Reel Recap: October 2019

In case you missed my Doctor Sleep review or first two Reel Recaps, I'm starting a new review format called "Reel Recap." This will enable me to write brief thoughts on everything I watch monthly going forward. In this third Reel Recap, I'm going to cover every 2019 release I watched in October. This includes Judy, Gemini Man, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, The Lighthouse, Zombieland: Double Tap, and Terminator: Dark Fate.

Reel Recap: October 2019

Judy - Watched October 5, 2019

Nominated For: Best Actress; Renée Zellweger and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Won: Best Actress; Renée Zellweger.

Synopsis: Legendary performer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform a series of sold-out concerts.
Runtime: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for substance abuse, thematic content, some strong language, and smoking)
Who should see it? Fans of Judy Garland.

Based on Peter Quilter's stage play "End of the Rainbow," Judy is a biographical picture about Judy Garland directed by Rupert Goold and written by Tom Edge. However, it's worth noting that the biopic doesn't chronicle Judy Garland's entire life, as the marketing may lead you to believe. Instead, it focuses on the later years of her career with an enlightening evaluation of how the classic Hollywood studio system affected her mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing. This is perhaps the most compelling aspect of the story since the remainder is reserved for her live performances and the intricacies of her personal life. Still, I wish the filmmakers followed that yellow brick narrative road a little more closely. Front and center, the remarkable Renée Zellweger delivers an incredibly well-rounded performance. Aside from exhibiting an excellent singing voice, Zellweger really taps into the icon's feisty attitude in addition to channeling her broken, sorrowful side. Zellweger's dynamite performance elevates what would otherwise be an ordinary biopic. By the time it ends, the spirits of Garland devotees will surely be soaring over the rainbow.

Film Assessment: B-

Gemini Man - Watched October 10, 2019

Synopsis: An over-the-hill hitman faces off against a younger clone of himself.
Runtime: 117 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for violence and action throughout, and brief strong language)
Who should see it? Fans of Will Smith and action films.

In development since 1997, Gemini Man is visionary director Ang Lee's latest project featuring a screenplay credited to David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke. Ang Lee's recently shifted his focus as a filmmaker towards technological innovation, previously toying with 3-D, high frame rate, and complex visual effects. Gemini Man employs all three but garnered attention primarily for its 120 frames-per-second presentation and a CG-Will Smith double. To my surprise, the high frame rate enhanced the immersion of action sequences, and Lee made great use of 3-D effects (certainly the best I've seen in a long time). However, the younger digital Smith model was only convincing in dark environments, otherwise falling into an uncanny valley when glimpsed in daylight. Unfortunately, nothing could conceal the lackluster script though. Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Benedict Wong, and Clive Owen are adequate, but the text does them no favors. Spearheaded by a dull story, dreadful dialogue, and generic stock characters, Gemini Man proves to be nothing more than an unimaginative use of new technologies. A grotesque clone of superior action cinema.

Film Assessment: C-

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie - Watched October 11, 2019 (Netflix)

Synopsis: In the wake of his escape from captivity, Jesse must come to terms with his past in order to forge a future.
Runtime: 122 minutes
MPAA Rating: TV-MA
Who should see it? Fans of Breaking Bad.

Six years after the finale of Breaking Bad, series creator Vince Gilligan has returned to Albuquerque to close the door on Jesse Pinkman's story. In case you were wondering, Breaking Bad is essential viewing to maintain a firm grasp of everything going on in El Camino. Conveniently, Netflix houses El Camino in addition to every Breaking Bad episode. In spite of the realtime six-year gap, Gilligan's addendum feels like a natural series continuation. While certain cast members noticeably aged in the intermittent period, Gilligan wonderfully captures the tone and atmosphere that pervaded weekly in the seedy underworld of the meth-based show. The cast comfortably reprise their roles as well, with several surprise cameos sprinkled throughout the two-hours. But it's Aaron Paul who shines above all. Now in the limelight, Paul brings a new dimension to Jesse for his final outing by exploring his tortured psyche and soul. Against all the odds, Gilligan revisited the world of Breaking Bad and preserved the sanctity of the series' original ending.

