(SPOILER WARNING!!! This article does contain spoilers, if you haven’t seen the movie, just see the first paragraph to be informed without spoilers!!!)

(Editor’s Note: To all my fellow comic book and fanboy nerds and geeks: Check out this podcast (I was a guest on an episode), called Certain Point of View. I enjoy listening to these guys banter everything in the world of fanboys and nerds. Go to certainpov.com, and make sure to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast. Who knows, you may win a prize if you do!!!)

Suicide Squad is uneven in every aspect from beginning to end, however, the action and chemistry did make this movie fun to watch at the very least!!!

Rating: 3.5 Stars

After all the flaws that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had, you can only hope that it goes up from there. (Emphasis on the hope.) The DC film universe needed something to restore faith in the franchise. The hype has begun and ended with trailers. I thought Suicide Squad will be a step in the right direction. Without Zack Snyder’s dark tone, I thought David Ayer would bring something fresh to the table. Suicide Squad brings a unique twist in the comic book film era where a bunch of bad guys are the protagonists, let alone that it looks lighter and funny. They also have a big cast of some of the famous villains in the DC universe. What is not to like? I had faith, and I still have faith in the DC cinematic universe.

What I Like: I thought the cast had great chemistry. They worked well of each other, and delivered some funny jokes and cool action scenes. The action for the most part made it fun to watch and gave it the popcorn flick kind of feel to it. Some of the characters were developed very well. First that comes to mind is Will Smith playing Deadshot. I liked how he is a coldblooded but greedy assassin, but also has a heart when it comes to his relationship with his daughter. They gave a third tier comic character more depth. In the end, he knew that he had to do what’s right even though he is known as a bad guy to the rest of the world. I thought this role was going to be wasted, but Will Smith was one of the bright spots in this film. I also really enjoyed Margot Robbie playing Harley Quinn. She was funny, quirky, sexy, and yet she extremely lethal. I thought Robbie really nailed the role of the famed Harley Quinn. Her only real motive to get back with her boyfriend, The Joker played by Jared Leto, gave her that I don’t care attitude and made her a constant wildcard. One person I really enjoyed as well is Jay Hernandez playing El Diablo, him and Deadshot showed the most vulnerability, and I like how tragic his back story is. Yet he has a great power, but wants to avoid the temptation to use it. His attitude gave this team a lot more depth and variety. Lastly, I really enjoyed Viola Davis playing Amanda Waller. She really shows her gangster side, and why she will not be messed with no matter who tries to go against her. Davis nails her role as well, and really makes her character unlikable as it really should be. It shows that not all good guys are that good. The one scene that gave a lot of emotion was the bar scene where all the characters really showed their true colors, and that even though they are villains, they are normal people as well. Some great dialogue and back stories really made this scene very powerful. I also enjoyed the cameos of Batman, played by Ben Affleck and The Flash, played by Ezra Miller, that shows the DC cinematic universe progressing.

The So So: with all the good there are some bad which made this film uneven, and almost fall into mediocrity. The story was uneven, yes you get a team of bad guys to fight and save the world, but behind some characters lack of true motivation it didn’t really give a very valid point into why they did what they did. Like why Deadshot didn’t kill Harley Quinn when he had the chance and guaranteed freedom. Or why Captain Boomerang, played by Jai Courtney, came back after he left with no strings attached. Some of the characters were slightly developed. Like Captain Boomerang, I enjoyed his comic relief with his quirkiness, but never understood his real motivation (and his obsession with that pink stuffed unicorn). Also Katana, played by Karen Fukuhara, looked like she was forced into the mix. As a good guy, her back story was brief, but did look cool swinging that katana around. Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag was enjoyable to watch as the enforcer for the Suicide Squad to keep them in line. However, that relationship with The Enchantress, played by Cara Delevingne, really made it awkward and weird. It also made the story even more uneven. Last, Leto’s Joker was introduced, and I really can’t give a strong opinion on one of my all-time favorite villains. Leto did have some big shoes to fill after the masterpiece performance from Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, but I knew he would be someone different in that iconic role. I got used to his laugh, and Leto did focus on his psychotic side, but I needed more of him. It did seem that he was in this story for fanboy entertainment purposes, but he wasn’t in it enough to see what this character is really all about. One thing that I liked for sure is that he is a shot caller where people respect him and have them do his dirty work. He also contributed to make Harley Quinn psychotic as well. That relationship is strange but perfect. It paid homage to the comics where they posed just like various comic book panels and covers. For me to make a solid opinion on him has to wait, but from what I saw, I see some potential.

What I Didn’t Like: Though Enchantress looked cool and creepy when introduced, her character took a free fall into cliché villains. She just wants to take over the world but needed something in order to achieve it. The last action scene was weak, and she really wasn’t that strong for these Suicide Squad people to beat her in convincing fashion. I mean, she has all this magic power, but decided to fight with katanas instead, and bombs destroyed her. The fact that her human side survived and reunited with her lover Rick Flagg was eye rolling. Kind of weak and lame with her character overall. Also, the least developed character in this film was Killer Croc, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. He looked ugly in that character, and didn’t show any motivation in what he did. He was just there looking savage and ugly. Kind of a wasted role, but worst was the quick death of Slipknot played by Adam Beach. His death came in two minutes after he was introduced. I didn’t like the fact that the movie made you read about the characters, but they edited so quick that you couldn’t finish it.

Overall: This film is a step better than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (which I probably gave the movie too much credit than it deserved). It gives me hope that the DC Cinematic Universe can get it together. Now I hope Wonder Woman can steer this ship into the right direction. That’s what I hope, but still a long way to contend with the Marvel Cinematic Universe!!!

Rating: 3.5 Stars