Suicide Squad
15th August 2016
Spoilers throughout.
Last night I went with my sister, her boyfriend and my cousins to go and see Suicide Squad.
Now, firstly, this isn't the sort of film I'd go and see at the cinema. Superhero films, or comic books films whatever you want to call them, are ones I tend to watch on DVD or on Netflix rather than paying to see them. As I write this, I think this is the first superhero/comic book film I've actually seen at the cinema! Secondly, the kind of violence I assumed would be in the film makes this another reason why it's not the sort of film I'd go and see (despite the fact Game of Thrones is one of my favourite TV shows). However, I was pleasantly surprised by this film.
The casting was incredible. You can't argue about that. For me, I'd go and see absolutely anything Viola Davis is in because I just love her. Also Cara Delevingne. She's incredible too. So Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, Viola Davis etc are all incredible. Even Jared Leto. I've never actually see any of his films so I've got no real reference here, but I thought Leto was fantastic as the Joker.
Going through the characters, I'd say Harley Quinn stole the show for me. She had brilliant one liners that made her centre of the scene in a film dominated heavily by male characters. In fact, all four of the female characters (five if you include June Moon and the Enchantress as two separate characters) were incredible. I wish Katana (Karen Fukuhara) had a bit more screen time as I didn't really connect with her character as much as the others, but I loved how badass she was and how she lived up to being a strong female character.
I'll say it; yes, Harley Quinn was dressed scantily, which caused one of the guys in the cinema to wolf whistle loudly during the scene where she gets dressed. But, she's still a badass that gets right into the action. She doesn't stand at the side lines or get knocked out during the first two seconds of a fight and left unconscious until the end of the film as so many female characters have been subjected to in the past. So does it really matter what she wore? As a girl who's not completely happy with her body, if I had Robbie's figure, or Delevingne's for that matter, I would walk around showing it off. But hey, that's just me, and that doesn't make me any less a feminist or a role model than it does for Robbie or Delevingne. However, it did annoy me ever so slightly that they were the only ones who weren't completely covered, but hey, both Robbie and Delevingne are feminists and if they thought the roles would be demeaning then they wouldn't have done it. Or at least, I hope that's true.
Now, Viola Davis AKA the Queen of my life, was amazing. She was her usual badass self and for that I am grateful. She is such a powerful woman no matter what role she plays. She's like the Professor McGonnagall of acting. You admire her so much and you never want to disappoint her (even if you'll never meet her). She's stern and fierce but you also know she'd tuck you in with a blanket and a cup of tea if you came to her with a problem. Her character Amanda Waller was very similar to Davis' Annalise Keating (How To Get Away With Murder). This isn't a bad thing at all, in fact, I am a huge fan of Annalise and admire her greatly. Waller is driven, stern, fierce and fearless. She doesn't care at all she's in the presence of serial killers and villains. She's got a job she needs doing and she's going to use whoever she can. Incredible. I was gutted when it looked like her character was to be killed off, but when she came back at the end I was beyond ecstatic as it kept with the strong female characters which were consistent throughout.
The Enchantress/June Moon is where I was quite torn. Cara Delevingne is wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed her in Paper Towns, however, through no fault of her own, I was disappointed by her role in Suicide Squad. It was a plot twist to have her be the overall villain who used her brother to do her bidding, but I didn't really understand why she wanted to kill everyone and how exactly she was going to do it? Her army of blackberries didn't seem to do much and they were easily quashed, and the big ring of "impending doom" did little to inspire actual fear in the characters or anyone in the audience. And the fact her voice was dubbed over must have been a kick in teeth. I'm sure Delevingne is more than capable of being all creepy and mysterious with her voice. But, she was brought back to life and returned to her old June Moon self and went back to her love which I really liked.
Will Smith, as usual, was fantastic. One liners full of sarcastic wit is one of Smith's specialities and I really enjoyed it. It was also really nice to see him as a bad guy as I've only ever seen him as a good guy or a guy trying to do good. I've got no reference to how Deadshot should be, but I really liked what they did with him for this. It was also good that he was humanised. I have this belief that no one is born evil or wicked, and it's something that happens to someone over time through their upbringing and/or life experiences. But some people have this view that someone is evil because they are and there's no two ways about it. Humanising Deadshot and giving him a daughter whom he loves shows that we're all human but some make different choices that lead to horrific acts. There's a research paper in this, I can feel it churning inside my head.