Film Assessment: A

The Lighthouse (2019) - Watched October 24, 2019

Nominated For: Best Cinematography.

Synopsis: Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity living on a remote and mysterious New England island.
Runtime: 109 minutes
MPAA Rating: R (for sexual content, nudity, violence, disturbing images, and some language)
Who should see it? Adult fans of Robert Eggers and unusual indie horror.

Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse is undoubtedly one of the more unusual films of the year. Shot in black and white with a 1.19:1 aspect ratio, it resembles an old silent film. This aesthetic heightens the gloomy atmosphere and gradually immerses audiences in the cinematic equivalent of a sea shanty. As lighthouse keepers, Ephraim Winslow and Thomas Wake, Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe lend a convincing representation of two men descending into madness. Pattinson and Dafoe share a fascinating rapport as their dynamic develops throughout their isolation. You can sense an underlying resentment between the two as they begrudgingly get along. The exasperating escalation of their egos and subsequent feuds results in career-best work from either actor. Think of it as The Shining on an island, but weirder.

Film Assessment: A-

Zombieland: Double Tap - Watched October 28, 2019

Synopsis: Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky, makeshift family.
Runtime: 99 minutes
MPAA Rating: R (for bloody violence, language throughout, some drug use, and sexual content)
Who should see it? Adult fans of Zombieland.

Zombieland was an unexpected success that became a cult classic. A decade later, and director Ruben Fleischer's reteamed with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick as well as franchise newcomer Dave Callaham for Zombieland: Double Tap. Throughout its runtime, Double Tap reiterates its predecessor's irreverent sense of humor but fails to do so in an exciting manner. While I don't cherish the original enough to consider it a classic by any stretch, Zombieland was fresh and unique, which is why it accumulated a large following. Double Tap falls into the trappings of a sequel with no interest in broadening its horizons. Only this time, Reese, Wernick, and Callaham showed no restraint. I considered much of the humor drawn out and repetitive, and never felt the sequel justified its existence beyond turning a profit. With that said, I chuckled occasionally, and the delightful chemistry between the grouping of Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin persevered. Nevertheless, I found Zoey Deutch's valley girl character to be an obnoxious one-note addition to the cast. For a second outing, Zombieland: Double Tap bit off way more than it could chew. It takes more than merely regurgitating what viewers liked about the first film to deliver a worthy follow up.

Film Assessment: C-

Terminator: Dark Fate - Watched October 31, 2019

Synopsis: Sarah Connor and a hybrid cyborg human must protect a young girl from a newly modified Terminator.
Runtime: 128 minutes
MPAA Rating: R (for violence throughout, language, and brief nudity)
Who should see it? Adult fans of the Terminator franchise.

Terminator: Dark Fate has been heralded as the best Terminator sequel since Judgement Day, and while that may be true, consider for a second how low the bar was set... Directed by Tim Miller with a slew of screenwriters behind it, Dark Fate is the series' third attempt at a reboot. Ignoring the previous three sequels, Dark Fate charts a new course... But history has a funny way of repeating itself as Dark Fate's story is derivative of the first two entries, and renders them meaningless in minutes. Overloaded with incomprehensible action and varied quality of visual effects, Dark Fate left little to win me over. Regardless, it was cool to see Linda Hamilton back as Sarah Connor while Arnold Schwarzenegger makes due on his often-quoted promise to return. The two of them had the most memorable moments amongst the cast, and I especially liked their contentious relationship. That said, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Gabriel Luna are great additions. In an effort to reconcile the damage done to the franchise, Terminator: Dark Fate focuses so much on emulating T-1 & T-2 that it disregards the notion of differentiating itself.

Film Assessment: C+

'Aladdin' (2019) Review

Synopsis: A kindhearted street rat frees a genie from a magic lamp, granting him three wishes to fulfill his deepest desires. But soon, an evil sorcerer becomes hell-bent on securing the lamp for his own sinister purposes.

