Suicide Squad is Very Bad, but also Kinda Good

The Problem with Expectations

There’s a problem circling the internet in this day and age. A problem with fandom, and the giant blockbuster epics that thrive off it. That problem is one of expectations, and how a big movie is labeled either a masterpiece or the worst thing to hit cinemas since Manos: The Hands of Fate. That B-movie reference too old school? Fine, the worst thing to hit cinemas since Movie 43. It’s a problem that’s plaguing a lot of movies this summer, but none more so than Suicide Squad (okay, maybe the new Ghostbusters, but that’s another rant).

Here’s a movie that was meant to be counter programming for the DC Extended Universe’s big tentpole, Batman v Superman. It wasn’t supposed to have all these huge expectations thrust upon it. It’s a B-list title about C and D-list supervillains doing government black ops. In the hands of a surrealist director like David Ayer, we could have gotten something truly wacky and out of the box. Ayer was just supposed to make his little grimy supervillain movie, while WB reaped billions off its huge Batman/Superman smack down.

Instead, Batman v Superman sucked, and Suicide Squad went from being a counterculture arthouse project that just so happened to play in the DC sandbox to the potential savior of the cinematic DCU. That’s a lot of pressure. Then you have that brilliant marketing campaign, which made a film about freaking supervillains (you know, assassins, murderers and alligator people) look more upbeat and joyful than Zack Snyder’s entire filmography.

Case in point: fans and critics were expecting big things from this film. And because of that, we’ve now got a situation where this is a love-it-or-hate-it type of movie. According to social media, Suicide Squad is either a fantastic, joyful thrill ride with great performances, or a colossal dud that retreads every superhero and villain cliché in the book. The truth? Well, far from me to preach from an ivory tower, but it’s more somewhere in the middle.

You see, we can no longer look at a movie as “just okay” or “it was good, could’ve been better.” And the truth is Suicide Squad is that kind of movie. Oh yes, in my mind it’s leagues better than Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. But that’s due to it being more of a breezy B-movie with some real character moments, instead of a meditation on hope that’s just really depressing. Rather than shove symbolism down our throats, Squad just wants to be a fun film about villains trying to be heroes. The problem is, it doesn’t always succeed. But it does succeed just enough to make it enjoyable, and for that, the film works.

Putting on a Show

Let me start off by saying that despite all the flaws, the performances are indeed the best thing here. Will Smith’s Deadshot is extremely likable, in that he’s channeling his infinite charisma from the ‘90s again. Viola Davis shines as the Squad’s handler Amanda Waller, a “take no crap from anyone” kind of woman. Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang makes for great comic relief. Even Jay Hernandez delivers as El Diablo, a repentant gangster with fire powers. But it’s really Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn who runs away with the film.

Energetic, witty and truly crazy all at once, Robbie is everything any fan could want from Harley, now one of the most iconic female comic book characters ever. One need only walk through any comic convention and marvel at all the Harley cosplayers to see the impact she’s had. Robbie does them all proud, perfectly encapsulating the psychiatrist who’s seen the funny side after falling in love with the Joker.

Ah, the Joker. Might as well bring him up now, because here’s where the film’s problems come in. Some will say Jared Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime is too ghetto to embody Batman’s greatest enemy. He’s covered in tattoos, dresses like Scarface and has grills in his teeth. It’s certainly a far cry from Ledger, who’s still the go-to Joker in live action (animation, that’s a different story). But Leto clearly has fun playing him, working wonders against Harley and bringing their unique dynamic to life. The thing is, it’s not really the performance that falls flat.

Leto’s an intimidating presence on screen, and conveys his relationship with Harley well. But he’s not around long enough for you to form a true impression of him. Joker’s in the film for less than ten minutes, and isn’t even the real threat. His story is entirely cut off from the Squad’s mission, and half of his footage is from Harley’s flashbacks. In this sense, Joker should’ve either been cut from the film’s main plot entirely, relegated to flashbacks only, or beefed up into a main role, probably as the big villain. As is, we see only a glimpse of him, enough to see he’s different from Ledger but not enough to really compare them. He’s just there, and that’s a big problem. For the editing fails not only Joker, but the whole film.

Bad vs. Evil: Not as Good as You Think

As I mentioned earlier, Batman v Superman was supposed to be a surefire hit, but ended up laughably bad. So that film’s reception forced this film to course correct. You can tell just from the way Squad is structured, since Deadshot, Harley and Waller get multiple introductions while the other Squad members are first seen in a sprawling flashback montage.

Now granted, some of the flashbacks are really intriguing. Unlike BvS, they actually give this shared DC film universe a sense of history, making it feel lived in. Instead of one shot of a vandalized Robin suit, we see Batman confront Joker, Harley Quinn and Deadshot, giving us a sense of his 20 year career in Gotham. Another hero cameos in a Captain Boomerang flashback, which adds more to the wider DCU as well. It’s a nice little surprise for DC fans, and works much better than Wonder Woman’s YouTube playlist from BvS.

