(Reviewed by our guest critic, The Movie Knight) Marvel has reigned supreme for almost ten years with the studios. But now, DC has finally got their gravy-train going, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice made over $800 million worldwide, but failed to resonate with critics or fans…Can Suicide Squad change that?
Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) believes the world needs a team of heroes, but this team will not be filled with “heroes.” Instead this team will be composed with some of the world’s most notorious villains. Some of these members include Deadshot (Will Smith), Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Their first assignment is to stop one of the other members of the squad, Enchantress, from destroying the world. Meanwhile, The Joker (Jared Leto) is on the loose and trying to recapture his old girlfriend, Harley.
FYI: News broke via The Hollywood Reporter on how there was a lot of turmoil behind the scenes in the making of this movie. The production was rushed and after the bad word-of-mouth began after Batman v Superman came out. A number of re-shoots were ordered to change the tone of the project to the point where they had two different movies on their hands. The dual version of the finished product never allows the audience to get into the movie. The action scenes take place at night, which makes it hard to see what is going on to the point where you may find yourself squinting.
After Heath Ledger’s Academy Award winning performance in The Dark Knight it did not appear likely that anyone would be willing to follow that act. The filmmakers went with another Oscar winner in the form of Jared Leto. Problem is, Leto does not command the presence of the Joker the way that Leger or even Jack Nicholson, before him, did. In the end, the character ends up nothing more than a high school bully.
Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Viola Davis, all give great performances, but not to the point that makes it worth seeing this movie. DC has a long way to go to catch up to Marvel. Right now they are heading in the wrong direction. Perhaps next year they can finally turn things around with Wonder Woman. One tiara.