Forget the Nay-Sayers, "Suicide Squad" is a Blast!

I CAN FINALLY TALK ABOUT THIS MOVIE!!!!

   The long anticipated DC film Suicide Squad has official been released and, in current DC comic book film fashion, it has done so while being critically panned. The DC Cinematic Universe has had a rough start, falling short in popularity with general audiences. This third film in the shared universe has been highly anticipated since its conception, and from the moment the first trailer dropped people have been anxious to finally see it. Suicide Squad is a unique film for me in particular because I had the opportunity to see this movie months ago during a test screening, of which I was sworn to not discuss the film until its release. I'll address that experience shortly, but what I'll say right off the bat is that the version of Suicide Squad the world will see isn't the one I saw back in May. It's definitely different. That being said, this movie is still a lot of stinkin' fun to watch.

   Taking place not too long after the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, this movie follows the rag-tag team of villains assembled by Amanda Waller (played by the amazing Viola Davis). The squad is a task force of meta-human criminals that can be terminated without consequence if need be. They're the "patsies", as one member calls them. This team is assembled and enlisted to fight a supernatural threat that (surprise, surprise) wants to take over the world. The story is somewhat lacking, the pace of the film is really, really quick, and the acting for the most part is really well done. For a film that relies on an ensemble cast, they did a fantastic job; that's where the strength of the film really lies.

   Will Smith plays Deadshot in what I think is his best "movie star" role since, like, Men In Black 3. The man is a powerhouse actor and he brings a level of stardom to the projects he does. He, and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, are the two big stand-outs of the movie. The characters of the squad are really fun and interesting characters, but more time is given to develop Deadshot and Harley, so naturally they're going to be the best. Margot Robbie KILLS IT as Harley. She's a funny, charming, dark, tortured character that Robbie completely owned. Will Smith loses himself in the role of Deadshot, who arguably has the best action scene in the movie, hands down. The rest of the squad was pretty fun. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays Killer Croc, a mutated sewer-dweller that is a force to be reckoned with. Jay Hernandez plays the fire-wielding Diablo, who is the second runner up to the most emotionally engaging character besides Harley and Deadshot. Jai Courtney, in his best performance to date, plays Captain Boomerang, a thief who throws...boomerangs. Karen Fukuhara plays Katana, who wields a sword saturated with the souls of the people she's killed; and rounding out the team is Colonel Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman). The chemistry between the squad members is fun and engaging, and the cast all around does a pretty good job.

    One of the biggest issues DC films seem to have is utilizing weak villains. Cara Delevingne plays The Enchantress, an ancient being who posses the body of Dr. June Moone. This ancient evil is hell-bent on world domination and the portrayal - which I whole-heartily commend for trying something new and different - was ultimately bizarre and weak. The fact that the Enchantress was the villain at all will probably come as a surprise to most given how much the marketing was pressing the use of The Joker. A lot of people assumed that the Joker was going to be the main baddie, me included (way back in May). Not the case. In fact, the Joker is barely in the movie. I would venture a guess that total screen time would amount to no more than maybe ten minutes. Jared Leto's portrayal of the iconic character will be as divisive as the film itself. It's tough to criticize how this character fits within this universe when you're only given a small slice of who they are. The Joker is a gangster/mobster in this version, which I'm cool with. Leto's performance is kind of Heath Ledger-esque, as well as being really different. Had we seen, for example, a solo Batman movie where Leto's Joker is a more prominent character that we as an audience can gain some grounding as to how he fits within this new universe, him being in Suicide Squad wouldn't have felt as forced. That's the overall rub when it comes to the Joker. As much as I enjoyed him, he really was unnecessary for this movie.

   Let me talk briefly about the overall production before delving into some other insights. I'm a fan of director David Ayer. He's made some really awesome, dark, and engaging films like Fury, Training Day, and End of Watch. I would have never expected him to make a comic book movie. Suicide Squad is a unique film given it's overall premise. It really lends itself to some fun opportunities, narratively speaking. Ayer is a pretty dark director, and Suicide Squad (though being the DCEU film with the most levity) has its dark moments, tonally. The action is really great, the soundtrack is really fun, and the movie is highly entertaining. I love Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, but I think Suicide Squad is the most "fun" of the DC films thus far, and I credit Ayer for being able to balance that. That being said, the version I watched last night was not the version I saw back in May. The version I saw was tonally different, much darker, but still funny and entertaining. The first 15-20 minutes of the released version is really different from the test screening I saw, and honestly I thought it was better back in May. The current version has increased amounts of forced exposition; it has a really out-of-place cameo from a certain Justice League member that wasn't in the test version, and it's not as dark.

   Experiencing a test screening of a film is really fun. There's high levels of security just to get into the viewing. The film itself was deemed "unfinished"; some of the SFX weren't quite done, and there was a questionnaire afterward. A select few got to be a part of a focus group discussion about the movie, of which I participated. We discussed what worked, what didn't, what we liked, what we didn't like, etc. It was really interesting to be a part of that process and I hope to be able to do that again. Having seen two versions of this movie, and seeing how (at least in my opinion) the finished version isn't as strong as the test screening, it really brings to light the importance of allowing a filmmaker to make his or her film instead of making it "by committee". I firmly believe (again, it's only my opinion) that the studios involved took what they heard about Batman v Superman (why people didn't like it) and funneled that into this movie in hopes that they don't repeat. Like I said, there was a version a few months ago that I think was better than the one that got released, and it's clear that the studio made these changes, because the May version felt very Ayer-esque and this one in comparision feels a bit...dumbed down.

   Anyways, enough with the ranting. I loved the test-screening experience. I felt like I got to be a part in the making process of this movie and it will forever be one of my favorite movie-going experiences. I've been to a lot of pre-screenings but this was completely different, mainly because I wasn't allowed to talk about the movie until it came out, which if you know me that was a difficult thing to do. Luckily I didn't attend that screening alone and I had a few people I could process it with. AT ANY RATE, Suicide Squad is still really, really fun and despite its flaws and differences, I still had a blast with this movie. When all is said and done, movie politics and what not aside, that's the whole point. Did you enjoy yourself when watching it? Did you have fun? If you can answer yes, then the movie was a success. After seeing it (twice), concerning this criteria, I think most everyone will be answering "yes"