwise, this wannabe radical slap to the competition is just a sweaty affirmation of the superhero status quo which, unfortunately, is not even half as amusing as in the case of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The attempts to create a dark picture of the world, which is ruled by the brutal bitch Amanda Waller instead of Nick Fury... sorry, it feels so convulsive that it can't be taken very seriously. DC is groping (and it’s still not fun). (08/03/2016)

The titular Suicide Squad is composed of a cool bunch of badass individuals that are intriguing due to their style and grimaces, but the “story” doesn’t give them the opportunity to develop or bring something into it. Especially when you see the efforts of the great Jared Leto, whose Joker is just an iconic sidekick, you’ll be disappointed. Funny catchphrases, which were supposed to be the main flavoring of the film, are also pretty rare here. A delicious-looking Margot Robbie and soundtrack hits remain the highlights of Suicide Squad. On first viewing, they are literally caption. On second viewing, when the viewer looks deeper under the pretty cover, they turn out to be the only elements that keep the movie afloat. (08/09/2016)

They put together a plethora of people dumb enough to be characters in their own stories, which means that not a single character was fleshed out enough for you to know more about them beyond what they like (their kid, the other nutcase, the unicorn, etc.). In truth, I wasn't entertained by the film, it just became a backdrop to keep the room from being quiet – it fulfilled this function perfectly, as it was well voiced. But that's the only great thing about this movie; otherwise it's pretty average, below average. Many heroes and anti-heroes were created, but it just doesn't reach any dizzying heights. It had a great advertisement that lit up the work and drove it to the heights of heaven, but the truth is otherwise... (11/15/2016)