Forget critics: ‘Suicide Squad’ is a solid hit

I was very excited when I saw the action-packed trailers and weird characters but understandably apprehensive when the critics tarred and feathered it. And, after having seen it, I can tell you that, while Suicide Squad is not the greatest superhero film ever, it is solid action movie with a lot of personality.

I will be breaking down my non-spoiler review in three parts:

Worst Heroes Ever! The film is about of a group of criminals, some highly skilled and others with superhuman abilities, who are forced by the government to battle a supernatural threat.

And how does the government make them fall in line? Why, by placing an explosive in their necks that will blow up their heads if they disobey or try to run away. It is quite the incentive.

The motley crew is led by deadly hitman Deadshot (Will Smith) and lunatic and Joker’s girlfriend Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie).

With regards to Harley Quinn this is the first live action appearance of the character and Robbie does not disappoint. She is unhinged, darkly humorous and deliciously violent and her antics are the biggest highlight of the film. During my viewing at Digicel IMAX (at their courtesy) audience members were cracking up for her as well as some of the other jokes throughout the flick. Smith is the biggest actor attached to the project and, while he delivered the physicality of Deadshot, his usual Will Smith wisecracking seemed out of place.

After Robbie the best performance of the film was Viola Davis as the brutal and ruthless Amanda Waller, the government official that assembles the squad. In a film with a human/crocodile mutant and a gangster who can create fire at will, Davis’ Waller is the scariest character and the definitive portrayal of the DC comics powerhouse.

Another character people were looking forward to seeing was Jared Leto’s clown prince of crime and Batman nemesis the Joker.

This portrayal is creepy with a bit of a gangster twist. I found him to be okay if nothing extraordinary and definitely not in the league of Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger.

Overall I enjoyed every character and they all had their moments.

Violence is what they do If you are coming to this movie looking for lots of action you would not be disappointed. It is quite the thrill ride. We have Deadshot, the man who does not miss, shooting up the place, the acrobatic Harley taking people out with her bat, the tank of Killer Croc muscling enemies, swordswoman Katana chopping up baddies and fire starter Diablo burning people up in spectacular fashion.

The stunts and practical effects look great and the special effects were top notch, though I found one of the main villains looked a bit odd. I was generally satisfied with the battle set pieces though I probably could have used just one more to be completely satisfied.

And I also liked the quieter, more relaxed moments with the characters and you could fell the camaraderie.

Nothing New With an eight-member squad, back stories, Justice League cameos and the Joker’s side story, the film had quite a lot to balance.

Deadshot and Harley are the most fleshed out regarding their back story and motivation but we do see the tragic origin of another character (which I will not spoil here). I appreciated that an effort was made to give some body to the members’ characterisations and not just have them as one note caricatures. Overall the plot is nothing revolutionary and plays out like your average super hero movie. But what it does, it does well and I never felt bored, overwhelmed or taken out of the experience.

In terms of the DC Extended Universe I found that Suicide Squad delivered a better movie than the bleak Man of Steel or the muddled Batman v Superman though it was not a level where it can give the best of the Marvel films competition.

Ranking - Suicide Squad is definitely worth having a watch. It gets 3/4 crazy clown girlfriends.