I'm going to end my discussion on the characters with The Joker. I was beyond impressed with Leto's portrayal. His evil laugh was absolutely spot on; it had the right combination of creepy and terrifying that sent chills down my spine. It's much easier to appreciate the effort he put into this (method acting) without knowing how much he bragged about it. I think there needs to be a full length film where we can see him as the Joker even more than the 10 minute cameo he had in Suicide Squad.
The next thing I liked about this film was the soundtrack. It was an epic soundtrack that had me tapping my foot to the rhythm throughout. "Without Me" by Eminem was a personal favourite during the scene where the Squad are getting their weapons and clothes back. Also loved "Bohemian Rhapsody" - it seemed such a fitting song for this film. Don't ask me why if you don't understand, just trust me.
The story line is where this film is let down. It was fairly weak and albeit a bit confusing (for me anyway), but in comparison to some opinions, I actually liked the long introduction of the Squad. I'm not a comic book reader and I won't pretend to know much about the DC universe or who any of these guys are (I'd only heard of Harley Quinn and the Joker, and of course Batman and Flash, but I'll get to that in a minute). It was nice to learn a bit about who the Squad are, what their powers are, and why/how they ended up in the prison. It was a fitting first film into what I can only assume is the start of a regular appearance of these guys in upcoming films.
The cameo of Batman and Flash was a nice touch, especially for me who hasn't (and probably won't) watched Batman vs Superman. I've been intrigued as to how Affleck would take on the role and I wasn't disappointed during the 2 minutes he was on screen (I'm a bit of an Affleck fan thanks to Gone Girl). I can't say much about Flash as I haven't seen the TV show he's in, but I liked that he was in it!
Overall, I did really enjoy the film, and the acting, casting, script, soundtrack and cameos made up for a weak storyline. But if you've read my review and not seen the film, I advise you not to read anymore and to go watch it and form your own opinion.
Let me know in the comments what you thought about the film!
Thanks for reading,
Zj
Spoilers throughout.
Last night I went with my sister, her boyfriend and my cousins to go and see Suicide Squad.
Now, firstly, this isn't the sort of film I'd go and see at the cinema. Superhero films, or comic books films whatever you want to call them, are ones I tend to watch on DVD or on Netflix rather than paying to see them. As I write this, I think this is the first superhero/comic book film I've actually seen at the cinema! Secondly, the kind of violence I assumed would be in the film makes this another reason why it's not the sort of film I'd go and see (despite the fact Game of Thrones is one of my favourite TV shows). However, I was pleasantly surprised by this film.
The casting was incredible. You can't argue about that. For me, I'd go and see absolutely anything Viola Davis is in because I just love her. Also Cara Delevingne. She's incredible too. So Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, Viola Davis etc are all incredible. Even Jared Leto. I've never actually see any of his films so I've got no real reference here, but I thought Leto was fantastic as the Joker.
Going through the characters, I'd say Harley Quinn stole the show for me. She had brilliant one liners that made her centre of the scene in a film dominated heavily by male characters. In fact, all four of the female characters (five if you include June Moon and the Enchantress as two separate characters) were incredible. I wish Katana (Karen Fukuhara) had a bit more screen time as I didn't really connect with her character as much as the others, but I loved how badass she was and how she lived up to being a strong female character.
I'll say it; yes, Harley Quinn was dressed scantily, which caused one of the guys in the cinema to wolf whistle loudly during the scene where she gets dressed. But, she's still a badass that gets right into the action. She doesn't stand at the side lines or get knocked out during the first two seconds of a fight and left unconscious until the end of the film as so many female characters have been subjected to in the past. So does it really matter what she wore? As a girl who's not completely happy with her body, if I had Robbie's figure, or Delevingne's for that matter, I would walk around showing it off. But hey, that's just me, and that doesn't make me any less a feminist or a role model than it does for Robbie or Delevingne. However, it did annoy me ever so slightly that they were the only ones who weren't completely covered, but hey, both Robbie and Delevingne are feminists and if they thought the roles would be demeaning then they wouldn't have done it. Or at least, I hope that's true.
