Suicide Squad

I took my Saudi foreign exchange student to see this film, and this was his last week in the States.  At least he can remember why we Americans value artistic mendacity.

Suicide Squad reminds me of a soft porn film that used to be played at bachelor parties in the 1970’s.  Though you’ve seen this plot played out in numerous superhero/villain films, the movie’s value is found in the music, costumes, and Margot Robbie’s performance as an ex-stripper who regrets leaving her former job.

As noted, nothing, and I mean nothing, happens in this film that you haven’t seen many times before.  Without giving anything away (not that you would care), even the villain’s attempt to destroy mankind by releasing an electronic force that rises vertically to penetrate Earth’s atmosphere is a carbon copy of the same thing that occurred in the original Ghostbusters (1984).

The movie centers on imprisoned bad guys who are recruited to save humanity for reasons that are never clear.  They are all unremorseful killers, and they don’t seem to remotely care if they are tortured during their confinement.

The movie does have an upside, beginning with the performance of Joel Kinnaman.  Here he plays Rick Flagg, an honest military man assigned to control the Squad.  He outperforms everyone else in the film, and his role reminds me of that given by Alicia Vikander in this year’s equally pasty Jason Bourne.

Without question, many young guys will see this film to watch the beautiful Ms. Robbie perform as Harley Quinn, an ex-psychiatrist who spends the entire film as a demented hot number who seeks to find The Joker, the love of her life.  Jared Leto plays The Joker, and though he appears only briefly in the entire two-hour film, the ending leaves you with a strong feeling that a sequel will involve the two of them.

Will Smith gives a Will Smith type performance as Deadshot, an assassin whose only remotely honorable desire in life is to spend time with his young daughter.  Though he showed good sense in rejecting an opportunity to appear in this year’s God awful Independence Day: Resurgence, he would have been better off missing this film also.

I don’t mean to leave other performers out of this review, but their roles are largely irrelevant.  The good guys are led by Viola Davis, a nasty woman who decides to employ bad guys to hunt down bad guys.  However, the most memorable performances come from women, namely Cara Delevingne and Karen Fukuhara.  Ms. Delevingne plays the bad girl known as The Enchantress, a devious little witch who found a way to embody a normal human who was the love of Mr. Flagg’s life.  Ms. Fukuhara is a sword wielding masked sorceress helping preserve humanity, and she gives a performance worth watching.

As I noted at the beginning, this films greatest asset is its musical track and costumes.  Ms. Robbie in particular looks like a prostitute that you would like to take home to meet mother, and the music is a reminder of why it was great to get loaded and dance back in college.