Suicide Squad - A Review

With the success of superhero movies of the past few years mostly down to Marvel, it was important for DC to do something to level the playing field and, Suicide Squad, the third movie in its series, certainly sets itself apart. First, there are the heroes, a group of infamous villains co-opted to work for the ‘good guys’; it’s the old Dirty Dozen concept but with meta-humans, as characters with super powers are called these days. That in itself can be a tricky task for a story in any medium but Suicide Squad does it well by humanizing the meta-humans in simple but effective ways, Killer Croc, for instance, is the downtrodden outsider, the mistreated freak with an understandable grudge against everyone, rather than simply a mutant killer who lives in the sewers.

Second is the movie’s place in the current DC film universe. Not only is it a notably darker universe than Marvel’s, or most versions of DC’s own, it’s a series that focuses not on the real-world potentialities of meta-humans. Most notably, the threat of Superman in Man of Steel as opposed to the instant adulation he usually receives. His arrival, and the appearance of meta-humans has created a shift in the way the world works and Suicide Squad explores the human face of this. Hence, Killer Croc’s mistreatment in prison, and the utter criminal lunacy of the Joker and his addled paramour Harley Quinn.

The main way the film explores this however is through the squad’s manipulation by the government, in particular, Amanda Waller, a shadowy high-ranking official who’ll kill her own staff to protect information. Her ruthlessness and role as puppeteer, next to the squad’s humanized qualities, effectively question who the ‘bad guys’ really are in this scenario. This is especially successful through the character of Deadshot, an assassin for hire, who’s also a father who misses his daughter. Despite the advertising for the film suggesting Harley Quinn and the Joker were the main characters, it’s Deadshot that Suicide Squad is hinged upon and it’s for that reason it works as a film. Will Smith gives him enough depth for us to root for him, even though we know he’s actually a murderer for hire with little regard for human life.

The film’s weakness is in its tendency to have spontaneous scenes for no good reason and some whacky editing. Harley stopping the action to steal a handbag might be in character but it only really served to interrupt the flow of the story. Rumours of studio interference might explain that but we’ll never really know.

The Enchantress, the nominal villain of the film, is arguably a weak-spot too. Her scheme is almost fully fledged before the heroes are even aware of what’s happening and there is little conflict with her or involving her at all. This breaks from the Hollywood playbook and probably has some in a flutter, but the film is not about the heroes saving the world; it’s about a group of troubled – and troubling – characters being played by a government. In the end, the Enchantress is a plot-device to bring them together, which some may not like but is an age-old storytelling device. Besides which, her own powers mirror Amanda Waller’s creation of the Suicide Squad and her use of leverage by knowing as much as possible about the individuals.

In all, Suicide Squad is a good movie, with a strong cast that explores a dark and violent world on a human level. It balances action, drama and comedy well, with occasional disruptive moments seemingly designed for fans of specific characters. Well worth a watch.