'Suicide Squad': Characters are promisingly introduced, fizzle fast
'Squad' stars actors including Margot Robbie and Will Smith as villains from the world of Batman who are recruited by the government to take on an even bigger baddie.
'Squad' stars actors including Margot Robbie and Will Smith as villains from the world of Batman who are recruited by the government to take on an even bigger baddie.
鈥淪uicide Squad,鈥� which comes on the heels of 鈥淏atman v. Superman: Dawn of聽Justice,鈥� is the latest failed attempt to lift up DC Comics-based characters聽into the mega-franchise stratosphere. Writer-director David Ayer doesn鈥檛聽have the right graphic technique for a comic-book-style jamboree 鈥� he鈥檚 strictly聽a noirish-pulp guy 鈥� and the characters, all of whom are promisingly聽introduced, fizzle fast.聽
Best is Jared Leto as the green-haired, metal-mouthed Joker, although he鈥檚聽not quite on par with Heath Ledger鈥檚 definitive portrayal. As Joker鈥檚聽girlfriend, Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie tries hard 鈥� too hard 鈥� to act聽flagrantly bonkers.聽
Will Smith, as ace sniper Deadshot, is manfully聽effective but underused; the same, and then some, could be said for Jay聽Hernandez鈥檚 pyromaniac Diablo. It鈥檚 nice to see Viola Davis as a聽government bigwig who assembles a dream team of baddies to vanquish聽an even bigger baddie, but it would be even nicer to see her in a role that聽does more than boost her asking price.
In the Marvel v. DC matchup, there鈥檚 still no contest. Grade:聽C- (Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language.)