Growing up, Batman was, and still is, my favorite superhero character. I grew up loving films like Tim Burton’s Batman and even more recently Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of The Dark Knight trilogy. Superhero films are now the big studios cash cow when it comes to big budget blockbusters.
Over the last several years I have enjoyed Marvel extended universe series of films which has been built up slowly over numerous films, albeit with slowly diminishing returns but on the whole the films have been enjoyable
Sadly the same can’t be said for Warner Bros. extended universe. Since the completion of the Nolanverse films, it appears that Warner Bros. DC universe films appear to be nothing more than an out of control ship without a captain.
2013’s Man Of Steel to me was a dour bastardization of the Superman character that felt more like style over substance. Earlier this year, the sequel Batman Vs.Superman: Dawn Of Justice, was a slight improvement over Man Of Steel, but still was a style over substance exercise with no real characterization. I like the fact that DC are using a darker tone in their universe, but what I don’t like are films with all spectacle and no real coherent story.
So with massively lowered expectations, I went out last night to see Warner Bros. latest entry in their DC Comics universe, Suicide Squad. At thirty-nine, I find that I’m getting to an age where a constant barrage of noise and effects combined with a minimal plot is really becoming a bore on my cinema going journeys, which is why I find myself enjoying more moderate budget character based films that would have been considered big budget films twenty years ago.
Suicide Squad is a new low in Warner Bros. franchise. Apart from an moderately entertaining opening twenty minutes of character introductions, the film descends quickly into a noisy mess that makes as much sense as Chinese algebra with a villain who is possibly the most laughably awful villain I’ve seen in any film in a long time.
Margot Robbie is the one highlight in her characterization of Harley Quinn, so it’s just a shame that David Ayer has lowered the character to nothing more than an overly sexualized object. The less said about the Joker, the better. Jared Leto’s version of the Joker is the worst version of the character I’ve seen put on film.
Deadshot, the Will Smith character makes a wry comment about a massive trash pile swirling around downtown. A pile of trash pretty much sums up my feelings about the film as well.
ROGER WARD 