Suicide Squad

— Given all the unfavorable reviews, I almost didn’t bother with this but really, what were people expecting? With enough new characters to populate a Russian novel, the first third of “Suicide Squad” was destined to be introductions and background information, not characters advancing much of a plot. Even worse, during the introductions the characters are really only vaguely likable and that may be pushing it. Luckily, there is something interesting about the set-up and, even if it feels like filmed Cliff’s Notes, they're very well done vignettes. I really wasn't bored and I honestly did want to see what they did with this mess of non-humanity. Writer/director David Ayer keeps the basic story simple enough that we can focus on all these characters instead of offering up a complicated plot and that’s a good thing because the characters are key as they become their own little family, demonstrate a modicum of decency, and save the world as only Marvel-ians should. Viola Davis is spectacularly frightening as Amanda Waller and the Harley Quinn character has a real, but unsettling charm, and I want to see more of Jared Leto’s Joker. It doesn’t have the charm of “Guardians of the Galaxy” nor the struggle between aggressive and sometimes morbid humor and shock of “Deadpool”, both of which I liked more, but it still did what I’m sure it set out to do—introduce these misfits, maintain a PG-13 rating even if it would have better as an R-rated film, and entice the audience into coming to the next installment. I’m glad I went and I’ll go to the next one.

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[2016. 123 min. Written and directed by David Ayer. Starring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Viola Davis, Jay Hernandez, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, and Karen Fukuhara.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/suicide-squad-2016