Viola Davis channelled her eight-year-old self for her tough girl role in Suicide Squad – because that was the last time she was mean and nasty.
Advertisement
Full disclosure: I’m with the larger consensus when it comes to Suicide Squad in thinking that it is, without a doubt, better than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but is still rife with problems. Harley Quinn’s and Deadshot’s backstories and motives for joining the squad are some of the film’s few redeeming qualities, and Robbie and Smith probably might have made their characters better than they probably were written. It was not. In reality, it was a point A to B movie with plenty of flashbacks to add backstory and humanize the team of anti-heroes. While trying to make an explosive finale fit for a superhero movie, it inevitably misses the mark as the film checks off every cliche on the list. Another thing that seemed a little contrived was the soundtrack, picking a mismatch of R&B and urban tracks to introduce the members of Suicide Squad.
Los Angeles Times reported that according to midweek projections who have tracked the survey of its premiere week, “Suicide Squad” is already expected to earn a gross of $140 million by Sunday, in the United States and Canada alone. All three Christian Bale Batman movies were darker and explored less pleasant aspects of humanity; as did Ang Lee’s Hulk movie. This is mostly due to the cast and their chemistry together, mainly from Will Smith as Deadshot and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.
August 5 only, DC Comics is offering 60 percent off Harley Quinn’s Greatest Hits. The R-rated film, holding at No. 3, is expected to take in about $13.5 million for a domestic total of $50 million-plus.
The only other positive to come from “Suicide Squad” was Jared Leto’s interpretation of the Joker. This is partly because the character is underutilized. For another comparison, Guardians’ Friday opening was $37.8 million, so we see Suicide Squad is doing exceptionally well.
The real villains of the piece are the film’s authority figures – official and unofficial.
A lot of the score is rather traditional orchestral movie music that sets itself apart from the radio-friendly tunes of the rest of the movie.
It feels good to be bad…
Advertisement
Suicide Squad is lighting the box office on fire as evidenced by an estimated record-breaking opening weekend take of $147 million. There’s no one truly charismatic character and the story is so-so.
