Thirteen movies into the MCU, and Warner Bros. lands just its
third “DC Verse” entry, making it clear who the tortoise in this race is. Since
the release of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel have invested incredibly well, taking
their time to establish the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” and never once rushing
a release. But it would be a lie to say that they haven’t stuffed their films
with adverts for future instalments, as it would be to say that every one of
their films to date has been great. Nevertheless, while Marvel have been busy
conquering the real universe, Warner Bros. have been desperately trying to
catch up, with this year’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice being stuffed to
the point of suffocation itself with its less-than-subtle foreshadowing for
next year’s Justice League movie - DC’s answer to Marvel’s Avengers Assemble.
Now, three years on from franchise opener Man of
Steel, Suicide Squad offers a fresh angle on the world’s current state of
affairs in the wake of Superman’s global impact, as it sees a group of
villainous misfits hand-picked from Batman’s Rogues Gallery, who are forced to
unite on a special ops mission that asks of their dysfunctional skills and
abilities to be put to good use in order to save the city (not Gotham, but
“Midway”) and no doubt the world from a new threat in the form of Cara
Delevingne’s wicked Enchantress.
Batman called in sick that day...
Instantly noticeable is how this criminally-insane line-up works far better together than Batman and Superman did earlier this year (in the last five minutes, of course), but the real show-stealers are Margot Robbie’s dangerously-sexy and colourfully-charismatic Harley Quinn, and Will Smith’s cheeky sharp-shooter Deadshot, who is perhaps the most human of the bunch. And it’s the Fresh Prince’s return to form that is worthy of the spotlight over method actor Jared Leto’s painfully-underwhelming Clown Prince, The Joker. Lacking in any sort of screen presence, his laughably-ineffective portrayal fails to leave a mark on both the film and franchise and is consequently nothing more than a reminder of how faultless the late Heath Ledger’s version was in 2008’s The Dark Knight.
Suicide Squad walks a fine line, and ironically, the villains are the heroes here as they save the film from self-destruction, not only with their team dynamic but with their humanity which, had the narrative delved into a little deeper, would have strengthened the film. Instead, it might exhaust you to learn that the plot wastes most of its time on yet another generic, digitized monster who wants to destroy the world with even more CGI.
While it’s obvious that the DC Verse has no real sense of direction, Suicide Squad is hardly the nail in the coffin despite its already-negative reputation. It's fresh, fun and its action sequences surpass even those of Batman and Superman's. But if the franchise is to survive after two consecutive poorly-received entries, Warner Bros. might need to take inspiration from Marvel instead of fighting them like a quick-tempered man in a bat-suit. If only their mothers shared the same name...
No comments:
Post a Comment