Suicide Squad Movie Thoughts

I just returned from watching Suicide Squad a little bit ago.  Admittedly, it wasn't a movie that was high on my list.  That said, I will say it was a very enjoyable movie.  It was better than Batman vs Superman.  Think about that for a moment.  A movie filled with characters that are largely unknown to the general public is more fun to watch than a movie with 3 of the biggest superheroes in the world.  

Yeah, that's what I thought, too.  Suicide Squad isn't a perfect movie by any stretch, but I'll get to that in a little bit.  First off, Margot Robbie is great as Harley Quinn.  She fits the character to a T.  Next to Will Smith's Deadshot, she is one of the cores of the movie.  Though I've never been fond of her costume design for this film, it works (keep your eyes open and you will see her original costume briefly at a certain point).

Will Smith is also fine as Deadshot, though his backstory doesn't come across as heartfelt as I think the director intended.  It feels forced and inauthentic.  He displays his trademark sense of wit and humor throughout the movie, but it comes across as tonally opposite to what the movie is aiming for.

One of the biggest question marks coming into the movie was Jared Leto's Joker.  To me, he didn't really stand out much in comparison to other actors who've played the role, but that may be due to the fact that he's barely in the movie.  In fact, they could've cut all of his scenes and the story wouldn't have been materially changed at all.  I know that Joker is always tied to Harley Quinn's origin, but there were other ways to establish that without needing to have Joker physically there.  The only 2 scenes of his that really contributed anything were the flashback that establishes Harley Quinn as his queen and the bit *SPOILER* at the end where he breaks Harley out of Belle Reve (which would've worked better as a post credits tease than a part of the main movie).

Suicide Squad spends most of its screen time on Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Amanda Waller.  Most of the other members of the titular squad have very little presence or even need to be there.  Boomerang, Slipknot, and Killer Croc all could've been cut from the script and very little would've changed.  After this year's Civil War, which showed how to deftly handle a huge ensemble cast, Suicide Squad feels like another example where more is not better.  

Though Suicide Squad has its problems (the soundtrack is very hit and miss), it is a fun movie overall and definitely worth watching at least once.