But these flashbacks take up the first half hour of the film. It’s almost justified in a “we’re building the team, here’s who they all are” kind of way, but it also feels like throwing too much at us at once. The film doesn’t really have a first act, so much as tons of set up followed by the big mission. We learn Waller controls a demonic witch called Enchantress who’s possessed a woman named June Moon, but only find out the bare bones of her story.

Turns out, this witch is the main villain. June’s story could’ve been really interesting, if it had time to develop. Instead, we know June gets possessed, Waller thinks she can control her, then she breaks out and takes over a city. The first half hour has to juggle all this, plus six or seven other backstories. It’s incredibly rushed, to say the least.

For example, we learn the Squad’s field leader Rick Flagg loves the Enchantress’s other half, but we don’t get any scenes showing that romance. We don’t buy into Flagg’s feelings for her, or June’s struggle to control the witch inside her. Everything rings hollow, so the big threat has no stakes. Her big plan is to take over the world, so there’s nothing interesting on that front either. She releases her demonic big brother, and together they turn people into an army of mindless flesh blobs. These make for great canon fodder, but not much else.

This is a real shame, because the first attempt to introduce real magic into DC's films comes off as a dud. It’s visually interesting to look at, yes, but it all boils down to another big CGI climax. You know how it's going to go down the minute the final fight starts. Giant light show in the sky, mindless minions, big boss battle, the end. Marvel’s already beaten these tropes to death, and Squad doesn’t do things any differently.

Squad Goals Not Met

There’s also the problem of lots of build-up and only partial pay off. This supposed ensemble with multiple backstories  only gives insight into Waller, Deadshot, Harley and Diablo. Members like Boomerang, Killer Croc and Katanna are just there to round out the Squad. While they get a few cool character moments, we don’t really learn anything about them. This never feels like a full Suicide Squad movie. Instead, it’s more of a Deadshot and Harley Quinn movie with the Squad in the background.

Boomerang doesn’t even justify his presence here, since he doesn’t contribute to the climax. Slipknot is gone after one scene, a redshirt to show Waller’s not bluffing with the death threats. Granted, that was his role in the comics, but he could’ve at least been developed a little so his death was more surprising. How are we supposed to think anyone on the team can get offed if the only death is the guy we just met?

Human After All

So yes, the film has some legitimate problems. Problems so great that the critical slaughtering makes sense. But here’s where the upside is. Those performances I mentioned earlier? They make the film. While Enchantress is evil for evil’s sake, Slipknot is just there and Katanna is the stoic noble warrior, every other character just oozes fun. Their camaraderie is infectious, making it next to impossible not to crack a smile when they're bouncing off each other. They give the film a personality not seen in either of Zack Snyder’s DC efforts. For a film about supervillains, Suicide Squad feels surprisingly human, more so than either Man of Steel or Batman v Superman.

There’s a scene with the upbeat Harley showing real sadness, which she drops immediately in front of her Squad teammates. Then it’s followed by a quiet scene in a bar, where we truly see the Squad interact. Diablo really shines here, showing genuine regret as he explains his tragic backstory. It’s great character work, showing these people are still the focus even in a film as badly cut up as this one. I’d love to see more of them in future movies, whether they be direct sequels, Batman films, solo spinoffs, or even a “v.” movie against the Justice League. Hell, I’d even settle for just a few more bar scenes. That’s how great this cast is.

While the final quality is definitely sub-par, you can tell this film isn’t all bad from how much fun the cast is having. That fun rubs off on you, or at least it did for me. Ultimately, it comes down to how willing you are to look past the glaring flaws and just enjoy the ride. The music choices help, even though it’s never worked into the story like Guardians of the Galaxy. Most of the time it’s really jarring, since the songs jump several times and don't really gel together. But it’s still fun, and while it may not be the perfect DC film everyone was searching for, if you let it revel in its badness, you may see the good in Suicide Squad after all.

Batman: The Killing Joke Isn't Entirely Funny

A Classic's One Great Flaw

Everyone is up in arms lately over the critical mugging of Suicide Squad. It’s a controversial film that’s worth talking about, but before I dive into that hornet’s nest, I want to call attention to that other Joker-infused DC Comics film. I’m speaking of course, of Batman: The Killing Joke, the animated movie adapting Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ iconic Joker story.

So, what exactly is there to say about The Killing Joke? For those unfamiliar, this seminal ‘80s storyline follows the Joker as he tries to drive Commissioner Gordon mad, mainly by paralyzing his daughter Barbara (secretly Batgirl). All the while Joker flashes back to the night he was driven mad, back when he was a failed stand-up comedian turned criminal to support his pregnant wife. It’s considered by many to be the definitive Joker story, and has inspired everything from Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond to Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger’s live-action takes.

