Movie review: Star-studded cast can’t save violent ‘Suicide Squad’
"Suicide Squad." (Universal Pictures)
The titular group from "Suicide Squad." (Universal Pictures)
Parents need to know that "Suicide Squad" is a super(anti)hero adventure based on characters who tie into the DC movie-verse. (Common Sense Media/TNS)
Parents need to know that “Suicide Squad” is a super(anti)hero adventure based on characters who tie in to the DC movie-verse. This particular story follows a group of shady meta-humans and anti-heroes — including Will Smith as Deadshot and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn — who are forced to team up for the greater good. Expect lots of action violence, from close-up execution-style murders to large-scale battles and widespread destruction that leads to the deaths of innocent bystanders. Characters die or are presumed killed. Language includes swearing (“s–t,” “p—y,” “ass,” “bitch”) and sexist jokes/insults about men needing to control their women (i.e. “what they say” about “crazy” women). There’s also a man who hits a woman because she “had a mouth on her.” There’s some sex and romance here, too, with several passionate kisses, mentions of characters sleeping together, and shots of Harley dancing in a sultry way and dressed in very small, tight, revealing outfits. While there’s plenty of iffy stuff, ultimately the group dynamic does hinge on teamwork, collaboration, and trying to do the right thing.
WHAT’S THE STORY?
“Suicide Squad” is a DC Comics-based superhero adventure about a group of villains forced to band together for a deadly mission to save humanity. Ruthless intelligence official Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) heads a secret government task force that uses imprisoned meta-humans and criminals with special skills to fight other enhanced humans in exchange for reduced sentences. Waller’s group includes father/assassin-for-hire Deadshot (Will Smith); the Joker’s maniacal love, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie); Aussie thief Boomerang (Jai Courtney), sewer-dwelling creature Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje); fire-starting gangster Diablo (Jay Hernandez); and ancient witch Enchantress (Cara Delevingne). When the Enchantress escapes and begins building a weapon of mass destruction, the team’s first mission — under the leadership of Col. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) — is to stop her. Meanwhile, the Joker (Jared Leto) will stop at nothing to free Harley.
IS IT ANY GOOD?
Despite the talented cast and Robbie’s stand-out performance as Harley Quinn, this antihero story is a disappointment. That’s especially apparent when you contrast it with the similarly themed “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Aside from Deadshot’s love of his daughter and Diablo’s undeniably tragic story, there’s not much about the Squad members to make audiences care whether they live or die. The plot is unnecessarily convoluted, and there are a few too many characters who get short shrift — like Croc; Boomerang; Flag’s mysterious sword-wielding pal, Katana (Karen Fukuhara); and the Enchantress’ invulnerable brother.
Plus, the performances are uneven. Davis is perfectly cast as the sneering, hard-nosed antagonist (she may be the boss, but she clearly doesn’t care about these criminals), and Robbie is obviously having a blast as the unstable Quinn, who’s up for anything but really just wants to be with the Joker. Speaking of the Joker, so much has been reported (and hyped) about Leto’s take on the iconic villain that it’s utterly disappointing when he ends up as a side villain who takes a back seat to the Enchantress, because Delevingne isn’t up to the task. The cameos by Justice League characters tease more to come from the DC world; let’s just hope it’s a considerable improvement.
RATING AND CONTENT
Recommended for ages 14 and older
Quality: 2 out of 5
Positive messages: 2 out of 5
Positive role models: 1 out of 5
Violence: 4 out of 5
Sex: 3 out of 5
Language: 3 out of 5
Drinking, drugs, and smoking: 2 out of 5
Consumerism: 1 out of 5 (Are products/advertisements embedded? Is the title part of a broader marketing initiative/empire? Is the intent to sell things to kids?)
MOVIE DETAILS
Theatrical release date: August 5, 2016
Director: David Ayer
Studio: Universal Pictures
Genre: Action/Adventure
Run time: 130 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