Runtime: 128 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG (for some action/peril)

Who should see it? Families and fans of Disney's live-action remakes.

Based on the classic 1992 Disney animation, Aladdin is directed by Guy Ritchie and features a screenplay co-penned by Guy Ritchie and John August. Of Disney's recent live-action reimaginings, this is perhaps the one which I've been most skeptical. Guy Ritchie's filmography is hit-or-miss for me, and the marketing did not inspire confidence whatsoever. Nevertheless, the original is one of my favorite Disney animated features, so I hoped to extract some enjoyment in-spite of rock-bottom expectations. Thankfully, it proved slightly better than the train-wreck I imagined.

Though there are occasional alterations, Ritchie's Aladdin largely adheres to the original's narrative and incorporates many of the iconic imagery, moments, and songs from the animation. Unfortunately, these tweaks hardly enhanced anything and often detracted rather than supplement the story. The 2019 version is 37 minutes longer, but the ancillary runtime's rarely justified since the additions either exist purely for the sake of differentiation, including extra action set pieces, or complicating simple story beats. Perhaps the most egregious issues lie in August and Ritchie's script. This live-action incarnation retains the same message as the animated version, but clumsily communicates its lessons to the audience. There are many scenes in which the film's themes are awkwardly over-explained via dialogue. For comparison, dialogue from the 1992 edition was far more subtle, communicating more meaning with far less effort. 

Changes aside, August and Ritchie combine early story beats to sloppily rush through the first act, which I suspect may confuse those unfamiliar with the animation. Without knowledge of the original, there's not enough development or explanation surrounding particular plot points for new viewers to understand the gist of these scenes. Otherwise, Ritchie's directorial trademarks are deeply woven into this magic carpet, to a distracting degree. One of Ritchie's stylistic tendencies is an editing technique which simultaneously speeds up/slows down objects or actors in the foreground/background. This bizarre blend of hyperkinetic motion and slo-mo was especially noticeable during the parkour chases and choreographed numbers on top of looking incredibly unnatural. On behalf of this stylistic choice and some painfully wooden acting I'll address later, there's an awkward energy which is pervasive in the remake. 

Regarding the musical numbers, "Friend Like Me" was by far the most impressive. However, it still suffered from the inconsistent visual effects present throughout the feature. The other songs each suffer from different issues including obvious auto-tuning, awkward placement (the reprise of the new song "Speechless"), and flimsy execution. Most notably, "Prince Ali" is a very high-energy song, and while there's a colorful presentation of costumes, sets, and effects, the choreography and staging felt very restrained and uninspired. And flat cinematography certainly didn't help matters.

So what is Aladdin's most pressing problem? Well, it's actually Aladdin... Mena Massoud is merely miscast as he fails to exude the character's charm or much personality at all. His performance is very wooden, and it sounded as though he was heavily auto-tuned, so the lead of this musical can't even sing... I think I know why he may have been selected though. His inherent awkwardness came in handy when Aladdin's unsuccessfully charming Jasmine and it appeared as though he was physically inclined to perform much of the parkour stunt-work himself. Meanwhile, there's the lingering question of whether Will Smith could step into Robin Williams' shoes as Genie. The role requires a larger-than-life personality, and thankfully, Smith proved up to the task. It's unrealistic to expect him to match Robin Williams' iconic portrayal of the classic character, but he makes the role his own and lends a lot of personality to the film.

However, the runaway star was Naomi Scott as Jasmine. Scott wonderfully realizes Jasmine's fierce independence and empathetic qualities, serving as an ideal live-action iteration of the character. Scott's singing ability is also on a whole other level than her co-stars, to the point where it sounded like she was slightly auto-tuned in "A Whole New World" so Massoud's lacking talent wouldn't be as noticeable. It speaks volumes that the crew went to those lengths. 

