Suicide Squad [Will Smith]

Suicide Squad (2016) starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie

In short, the movie Suicide Squad isn’t completely terrible. That doesn’t make it a good movie by any stretch. The basic plot isn’t bad: The United States federal government feels the need for a group of super-powered soldiers. Think The Dirty Dozen with super powers. As I say, the basic idea’s fine. In fact, DC Comics has done multiple versions of Suicide Squad over the years. But the movie falls short for a multitude of reasons.

Negatives about Suicide Squad

• Cliches. Lots of cliches.
• Predictability. Nothing that happens is very surprising. One of the people in authority caused the situation? No surprise. The Joker attacks the team in an attempt to free Harley Quinn? Unsurprising. The “team” of selfish, psychotic loners bond by the end of the film? Imagine my shock.
• One of the Squad members is killed within minutes of being introduced. Just to show that the government’s serious. A total waste of screen time.
• The audience doesn’t care about, or sympathize with, any of the squad members. There’s no emotional investment by the audience.

Positives about Suicide Squad

• Will Smith (Enemy of the State). He gives depth, and inevitability, to his character, Deadshot. A man who doesn’t care if he lives or dies. But he does care about his daughter. She’s his motivation for going along on the suicide mission.
• Margot Robbie also does a good job with her character. Although, when all’s said and done, she’s a psychotic with a baseball bat. On the “power” scale, not much use against a sorcerous army. Although she actually is pivotal towards the end of the movie …
• The makeup and the special effects are fine.
• The acting is fine — given the script the actors were given.

Cast of characters

• Will Smith (Enemy of the State) … Deadshot
• Margot Robbie (Birds of Prey) … Harley Quinn
• Viola Davis (The Help) … Amanda Waller
• Jared Leto (Morbius) … The Joker
• Jai Courtney (Divergent) … Boomerang
• Ezra Miller (Justice League 2017) … The Flash
• Jay Hernandez (Friday Night Lights) … Diablo
• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor: The Dark World) … Killer Croc
• Cara Delevingne (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets) … June Moone / Enchantress
• Joel Kinnaman (House of Cards TV) … Rick Flag
• Akotene Chanoine (Immortals) … Businessman / Incubus (as Alain Chanoine)
• Karen Fukuhara (The Boys) … Katana
• Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice) … Bruce Wayne / Batman (uncredited)