Let me start by saying this is me picking apart this movie, and I get why it's so popular but I feel like I need to put into words why this movie was so badly made. I will admit I enjoyed watching the characters to a certain degree, but that is pretty much it and that's no thanks to the film that's because the actors and the source material are amazing. Also huge Spoliers for Suicide Squad below obviously.
So after Batman vs Superman I was really excited to see how the DC Extended Univserse was gonna play out. BvS wasn't the best to be honest. It was a weirdly paced movie and about 70% of the film was close up shots of the characters faces. However this aside, it had many redeeming qualities. Ben Affleck being one of them, he has instantly become my favourite Batman. The movie's score aswell was great, well balanced and pulled me into the movie. Also the story itself and the villians were interesting. Although it wasn't the best film and I can definitely understand why it wasn't so well received, but it was still a well made movie. I was able to enjoy it's redeeming qualities because of this. So safe to say I was pretty disappointed with the movie, but I was still able to enjoy it with hope that Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and Justice League will be better executed.
And then I saw Suicide Squad. This movie was the most forced, desperate and badly put together film I have ever seen. I will say straight away that the characters were fun to watch, but that was it. Even then though it was just the Deadshot and Harley show. At some points characters would actually just disappear with no explaination for a while. The start of the movie was just constant flashbacks to introduce characters instead of the story just playing out and finding out about characters that way. This kinda continues throughout the movie, which at some points is entertaining and adds to the scene, but otherwise because of this the movie really lacks those moments and scenes that characters relationships are built and dynamics explained. Instead the movie just expects you to assume "yeah they're all outcasts who have been fucked by the system that's why there friends." (Cause you know that's what happens when you stick criminials together). Whenever the movie tried to get emotional it fell really flat. Especially scenes with Deadshot and his daughter. The worst though was El Diablo's flashback to killing his family (looks to the sky and screams noooooooooo!), ugh it was so bad. It was actually painful, however the worst was the fact that what little we saw from this character (the most powerful of all of them) included lines like "I've lost one family I ain't losing another" (LAME). It was so lame to the point that I didn't give a damn when his character died, I was glad. I admit I did like Harley, of course, I think Robbie did a great job with her characterisation. I was really excited to see Leto's performance of the Joker the kinda thuggish take on the character was fun and fit the universes aesthetic, only it was clear most of his scenes got cut. Not only that I feel like he doesn't quite get why the Joker does the things he does. I think this panel explains it better than I ever could;
Then was the overused pop songs and power ballots that cut quickly from one to the next, never letting you enjoy the music or even the scene. Nothing had time to breathe. It was like the weird fast pace from BvS but on steroids. The score was bad, like real bad. The music was cut after jokes, only the jokes were either just not funny or were in the trailers so no one laughed and it was uncomfortable.
Oh Jesus the Enchanchess and her brother? Talk about taking one of the coolest and interesting characters and making them boring AF. Her brother looked like something out of the Gods of Eygpt and with that over the top CGI big finale, again boring. Not only that how they save the day literally makes no sense. They make a point of saying that bullets and fire can't kill these guys, but we just watched a scene were they killed the bad guys but hitting them with baseball bats and shooting them? Like what? Oh and the big bad villians are even stronger, good thing we know their weakness! Explosions? Seriously?
The movie was begging me to like it and I wanted to I really did. But the amount of cringe worth lines, the unbalanced use of character, the music was so forced it was off putting and would take over scenes. The shots were all over the place and put together so badly that it was uncomfortable going from one scene to another (ie. Suddenly Harley is smashing the glass and stealing a bag. That cut was so bad I don't even understand). It was obvious that they got the guys who made the trailer to edit the movie. Which again doesn't make sense because they know how to edit trailers NOT MOVIES.
Look I get that this was meant to be the fun shoot them up movie and that they don't always need to make sense, but it at least needs to be well made. Not a marketing pumped, cut up, choppy movie that is trying to be so many things it isn't able to successfully be any of them. I went from being excited about the DC Extended Univserse. Now I'm terrified what they will do with Wonder Woman being the next to come out.
I don't get how they messed this up so badly.