Unfortunately, the rich villainous role of Jafar becomes a one-note antagonist in the hands of Marwan Kenzari. Like Massoud, Marwan Kenzari is miscast and offers a dull portrayal of a robust character, and the film really suffers for it... Elsewhere, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen, Numan Acar, and Alan Tudyk are suitable inclusions as Sultan, Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia, suitor Prince Anders, palace guard Hakim, and the squawking parrot Iago. 

The 1992 animated incarnation transported audiences to a whole new world full of magic and wonder, but Guy Ritchie's Aladdin discards the heart, soul, and subtlety from that treasured magic carpet ride. In their place, audiences will discover an overabundance of sketchy CGI, gaudy scenery, and heavy-handed storytelling. If you've desperately hoped for a wondrous retelling of this animated classic, you'll ascertain Disney's magic lamp couldn't grant that wish. 

Film Assessment: C-

'Bright' Review

Bright illuminates a fictional reality where fantasy creatures and humans coexist. In Bright, orcs are looked down upon while humans, centaurs, and elves are widely accepted by society. Bright follows Daryl Ward, a human LAPD officer who recently recovered from an orc attack, who now must work alongside his orc partner Nick Jakoby to prevent a magical wand from getting into the wrong hands. Otherwise, an ancient evil will be unleashed and end the world.

Bright is directed by David Ayer, written by Max Landis, and represents Netflix's first foray into big budget blockbusters. The streaming service-turned-studio pumped a whopping $90 M budget into the fantasy-crime epic and has already announced plans for a sequel, but Bright wasn't well-received by critics, with some calling it one of the worst films of 2017. However, Bright was met with a much warmer reception by the streaming service's dedicated binge-watchers. Average audience members turned out in droves to watch Bright once it was released since they could simply stream from home, as it was reported that 11 M people watched it in the first three days. In addition, the film currently holds a favorable 87% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and many people I've spoken to have had good things to say.

While I didn't allow those factors to influence my opinion, I wasn't overly optimistic on Bright due to the talent involved. Many members of the cast and crew carried over from director David Ayer's last film, Suicide Squad, and my opinion has on that film REALLY soured since I first saw it. I was willing to give Ayer another chance though, because I really liked Fury and it seems like Warner Bros really skewered his vision of Suicide Squad in post-production. With that being said, I'm not overly fond of the film's screenwriter Max Landis either. Landis often takes to Twitter to nitpick nearly every blockbuster, and I find many of his comments to be absolutely absurd (namely his "Rey is a Mary Sue" argument, but you can visit my Is Rey A Mary Sue? article for more on that topic specifically). At the risk of sounding biased, I was prepared for the possibilities that Bright might be good, great, mediocre, or even awful. However, Bright fell into the category of "laughably terrible." Landis often acts like he knows best, so frankly, I find it ironic and a bit funny when he fails so spectacularly... To add insult to injury, Landis boasted that Bright would be his Star Wars. 

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Bright was how Ayer and Landis squandered a promising premise with such lackluster execution. The fictional world these characters are living in could have been incredibly interesting, but everything is scattershot because Landis aimed to accomplish an immense agenda. It's apparent that Landis had a lot of ideas on his plate while writing this movie, but one can only feasibly tell so much of a story in under two hours. Landis clearly wanted to flesh out a fascinating fictional reality where humans lived alongside orcs, elves, fairies, and centaurs. He takes time to contemplate the social structure of this world and how that could differ from our reality, but in execution, not that much is changed. The dichotomy between their world and ours should be drastic, but it really isn't that different aside from all the fictional creatures roaming around. Maybe this was for budgetary reasons, but this alternate reality looks and feels just like real life Los Angeles, albeit during some sort of comic convention. 

