Hello, night owls! You know, since I said I'd talk about Suicide Squad last week, a lot more news and reviews of this have popped up. And all of it is bad. The Rotten Tomatoes deal is already bad enough (it is now at 26%, just one step lower than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). But even worse, there have been reports that it is no longer going to be viewed in China, one of the world's biggest movie markets. Critics everywhere are panning it as a bad film.
But guess what?
There are lots of movie-goers who have seen this movie and have liked it. They're lashing out against the Rotten Tomatoes rating, even making a petition to take the site down. On top of all that, this movie did do well at the box office on its opening weekend, being the second-best debut of a DC property.
Personally speaking, I didn't know what to expect. There had been quite a bit of hype for this movie, especially with its flashy trailers and the promise of the return of the infamous Batman villain, the Joker. There was also news that a lot of parts were re-shot to throw in more humor. And of course, there were plenty of horrifying articles about what Jared Leto was doing in order to get in character for the Joker.
So when I walked out of that theatre last week, how did I feel about this film?
Well...it's by no means perfect, but it's not that bad, either.
Don't get me wrong, this movie has sloppy moments and noticeable flaws. Their antagonist wasn't what I expected (and not necessarily in the good way) and didn't seem to do a whole lot, some scenes linger a little too long, the dialogue can be a little too on the nose at times, and pieces of the soundtrack don't always flow well from one scene to another. I can tell, knowing that they re-shot some stuff, that they were trying very hard - a little too hard at times - to make this funny. From time to time, it felt like they were trying to go for a Guardians of the Galaxy feel.
That feeling of trying is probably the film's biggest flaw. The Suicide Squad isn't like the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Guardians are a rag-tag bunch of criminals who end up pursuing the same goals together. The Squad is a whole other matter entirely. These criminals are being forced against their will to be a part of Amanda Waller's program. They don't always place nice with each other and no matter how sympathetic or lovably quirky some of them might seem, they would turn on you in a heartbeat if it meant their freedom. So with that darker element in mind, it's a little harder to make something like the Squad funny in the way that the Guardians were. At least, the Squad can't be funny in the same way.
That being said, I enjoyed watching this movie. While the story could get murky and the villain didn't really pay off, I enjoyed the characters and the action sequences. The Squad itself had a great cast that made me want to know more about their characters (and I really do hope we learn more about all of them in the future!). Especially surprising to me were Will Smith and Margot Robbie as Deadshot and Harley Quinn. I'd wondered how Smith would handle a more nefarious role than he usually played, but he handled it very well. He made the role of Deadshot his own and he was able to portray the character's hopes and goals in a realistic way. As for Robbie, I was genuinely surprised. Usually when you think of Harley Quinn, you think of the grinning, silly jester-like girl who follows Joker around like a puppy no matter what he does to her. But Robbie gave a performance that not only did justice to Harley's character but also gave her power and humanity. She was one of the most fearless members of the squad and one of the ones with the most heart.
As for Leto's Joker?
I don't approve of the stuff he did to his co-stars to stay in character, but I think he did a great job being the Clown Prince of Crime. My only real complaint about him was the style they gave him as far as costumes go. Otherwise, I was quite impressed. In a scene where he's interrogating a man in a freezer truck, you couldn't tell what he was going to do next (I literally couldn't breathe during that sequence) and that air of unpredictability is essential to the Joker's character.
And what was even more pleasantly surprising was how he portrayed Joker's love for Harley. Anyone who's followed the Batman comics, games, or knows a little about the Joker knows that their relationship is one of the worst. He keeps her around because she's useful and is rarely ever genuinely good to her. He hurts her, abandons her, forgets about her, and yet she keeps coming back to him. It's one of the worst things ever and you want Harley to just leave him already! And yet in Suicide Squad, you want them to be together more than ever. Perhaps it's because they chose not to show a more abusive Joker. Whatever the case, when you see them together in the flashbacks - especially in the scene where she throws herself into a vat of acid to prove her love for him - you feel like he genuinely loves Harley in his own crazed way.
Other notable acting pieces? Viola Davis made an outstanding Amanda Waller, being stone cold, formidable, ethically questionable, and ruthless. And in the beginning, it was good seeing Batman (Ben Affleck) taking out bad guys like he normally does (instead of fighting a meta-human for no real reason).
If you're going to see Suicide Squad soon, I'd just tell you to prepare yourself for some clunky stuff that doesn't work. You'll know it when you see it. But if you go in knowing that it's not a perfect movie, you'll find yourself surprised at how fun it still manages to be. It's by no means the worst film ever made and while you may not get a chance to know all the characters as well as you'd like, you'll still have a great time following them around.
As for that Rotten Tomatoes rating?
Look, I've seen Batman v Superman. I'd rather watch Suicide Squad three times in one day than watch that hunk of crap ever again. Suicide Squad deserves a rating somewhere between 50-60%, in my opinion.
Like I said before: it's by no means perfect, but it's not that bad, either.
~Maud,
Official Night Owl
No comments:
Post a Comment