The creators clearly held a lot of reverence for the work, given that the back half of this film translates it almost directly. But in trying to go for the source, they had to justify one element that doesn’t hold up to today’s standards. That being the shooting and crippling of Barbara Gordon. If you can’t remove the shooting, how do you keep it without reducing Barbara to a victim? She’s Batgirl, for crying out loud!

Well, the answer was to give Barbara her own mini story-arc, granting her an agency not seen in the original story. And while the idea behind this is sound, its execution makes an already murky story even murkier.

Mishandling Batgirl

In essence, the animated Killing Joke adapts the (very short) comic alongside an entirely new half-hour prologue. It’s meant to provide additional background and context for Barbara, showing a mission that she and Batman tackle. Again, on paper, this isn’t a bad idea. If you’re going to expand the original work, and make us feel more for Barbara when she gets shot, it makes sense to give us a window into her world. The problem is that window is kind of battered and broken and, quite frankly, dirty as all hell.

Batgirl, we learn, is addicted to the thrill of crime fighting. Hmm, interesting. She gets involved in a case with a mob boss’s son that becomes a little too personal. Ooh, cool. She rebels against Batman’s orders when he pulls her off the case. Promising, promising. Batman scolds her for this and the two have a brief fight. Okay, I can buy that. Barbara pins Batman down and has sex with him. Wait, what?

Yeah, apparently Barbara is attracted to her (much older) mentor and they do the *eh hem* Bat-dance on a rooftop. Now let’s get something straight here. What’s wrong with this scene, and Barbara’s characterization in general, isn’t so much the sex itself. There is an age difference, but she isn’t a minor, and actually initiates the sex. This isn’t a rape situation we’re talking about here. No, it’s more that Bruce and Barbara’s relationship wasn’t in any way romantic up to this point.

Their relationship in this short, and indeed in pretty much every comic, is that of a mentor and student. Now it’s not unheard of for someone like Barbara to be attracted to an older, physically fit mentor, especially someone like Bruce Wayne. But if anything, their dynamic plays more like an uncle and niece than lovers. Especially considering, you know, she’s the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, Batman’s chief ally. It’s kind of like getting with your best friend’s daughter. 

But despite all that awkwardness, this may have come off better if Bruce actually had feelings for her. Instead, Bruce’s protectiveness of Barbara seems more familial than overtly sexual. So why did their tension have to be resolved with sex? This whole thing would’ve worked better by sticking with the rebellious student angle. Instead, Barbara Gordon, one of the most interesting characters in Batman lore, is reduced to a jilted ex-lover of Batman.

One Bad Day, One Good Ending

So how does this even relate to the Killing Joke part of the story? Well, it doesn’t. Not really, anyway. There’s a tiny thematic connection, in that Bruce warns Barbara about going into “the abyss” and becoming a killer. This is basically what the Joker wants Gordon to do, and Batman’s chief struggle when confronting Joker. But the connection to the Batgirl story is just a little mention, nothing more.

Once the Killing Joke story gets going, the Batgirl story is kind of swept under the rug. All it really does is change the context of Barbara’s shooting, so she’s now Batman’s ex-lover instead of just Gordon’s daughter and the former Batgirl. What’s strange though is that Bruce and Barbara don’t even mention their former relationship here. It makes the entire prologue feel extraneous, as if its only purpose was to pad out the runtime to movie length. Which is kind of weird, because the film doesn’t even feel like a film. Taken together, The Killing Joke feels more like two short episodes of a TV show fused together. It’s not a coherent storyline, and thus it’s hard to even approach it like you would a normal movie.

The real tragedy in this is that when the actual adaptation starts, the film is largely brilliant. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, who have voiced Batman and Joker in cartoons and video games for almost two decades, are in top form here. Hamill, who for many is the definitive Joker in any form of media (yes, even beating out Ledger) stuns as both the Clown Prince of Crime and his younger, pre-Joker self in flashbacks. I think it’s a bit of an overstatement to call Hamill the king of voice acting, but by god, the way he embodies the Joker with just a laugh is chilling. And the fact that he’s delivering monologues from the best Joker story is a pure geek out moment for Batman fans.

It's just disapointing that this near brilliant adaptation is bogged down by an unnecessary, barely connected prologue. If you’re going to expand The Killing Joke, with Barbara or otherwise, it’d be nice to see that expansion worked into the actual story. More about Joker’s past maybe, or more exploration into his psyche? Maybe more of Batman searching for Joker, or Gordon fighting to stay sane after being shown pictures of his paralyzed daughter? And regarding Barbara, maybe showing her actually recovering more? Or possibly giving Batman information as he searches for her dad?

But I digress. Batman: The Killing Joke is a passionate love letter to the definitive Joker story, done with gorgeous animation and even better voice talents. But by trying to fix the one aspect that didn’t work, the filmmakers muddied this story more than it already was. With that said, maybe the film should be remembered more for how it lovingly adapted The Killing Joke in its back half than its sub-par Batgirl-focused first half. After all, if we let ourselves go mad due to one bad story arc, aren’t we letting the Joker win?