Landis also attempts to interweave a subtle and smart allegory for rough race relations, but his efforts are horribly ham-fisted when all is said-and-done. I don't take issue with the idea of incorporating allegorical undertones, but this should never overtake the characters or story. Oddly enough, Zootopia (of all things) has equivalent ambitions, but Zootopia managed to actually accomplish its goal while telling a worthwhile story. Bright can't lay claim to either feat because the dialogue is cringeworthy, characters are wildly inconsistent, and the events are incomprehensible. Bright doesn't take the time to carefully setup certain events or actions, so expositional dialogue is oftentimes provided after the fact. By that point, you honestly won't care why something happened, but Landis feels an obligation to try and explain anyways. Even with an over reliance on exposition, ample unanswered questions and trivial sequences remain.

One consistency of Bright was that it implored me to ask myself time-and-time again "What am I even watching?..." The characters say one thing, but their actions suggest otherwise, and then most of what transpired didn't make a lick of sense. You'd think that the buddy cop dynamic might be a redeeming aspect, but the constant bickering between the characters was not an interesting interplay whatsoever. I also hoped the technical execution might make matters slightly more enjoyable, but even that wasn't enough. Some action sequences were kind of cool I guess, the makeup effects were proficient but ugly, and the cinematography from Roman Vasyanov was competent. 

Leading Bright, Will Smith adds another piece of hot garbage to his resume. Recently, it's seemed as though Smith has been cashing in his success as an actor for some quick paychecks, and Bright is no exception. Smith's natural knack for charm shines through of course, but the man doesn't seem to be trying too much these days. 

Joel Edgerton surprisingly manages to act his way through the orc prosthetic, so I applaud him for that, but his character was immensely egregious at times. As I touched on earlier, the chemistry between Smith and Edgerton wasn't quite there so I genuinely didn't care about either of them. Other members of the ensemble include Noomi Rapace, Edgar Ramírez, Ike Barinholtz, Jay Hernandez, and Lucy Fry, but their respective roles are hardly worth mentioning because of their characters' insignificance and lacking screen-time.

If Bright is indicative of what we should expect from Netflix's upcoming onslaught of original content, then we're looking towards a dark and gloomy future of substandard streaming material. I suppose the end of net-neutrality won't be so bad after all if it means we'll only be missing out on pathetic projects such as Bright. 

Film Assessment: D

'Collateral Beauty' Review

In Collateral Beauty successful advertising executive Howard suffers the devastating loss of his six year old daughter and Howard becomes out of touch with reality as he begins writing letters to Death, Time, and Love. Collateral Beauty's trailers lead you to believe that Howard is then visited by the physical embodiments of Death, Time, and Love but what actually takes place is quite different. I'm not sure if this will be considered a spoiler or not since this is revealed within twenty minutes and the setup of the film.

**Beginning of "spoilers"** 

If you're still reading then I assume you've either seen the movie already or simply don't care so without further ado, Howard's friends and co-workers decide they need to take action to snap Howard back to reality because they are at risk of losing their jobs and Howard is broken over the loss of his daughter. They then hire a private investigator who discovers a few of Howard's letters to Death, Time, and Love and the three friends hire three actors to pretend to be the physical manifestations of Death, Time, and Love so they can film him talking to them, digitally remove the actors, and show it to the executive board in hopes of getting Howard booted from his position for being mentally incapacitated. Yes, the plot of the movie is that stupid and these "friends" are total jerks but believe or not that's not even the actual plot twist of the movie. 

**End of "spoilers"**

I won't spoil the twist but it makes literally no sense and contradicts earlier events of the film. I went into Collateral Beauty expecting some sort of amalgamation of A Christmas Carol and Inside Out where a man is guided by physical representations of Death, Time, and Love but instead got something completely different and it was for the worse with this film's biggest problem being its structure and the script written by Allan Loeb.

Instead of being centered around a grieving Will Smith, the film spreads its focus among the entire ensemble attempting to give each character a substantial character arc when the supporting characters didn't really need one. Loeb also leaves out anything regarding Howard's daughter Olivia to avoid ruining a twist that didn't really HAVE to be the film's big twist and the result is that it's hard to truly sympathize with Howard's situation.

