MOTLEY CREW MEMBER Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn in 'Suicide Squad'.
Cinema
Ciara Galvin
BILLIONAIRE Bill Gates once famously said, ‘If I was down to my last dollar I would spend it on PR’. The power of PR these days is crazy. Thanks to social media, hype can be built up about pretty much anything, from a pop-up restaurant to a summer blockbuster movie.
Which brings me to the hype surrounding this summer’s most-anticipated film, ‘Suicide Squad’. As a weekly cinema goer, I’m always keeping an eye on what films are in production.
It must have been the start of the year when I first heard about ‘Suicide Squad’, and I remember being annoyed at the thoughts of having to wait ’til August for it to hit the cinema screens.
I mean, anything with Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie playing bad-ass criminals has to be good, right?
Well, the hype surrounding the ‘anti-superhero’ movie would certainly lead you to believe so. Internet click bait detailing the quirky ways cast members got into character, and ‘leaked’ images of what we could expect from Margot Robbie’s character ‘Harley Quinn’ all added to the increasing anticipation.
In the run up to the August 5 release, teaser trailers were also released, suggesting a dark ‘Oceans 11 on acid’-type masterpiece.
And so, as the film started, opening to The Rolling Stones’ ‘Sympathy for The Devil’, I cast aside all the mediocre reviews in circulation and immersed myself, as best I could from the front row of a packed screening (thanks to the PR machine).
Worried about national security and terrorist attacks from super humans, the powers that be assemble a team of criminals, crazies and even a crocodile-thingy in order to fight potential threats.
Immediately we’re informed that the team will be composed of ‘the worst of the worst’, followed by a ten minute character introduction to the music of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Will Smith plays Deadshot a deadly assassin whose gun work is only rivalled by his sharp tongue. Harley Quinn is played by the aforementioned Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney takes the role of Captain Boomerang, Jay Hernandez is the tattooed El Diablo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is Killer Croc and finally, model Cara Delevingne is Enchantress.
As all hell breaks loose, the motley crew are forced to work together to fight the supernatural enemy.
I expected the group to bounce off each other better. With punchy characters, I expected tighter and punchier dialogue. Deadshot gets some of the best lines, with Robbie’s psychotic character coming a close second, but even at that, there are few laughs. Captain Boomerang is really under developed, despite what the trailers imply, as was Killer Croc, who is only used for random soundbites to rouse a giggle.
Though each character gets their own introduction, their backstories are hastily explained, with only Harley benefitting from explainer flashbacks. Also, I can see why the film’s editing and plot got such a grilling. One minute something escapes, and the next minute it’s like the apocalypse.
‘Suicide Squad’ is ‘Fantastic Four’ meets ‘Sin City’, without actually living up to either. Pitching the whole squad against a supernatural being doesn’t work, and the plot would have been better served if perhaps Joker was the real baddy.
However, a serious plus for this overhyped film is the soundtrack. For it alone, it’s definitely a bearable watch.
Rating 6 out of 10
Film review: Suicide Squad
