On those summer days when it’s too hot to be outside, going to the movie theater is a great way to have fun and beat the heat. This summer’s hit blockbuster, Suicide Squad, was not only the number one movie in America, but the number one movie in the WORLD. Comic books have made a comeback within the past few years so naturally, people are excited to see them come to life, including myself. I have been a fan of Harley Quinn since her first appearance on Batman: The Animated Series and was ecstatic to hear that she had a starring role in a film. A week after it was released, I gathered some friends and we went to see it (I figured with an all-star cast including Academy-Award winner Jared Leto and The Wolf of Wall Street’s Margot Robbie, you can’t go wrong) All in all, this was definitely the most anticipated movie of the year, but did it live up to the hype? In my opinion, the answer is almost.
In a surprising twist, your favorite DC villains are coming together to do some good as the Suicide Squad. The movie started out calm and serene while the characters’ backgrounds were explained, and it stayed this way for a while. Following this, it quickly switched into intense action, which was the part I found to be most interesting. Throughout the movie, the imagery was beautiful and the special effects were phenomenal. Not to mention the acting was amazing, but what else would you expect from this cast? However, the plot, which is one of the crucial parts of any movie, left a lot to be desired. Since I did wait a while after it was released into theaters, I read reviews from people who have already seen it, and most of them have the same opinions as I do: great acting, bad storyline. I found it hard to understand what was happening and why it was happening throughout most of the film. The story jumped from one scene to something totally different, leaving the audience confused. In the beginning scene, Viola Davis’s character talks about getting the Gotham villains together to fight terrorists. If they had stuck with this story, it would have been great, because it gives the film a more realistic plot (or as realistic as a movie with a crocodile man in it can get). Instead, the story shifted and the main characters were now battling ugly little aliens created by Enchantress. I thought this was a bit cliché and childish for a movie targeting teenagers and young adults.
Overall, I’d give Suicide Squad an 8/10 and would still recommend it. The characters alone made this movie a great experience for me. Each actor was able to give his or her character new life with their own special twist. The only thing I would have changed is the situation in which these characters were put into. Even though this was obviously a fictitious film, the aliens took away from the movie instead of adding to it. Other than that, if you’re looking for a good time at the movies, Suicide Squad is still playing in select theaters throughout the U.S.