While there are well intentioned ideas and messages included in Collateral Beauty, the screenplay's just a mess from beginning to end. Collateral Beauty has gotten some pitiful reviews and I've seen some say it's one of the worst films of 2016 but I didn't think it was quite that bad. The film's well-shot and looks nice throughout thanks to Maryse Alberti and even though director David Frankel allowed this mess to happen, he does manage to draw out some sufficient performances from the all-star ensemble.

These accomplished actors bring forth some decent turns but don't expect awards worthy work or career best performances. Will Smith showcases a lot of emotional range but not enough time is spent around Howard to make you truly care about anything he's going through and Smith seems just out of touch as his character (take from that what you will). Edward Norton, Michael Peña, Kate Winslet are Howard's friends and co-workers Whit, Claire, and Simon, Naomie Harris plays grief support group leader Madeleine, and Keira Knightley, Jacob Latimore, and Helen Mirren bring forth the manifestations of Love, Time, and Death respectively. 

All these accomplished actors fail to make their characters resonate, the performances aren't bad but everything's played at surface level and that's not really what should be drawn from actors of this caliber. Everything put into Collateral Beauty is well-intentioned, but its idiotic story is a total waste of A-list talent that make it feel like a sappy Lifetime movie.

Film Assessment: D

Alternate Cut Review: 'Suicide Squad- Extended Cut'

Nominated For: Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Won: Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Suicide Squad was just as controversial as, if not more divisive than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Many fans were stoked because of the killer marketing material and incredibly-cut trailers but let down that a lot of the coolest moments from the trailers didn't show up in the finished film. Then it was reported that supposedly Warner Bros. hijacked the production in post-production giving creative control to the trailer company that cut the Suicide Squad trailers rather than David Ayer in response to the split reaction to BvS. 

Fans then hoped to hear about a director's cut similar to the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice- Ultimate Edition or at least a version with more footage and fans had their prayers answered in October when the Suicide Squad- Extended Cut was announced for a release in November on Digital and on Blu-Ray in December. I think I was a little too forgiving of Suicide Squad's shortcomings when I first saw and reviewed it so I've gone back and changed my initial score a little and I've just recently made time to watch the Extended Cut that sticks an additional fourteen minutes on the runtime so here are my thoughts on the Extended Cut and if the extra footage makes any difference whatsoever.

Theatrical Cut Review- Suicide Squad Review

"Extended Edition" Review- If you're looking for Suicide Squad's Extended Cut to fill in plot-holes and repair some of the theatrical cut's flaws ala the BvS-Ultimate Edition, then you will likely be very disappointed with it. This alternative version of the film plays out almost exactly like the theatrical version, just with the deleted scenes stitched back in. That's not to say it didn't slightly improve the film because I did find some refinements in terms of the characters. Most of the footage added back into the film is interactions amongst the squad and some more character drama. Both go a long way to further fleshing the characters out beyond what we saw in theaters last August and make the squad feel like a more tightly knit group as you see more of their bonding over the course of their journey. I also think I saw some additional footage for the film's main action set pieces and the additional footage definitely makes these scenes feel more substantial but they're no more memorable. 

If you're interested in the Extended Edition for more footage of Jared Leto's Joker, you'll find probably about a minute or two more but not much and it will do little to change your mind on his performance. I still feel he nails the insanity of the character but also think Jared Leto was just a little too weird with certain mannerisms as he would occasionally snort like some kind of hog and that's just not very Joker-like in my mind. 

The enchantress still looks stupid dancing around and none of the effects look all that different. I personally didn't really like the CGI in this, and I say that because I'm not sure if I included that in my theatrical cut review or not. 

The other performances and cast still shine as a beacon of hope nailing their respective characters (If you really want more detail on that just head over to my theatrical review linked above). One noticeable difference I really liked about Harley Quinn in particular was that there's some dialogue of her inner psychiatrist diagnosing some of her squad members as I felt that was very true to the character and something that almost flew out the window in the initial cut, a minor addition but a welcome one. 

Any character you felt was underserved in the theatrical cut gets some additional footage with the exception of Slipknot and Batman & Flash's cameos but don't expect any significant alterations. 

