Suicide Squad

I'm going to repeat myself, but just like in The Legend of Tarzan, Margot was the best thing about the whole movie. It's not that I didn't enjoy the others, but next to her everyone is just dead weight. The beginning is awesome, all very stylish and crazy, as the times demand. From the awesome music to the funny and cruel lines to the costumes, everything suggested this was going to be a total blast. It's a shame that the whole film is based purely on this. The plot unfortunately doesn't offer anything new, the characters don't go deep enough, and the final denouement is a bit off. A weaker 4 stars. (11/09/2016)

I was expecting something brisk and cheeky, and I got a hilarious mash-up of elements that work in Marvel movies, but not in DC. Their new multiverse is confusing and disjointed pulp that gives the impression of something born in the heads of suits at table and not in the head of a person who really has an overview and a clear vision of what the whole should look like. Someone like Kevin Feige is missing here (DC Sandbox guardian Snyder is not even able to look after his films, let alone the whole universe). Ayer is desperately groping in terms of directing and the screenplay (the only twist in the zero plot is the scene the viewer saw shot after shot an hour before, wtf?), the types of sociopaths are rather good at first and often unused (Leto's over the top Joker as a romantic filler?). The soundtrack is so puffy and eclectic that it fades out into nothing. Scenes with Deadshot mainly kick ass, which Will Smith made into a pure pleasure (because ***) and a few scenes with sexy Margot Robbie. Otherwise, this wannabe radical slap to the competition is just a sweaty affirmation of the superhero status quo which, unfortunately, is not even half as amusing as in the case of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The attempts to create a dark picture of the world, which is ruled by the brutal bitch Amanda Waller instead of Nick Fury... sorry, it feels so convulsive that it can't be taken very seriously. DC is groping (and it’s still not fun). (03/08/2016)

They put together a plethora of people dumb enough to be characters in their own stories, which means that not a single character was fleshed out enough for you to know more about them beyond what they like (their kid, the other nutcase, the unicorn, etc.). In truth, I wasn't entertained by the film, it just became a backdrop to keep the room from being quiet – it fulfilled this function perfectly, as it was well voiced. But that's the only great thing about this movie; otherwise it's pretty average, below average. Many heroes and anti-heroes were created, but it just doesn't reach any dizzying heights. It had a great advertisement that lit up the work and drove it to the heights of heaven, but the truth is otherwise... (15/11/2016)

I can’t say that a witch out of a 1980s fantasy B-movie is what I've been missing from current comic-book flicks. In fact, she is a completely interchangeable DC villain who wants to destroy the world simply because she can. Not even the (unintended) creation of the evil Enchantress by those who are supposed to protect the world is innovative by today’s standards (which immediately gives away the point of the film, which is that working with villains can backfire on you). Most of the film’s other elements are also interchangeable, as Ayer mixes them together willy-nilly, albeit with a certain sense of rhythm. The first hour comes across as a condensed recapitulation of a ten-part series – all exposition, no development. In terms of time and space, the second hour is a slightly more cohesive super-villain variation on war movies in the mould of The Dirty Dozen and westerns like The Wild Bunch (including fatalistic dialogue before the final conflict, but without any significant development of the relationships between the characters or their ability to work together). Though the prologue indicates that Deadshot and Harley will be the protagonists of the narrative, their private dramas (their relationship to the daughter/Joker) do not drive the narrative, but rather slow it down, as they have minimal impact on the direction of the plot. The Joker, who looks like a goth who’s off his meds and inspires more sympathy than unease, always just shows up, does a little damage and disappears, like the returning bosses in some computer games, which seemed to be a source of inspiration for Ayer when he was slapping the plot together on the fly (or at least it seems so). Nothing would change if the Joker wasn’t here. The whole film is still needless and half-assed and unpolished, and while it manages to get and hold your attention with its witty characters, driving soundtrack and slightly psychedelic visual stylisation, the end result is merely two hours of loud, colourful distractions without any serious points of interest. 55% (04/08/2016)

Suicide Squad is the best comic movie of the year for me. There is no waiting for anything, it starts with a great opening where David Ayer introduces us to the whole team in a very stylish way and after that Suicide Squad is an adrenaline ride till the end without any dead spots, with attractive visuals, clear and fancy action (never mind that it is not R-rated, the bad guys are not human, no blood, so there's slaughtering and rampaging about). The stars of the team are the sexy Harley Quinn, who teases, seduces and is a joy to watch, she gives the film a proper thrill, Will Smith is also amazing as Deadshot, it’s probably the first time I see him as a badass and his scene in Ultimate mode, where he takes out about 50 enemies by himself using his elite experience took my breath away. The rest of the team is not very impressive, only Diablo impresses with his abilities, the rest are sort of extra here, but none of them get in the way. It's a shame that the Joker wasn't the main villain, as he didn't do a bad job at all, but the Enchantress and her brother managed to make some decent mischief. The atmosphere of the film is properly dark, the wisecracks somehow work, the soundtrack is perfect and Batman is a delight. Well I don't have much to complain about, after a long time my eyes were shining with joy in the cinema and that needs to be awarded with a proper five star. I'd take a solo movie with anyone here. 85%. (07/08/2016)