Now, Viola Davis AKA the Queen of my life, was amazing. She was her usual badass self and for that I am grateful. She is such a powerful woman no matter what role she plays. She's like the Professor McGonnagall of acting. You admire her so much and you never want to disappoint her (even if you'll never meet her). She's stern and fierce but you also know she'd tuck you in with a blanket and a cup of tea if you came to her with a problem. Her character Amanda Waller was very similar to Davis' Annalise Keating (How To Get Away With Murder). This isn't a bad thing at all, in fact, I am a huge fan of Annalise and admire her greatly. Waller is driven, stern, fierce and fearless. She doesn't care at all she's in the presence of serial killers and villains. She's got a job she needs doing and she's going to use whoever she can. Incredible. I was gutted when it looked like her character was to be killed off, but when she came back at the end I was beyond ecstatic as it kept with the strong female characters which were consistent throughout.
The Enchantress/June Moon is where I was quite torn. Cara Delevingne is wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed her in Paper Towns, however, through no fault of her own, I was disappointed by her role in Suicide Squad. It was a plot twist to have her be the overall villain who used her brother to do her bidding, but I didn't really understand why she wanted to kill everyone and how exactly she was going to do it? Her army of blackberries didn't seem to do much and they were easily quashed, and the big ring of "impending doom" did little to inspire actual fear in the characters or anyone in the audience. And the fact her voice was dubbed over must have been a kick in teeth. I'm sure Delevingne is more than capable of being all creepy and mysterious with her voice. But, she was brought back to life and returned to her old June Moon self and went back to her love which I really liked.
Will Smith, as usual, was fantastic. One liners full of sarcastic wit is one of Smith's specialities and I really enjoyed it. It was also really nice to see him as a bad guy as I've only ever seen him as a good guy or a guy trying to do good. I've got no reference to how Deadshot should be, but I really liked what they did with him for this. It was also good that he was humanised. I have this belief that no one is born evil or wicked, and it's something that happens to someone over time through their upbringing and/or life experiences. But some people have this view that someone is evil because they are and there's no two ways about it. Humanising Deadshot and giving him a daughter whom he loves shows that we're all human but some make different choices that lead to horrific acts. There's a research paper in this, I can feel it churning inside my head.
I'm going to end my discussion on the characters with The Joker. I was beyond impressed with Leto's portrayal. His evil laugh was absolutely spot on; it had the right combination of creepy and terrifying that sent chills down my spine. It's much easier to appreciate the effort he put into this (method acting) without knowing how much he bragged about it. I think there needs to be a full length film where we can see him as the Joker even more than the 10 minute cameo he had in Suicide Squad.
The next thing I liked about this film was the soundtrack. It was an epic soundtrack that had me tapping my foot to the rhythm throughout. "Without Me" by Eminem was a personal favourite during the scene where the Squad are getting their weapons and clothes back. Also loved "Bohemian Rhapsody" - it seemed such a fitting song for this film. Don't ask me why if you don't understand, just trust me.
The story line is where this film is let down. It was fairly weak and albeit a bit confusing (for me anyway), but in comparison to some opinions, I actually liked the long introduction of the Squad. I'm not a comic book reader and I won't pretend to know much about the DC universe or who any of these guys are (I'd only heard of Harley Quinn and the Joker, and of course Batman and Flash, but I'll get to that in a minute). It was nice to learn a bit about who the Squad are, what their powers are, and why/how they ended up in the prison. It was a fitting first film into what I can only assume is the start of a regular appearance of these guys in upcoming films.
The cameo of Batman and Flash was a nice touch, especially for me who hasn't (and probably won't) watched Batman vs Superman. I've been intrigued as to how Affleck would take on the role and I wasn't disappointed during the 2 minutes he was on screen (I'm a bit of an Affleck fan thanks to Gone Girl). I can't say much about Flash as I haven't seen the TV show he's in, but I liked that he was in it!
Overall, I did really enjoy the film, and the acting, casting, script, soundtrack and cameos made up for a weak storyline. But if you've read my review and not seen the film, I advise you not to read anymore and to go watch it and form your own opinion.
Let me know in the comments what you thought about the film!
Thanks for reading,
Zj
I agree with you about the story line. I expected more and the Witch's pets weren't very impressive...
ReplyDeleteHarley (I don't know the actress' name)impressed me but I wish there were more scenes with the Joker. I didn't feel his madness,he was almost too sane for me.
The other actors were on point but I think doing something like Suicide Squad is a big risk. Putting all of these big characters together, I expected fights and more references but instead they were friendly and except for the fact that they kill people, they didn't feel like vilains.