Suicide Squad>Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice. Really I don't even know that there's a competition between the 3. This film was simply more enjoyable than the other 2 on every level. I've seen a good number of people complain about how both Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice were too dark, too serious, or something else near those areas. If you thought that then I think Suicide Squad is exactly the film you're looking for. There were still dark moments of course, such as the general plot with Enchantress attempting to destroy the world and seeing things like Joker turn Harleen Quinzell into Harley Quinn. Have to be honest though, almost every single event is presented in a way that makes it come across as fun or just plain badass. Harley's transformation for example is backed by the Joker and her really just having a ball as they cause all kinds of chaos around the city and the characters themselves are visibly happy with what they're doing. These 2 characters alone looked to be having more fun in this film than Superman has in maybe any film i've ever seen him in.
There's still tragedy of course. Harley thinks Joker is dead at one point and it's made clear that she's mentally unbalanced. The latter goes for some of the other members of the Squad as well and even their Handler, Rick Flagg, is dealing with some personal darkness in the form of his girlfriend basically being possessed by Enchantress. Bu the music, the dialouge, the chararacters actions, it all really comes together to lighten up the mood, while not completely overshadowing the moments that are meant to be 100% serious, such as Diablo's backstory. My only 2 complaints are far as the characters goes is in regards to Enchantress and Deadshot. The former was really just turned into a generic villain. Kind of felt that it was a waste for the character in the grand scheme and really that the Squad shouldn't have been fighting someone of her power level at all. Diablo's really the only reason that final fight can slide in my opinion. Because it was extremely clear that she could kill all these people, then she wastes time teleporting among them like Nightcrawler, attacking one after the other as if that's her only ability. The next second she just pulls all of their weapons out of their hands and brings them to their knees, making the previous few minutes seem like a pointless waste of time on her part. She was also doing this kind of dancing at different points in the film to set up her destroy the world machine. **** looked ridiculous as hell and honestly was one of the worst parts of the film for me.
Deadshot really wasn't bad in terms of characterization, but they focused too much on him. Yes, he was played by Will Smith so this was inevitable, but it doesn't change the fact that it hurt the development of the other characters. Harley received a similar level of focus, but it was more balanced because, though he wasn't in as many scenes, the Joker was a constant presence with her and was really developed almost as much through Harley's flashbacks and current actions/thoughts. That being said, I still wasn't unhappy with Smith's performance and he did a better job than I was expecting. Could've worn the mask more, but I knew going in that that wasn't going to happen
Going into this film the most important characters for me were Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn, and The Joker. I think the actors nailed all 3 of them. Waller isn't the queen of the sea cows that she is in the comics, which i've seen some people complain about, but in terms of actions and personality she's the exact same character she's always been. No powers, no abilities, no special training, but a ******* badass who is completely in control of the situation nonetheless. There are a bunch of moments where she displays this, but really I think the ending is where it's the most clear. The Squad has just saved the world and everyone wants to walk off into their respective sunsets, when Waller emerges from the smoke with her hand on the trigger to detonante the bombs in their heads. After everything she and the city goes through during the film, Deadshot's "How are you not dead?!" is pretty perfectly timed lol but it's Waller. She doesn't care what they've done, they're still criminals under her control and they're not going anywhere, though she is willing to give them a few rewards for serving her well. Excellent.
I've seen people argue that Harley Quinn was sexualized here, but it's honestly no more than what you'd see from any character in her position when they go from a children's cartoon to the big screen. Point being, she was already sexualized in the original cartoon she appeared in. That's nothing new. Did her clothing become skimpier here? Yeah, but it's really just because this is a film for an older audience, where they can be more blatant about what the character is. No different than more graphic forms of violence in my opinion. The spirit and personality of the character remain unchanged and I think Margot did an amazing job. Even her voice reminded me of Classic BTAS (Batman the Animated Series) Harley Quinn at certain points. I think her abusive relationship with The Joker was also turned into one of more mutual love and desire. I told my friends that with Joker chasing after Harley throughout the entire film it really came across as if he Needed her. You see this when he almost walks away after convincing her to jump into the vat of chemicals, stops, is visibly pained, and then turns around and jumps in after her. You see this by the constant text messages he sends her. Hell you see this by the fact that he instantly kills a fellow gangster in Gotham for admiring Harley's figure. This is a fairly big change from how their relationship is usually portrayed in my opinion. Yes, Joker leaves Harley in their car after a confrontation with Batman causes it to crash, but he, again, spends the entire film looking for her after the fact. A lot of times you just wouldn't see that and Joker would leave Harley on her own. I actually liked the relationship between the two though.
Leto's Joker is different, but he works. Similar to Batman I think the Joker is a character who is different from Superman, in that he has so many different interpretations that have been considered to be official canon. Jester, Monster Clown, Gangster, Evil Personified, etc. So you can watch Nicholson, Ledger, and Leto play the role and never feel as if you aren't still seeing the real Joker. Because all of their interpretations take from some aspect of the character and are handled well. Is Leto better than Ledger? No, but he did a way better job than I thought he would. The tattoos never worked for me when I first saw them, but during the film, watching him use the smile tattoo on his hand to mess with some people, seeing him sitting in his club surrounded by his men, they stopped being an issue. There's an energy and excitement that Leto infuses the character with, while, again, managing to capture the spirit of the character. I don't think anyone will be dissappointed with what Leto does here, unlike Lex Luthor in Dawn of Justice.
Similar to Guardians of the Galaxy and Civil War, this film introduced you to some new characters and gave you enough of them to make you want more. Portrayals on the other members of the Squad was lacking, but they all have a presence in the film and you can pin down actual personalities for them. Really, I think the setup is pretty perfect for a second film, with a few new characters. They only have to do a better job with the villain in my opinion and I can give them something of a pass since, within the film, the Squad was never even supposed to take on the Enchantress anyways. Their job was just to rescue Waller, which they did, but that went to hell. As it is, I still enjoyed the film from beginning to end. I went in expecting this to be around a 4/8, if not worse, but got a 6/8. Definitely suggest that everyone go see the film and if this is any indication of things to come the DCEU might finally be getting its act together.
