AT THE MOVIES
 | by Isy Jordan
Suicide Squad
Directors: David Ayer
Starring: Jared Leto, Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, and more...
A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated criminals to form a defensive task force. Their first assignment might be a potential apocalypse.
DC Comics fans were so excited about this film for months. Finally! Brief glimpses showed us Jared Leto's highly-anticipated version of the Joker and surely with him as the villain of the film, it was sure to be the summer movie of 2016. Right?
Good news and bad news. Let's start with the bad news. The bad news is that the Joker really wasn't the villain of our film. It was another character in the Suicide Squad who held the head bad guy badge. And the story arc wasn't terrible. It just wasn't the film we were all expecting. Leto's Joker, to the dismay of everyone including Leto, was actually in the film less than ten minutes and for a very superficial reason. Fans would understand why Leto might turn down the opportunity to play the Joker in future franchise films. Personally, I hope he would stay the course because his version of the Joker was fabulous.
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The good news? Despite some really bizarre editing and a story that, at times, didn't seem to know which direction it wanted to go in, the movie was entertaining. Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and the rest of the cast playing a doomed team of super villains did a wonderful job with what they had to work with. We've seen much worse. As a fan of the comics, I enjoyed the backstories of a few of the characters, particularly that of El Diablo. Viola Davis played a mean Amanda Waller to round out the story that ended with the distinct possibility that we will see most of these characters again one day.
At 123 minutes, this film is PG-13 for violence, language, and disturbing behavior. Teens and older kids should be fine. It's fun, it's campy. The only way you'll be disappointed is if you expect a serious, heavy film. While there are moments of high drama, this is dark comedy married to super villain fun. No more, no less.
Isy
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