Overall, the extra footage goes a little ways towards improving the film for me personally. I can say that I liked the additional character-driven scenes and seeing more interactions amongst the squad that make their chemistry feel more authentic later on down the line but didn't find it to significantly change my opinion on anything. If you liked the theatrical cut you'll find more to love here, if you disliked it this won't be enough to change your mind.

Film Assessment: C+

'Suicide Squad' Review

Suicide Squad seemed like the dream DC film from the day it was announced. With David Ayer behind the camera and an all star cast in front what could possibly go wrong? Suicide Squad's marketing campaign has been nothing short of stellar, I can't believe that the same studio marketed Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. On Tuesday when the embargo for 'Suicide Squad' dropped and I saw a majority of reviews were negative I became concerned. This has become a trend with DC releases since Man Of Steel and generally I've come to agree that those films had problems. I found Man of Steel to be ok, while Batman v Superman was enjoyable but severely disappointing as a result of poor technical execution and odd creative decisions. Both of those previous entries into the DCEU were helmed by Zack Snyder so I had hoped he was what was holding the DCEU from reaching it's full potential, that is till I saw the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice- Ultimate Edition, the director's cut, that made remarkable improvements to the lacking theatrical cut. 

That along with several reports of studio interference on Suicide Squad made me increasingly more anxious that the reason the DCEU hasn't burst the bubble is that Warner Bros. is holding it back. Well, I'm glad to report that I no longer have those worries after viewing Suicide Squad at an early screening last evening as this is the one time I don't feel the negativity is justified. Also, there will be spoilers for Batman v Superman and on that note the film itself spoils a major plot point from Batman v Superman since it takes place afterwards in the DCEU timeline. With that out of the way, it's probably time I started actually reviewing Suicide Squad. 

'Suicide Squad' Review

Nominated For: Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Won: Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Suicide Squad picks up with a shady intelligence organization head Amanda Waller assembling a team of criminals that she believes are capable of defending humanity from the next big meta-human threat now that Superman's in the grave. The catch, these bad guys are the worst of the worst and Waller has some contingencies in place in case they don't want to play nice (Those familiar with the squad will know exactly what I'm referring to). After a mysterious threat arises, Waller brings together Task Force X (the covert name for the squad) and send them to handle the situation. That's the basic premise of Suicide Squad and it's unique in the sense that there are no heroes around, our protagonists are bad guys and the antagonists are even worse. 

While Marvel has a scarce library of compelling villains to pull from, DC has the motherland with plenty of great options and so it seems only right that they would bring them all together for a team movie like this to showcase them off and if Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice brought us our first glimpses of the Justice League it's only right that Suicide Squad shows off some of their baddies. 

As I stated in the prologue, Suicide Squad has had some terrific marketing material that was very promising so once the negative reviews poured in I started to feel a little concerned but remained determined I would keep an open mind while watching it and not let the venomous critiques alter my opinion. With that being said, I loved Suicide Squad despite what I've read. While I understand the critics' complaints, I don't feel they are as bad as they're being made out to be. I had too much of a good time thanks to the electric chemistry from the remarkable cast and Ayer's pizazz. 

Coming straight off Fury, I was stoked to hear David Ayer would be in charge. Ayer wrote the screenplay in addition to directing the picture and, while I have a few gripes I'll discuss in a moment, he did incredibly well in both departments. Ayer pulls off an interesting mix of grounded and gritty while instilling a sense of levity making for a unique tone in the DCEU's bleak library. FINALLY, someone in the DCEU can tell a joke from time to time.  

I've seen many complaints about the editing but I didn't have a problem with it since it's much better than the atrocity that was Batman v Superman's cobbled together theatrical cut. In other technical areas, the visual effects were well done with a flashy mix of grit and bright aesthetics for roughed up look throughout. The costuming department also had a bit of fun giving each character their unique charm and flavor through their choice of attire, while the makeup and prosthetics used to make Killer Croc were just darn incredible. The action on display is fun to watch with terrific fight choreography but none of the sequences were particularly memorable in comparison to other comic book movies. 

