Suicide Squad: Masterful Acting, Typical Storyline
Arguably the most hyped movie of the summer, Suicide Squad hit theaters August 5th, 2016, where it was received by highly anticipating viewers worldwide.
DC Entertainment, along with Atlas Entertainment and RatPac-Dune Entertainment, released the third DC expanded universe film with a star studded cast, and action director David Ayers. The film cost $175 million to produce, yet grossed over $300 million in total worldwide and $133 million during opening weekend, making it the 20th highest opening box gross of all time.
The cast included talent all across the board, from two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith to recent Oscar winner Jared Leto, to another two-time Oscar nominee Viola Davis. Yet, even with these stars many unexpected actors and actresses rose above expectations to steal the spotlight.
One of these standouts was Margot Robbie, who played the role of Harley Quinn in one of the character’s first appearances on the silver screen. A demanding task to live up to, yet Robbie performed wonderfully. The twisted, evilly joyful persona of Quinn found in the darker versions of the comics was masterfully perfected by Robbie. The “rotten” tattoo on her face, the bruised appearance, and her sadistically playful attitude demonstrated a version of Harley that was far darker than what was expected.
Another impressive performance was that of Viola Davis. Her display of Amanda Waller summarized the character who had never been depicted in a featured film. Her cold, cruel, and control-hungry personality given by Davis illustrated a morally ambiguous and intriguing character.
Although this movie had many brilliant performances, viewers debated on many topics as well. The highly respected and amazingly talented Jared Leto’s performance as the Joker is the most heated topic of the entire movie. Leto definitely had the biggest shoes to fill, being the first actor to portray Joker after Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as the villain in 2008.
Although Leto sent chills down viewers spines, he was only in the movie for little more than 10 minutes during the entire film. Many thought that he would be the antagonist of the story, yet viewers were surprised and angered when he was just a small subplot in the movie.
The real antagonist was the character known as The Enchantress. This character was not only a massive disappoint because of the expectancy of Joker as the main villain, but also because of her vague introduction and weak personal story line. It seemed that even though she had more screen time then the Joker, her character was overshadowed by Leto’s presence.
Overall, I give this film a rating of 3 out of 5. This is because the storyline was a bit typical compared to most superhero movies, yet the personal character development portrayed by many of the wonderful actors and actresses during this film made this movie an above average film.
