Suicide Squad

DC's do-gooders had their turns, but it's now time for the evildoers to shine. The Suicide Squad is the Justice League by way of The Dirty Dozen. Sounds appealing? The end result is flawed but still entertaining.

Intelligence officer Amanda Waller's (Viola Davis) world is populated by costumed heroes and crooks, some of whom have superpowers. Waller decides to assemble a team of such distinguished characters to carry out Black Ops jobs. She goes with the crooks, namely accurate assassin Deadshot (Will Smith), deranged ex-psychiatrist Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), remorseful pyrokinetic ex-gang member El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), loose cannon thief Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) and the aptly-named Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). They'll get some clemency for good behavior. Col. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and his bodyguard, Katana (Karen Fukuhara), will force their compliance.

One of Waller's subordinates, Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne), is the host of a demon called The Enchantress. Waller wants to use her for her "Task Force X," but The Enchantress has other ideas. She and her brother, Incubus, take over Midway City and set out to bring on the Apocalypse. The Suicide Squad's first assignment is to neutralize the demonic threat. If they're not careful, it could be their only assignment. Things get more convoluted when Harley Quinn's lover, The Joker (Jared Leto), decides to get involved.

Writer/Director David Ayer has made a genuine live-action comic. It's full of bright colors and extravagant characters ... and jammed pack with info dump. The Squad is introduced with profile segments detailing their histories and their quirks. The text info often appears faster than anyone can comprehend it, while the flashbacks slow the film down a bit. They eventually introduce Slipknot (Adam Beach), a climbing guy who bites it in his only scene. The army guys who assist the Suicide Squad seem extraneous.

I smell some missed opportunities with the plot. What's so Black Ops about their deal with The Enchantress? Why does it have to be only supervillains? The Enchantress and her stock-issue scheme are what Superheroes excel at stopping.  And isn't it ironic that The Enchantress went rogue right when Waller recruited her for the Squad? That means Waller is the source of the Squad and their problems. Weird, huh?

It's the cast that keeps the movie from sinking. The Squad, especially Boomerang and Harley, are a likable bunch of scoundrels. We know they're bad and they know it too, but their quirky personalities make them fun to watch. Them discovering their inner good guy was compelling even in the disjointed plot. I mean, Deadshot picks a bad time to second guess his career (when he's about to finish off Incubus). The Joker is underutilized but he's still his reliably sadistic self.

The crew are the real stars of the picture. The makeup work perfectly realizes the film's colorful characters, from the tattooed criminals to grungy clowns. You won't forget the looks of these characters. Also in play is Oliver Scholl's production design of the destroyed, desolate Midway City and Roman Vasyanov's nighttime cinematography. Those work great together. Steven Price did the score, but you'll notice the old standards, like Bohemian Rhapsody, much more.

Suicide Squad needed a better narrative to ascend to greatness. A narrative that's cohesive and logical but not condescendingly easy. Its cast of characters make the film worth it, though. Hopefully, they'll have a better movie next time. Hopefully.