My qualms with the film were essentially that some elements were typical generic plot devices and story points we see in almost every comic book movie these days. I kid you not, the antagonist feels so similar to X-Men: Apocalypse's titular big bad in that their motivations are murky, their plan seems contrived, and they're just weird. Since Suicide Squad's ad campaign didn't disclose the antagonist I will refrain from lifting the veil from your eyes and when discussing performances will try to be generic so that it's difficult to determine just who is opposing the squad. It wasn't the least bit surprising to me but I'd like to keep up the ambiance if possible. Also there's quite a few cliché moments that were predictable and not as emotionally impactful as they were probably intended to be. One other issue was that the soundtrack didn't always vibe with what was going on during the film and I actually would have preferred an actual score throughout with maybe some of the greatest pop songs interspersed less often more akin to Guardians of the Galaxy, a clear inspiration for the project. Steven Price's score is great when utilized but the classic pop hits are turned up too loud and too often that it was a slight annoyance. 

What really made the film click was it's illustrious ensemble and their tortured team dynamic. Margot Robbie's beautifully twisted Harley Quinn and Will Smith's expert marksman Deadshot take the spotlight as the characters with the most focus of the group and they steal plenty of scenes.  Robbie makes for a terrific Harley Quinn though as she borrows from the character's longstanding history to incorporate many of her infamous mannerisms while managing to make the role her own. Harley's arc is primarily tied in with Leto's Joker, don't worry I'll get to him soon enough, and the two work wonders together on screen thanks to some phenomenal chemistry. 

Smith gives the most likable performance he's provided in some time now with charisma aplenty and his Floyd Lawton has a nice emotional touchstone arc involving his daughter that brings out his heart of gold despite his willingness to kill basically anyone. Jay Hernandez has a breakout role as Diablo, a hothead meta-human with the most relatable backstory and one of the more emotional arcs out of the squad. Jai Courtney is finally given substantial role in Aussie Captain Boomerang that he excels in, serving as effective comedic relief throughout the film. 

Cara Delevingne plays June Moon who's possessed by a strange witch named Enchantress. Delevingne's movements and mannerisms are very strange as the character crawls about scantily clothed and made for the weirdest of the performances on display. As for other squad members, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's a creepy reptilian Killer Croc, Karen Fukuhara plays samurai Katana, and Adam Beach is the slick Slipknot. The three have the least material and screen time but each member of the squad gets at least a few standout moments to shine. 

Now I bet you want to know what I thought of Jared Leto's Joker. Well he doesn't have a lot of screen time but when onscreen he invokes what a modern psychotic Clown Prince of Crime would be like with swagger, mental instability, and a sense of purpose. With that being said, I didn't see enough of his Joker to warrant a proper comparison to previous incarnations, but while he's certainly no Heath Ledger he was fine as the character and I'd love to see more of his unique take and hopefully  opposite Ben Affleck's Batman someday. 

Viola Davis makes Amanda Waller a woman who means business and any sane individual would definitely want to mess with and she plays it with remarkable conviction. Sure some of her action's don't make sense but they make her all the more fearsome. Her stooge Rick Flagg is played by Joel Kinnaman who gives him enough southern militaristic twang to be somewhat relevant but was probably the character I cared the least about. He's the one leading the squad in their mission and responsible for dishing out punishment if they deviate from the mission's parameters. 

Overall, they made for an incredible well rounded cast that dish out one-liners with charisma, gusto, and heart. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for easter eggs, cameos, and there is in fact a mid-credits scene. While Suicide Squad has it's flaws, it's harmless fun and what joyous entertainment it is! I found it more difficult to dig out flaws than strengths as the pros are abundant thanks to the terrific performances and fun tone. I highly recommend Suicide Squad and can guarantee you'll have a great time, Suicide Squad is a blast and don't let Rotten Tomatoes tell you otherwise.

Film Assessment: B C+ (Revised)