Film Review | Suicide Squad.

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After months and months of waiting and a crazy amount of hype I finally got to see Suicide Squad. Considering how excited I was about seeing it and the absolute slating it got in the reviews, I thought I would share my opinion on the film and let you know if it was really, really bad or if it kicked ass.

Warning! This post will contain spoilers, so if you've not seen the film yet and don't want it ruined, Look away now!

I actually really loved all the character portrayals, which is surprising considering how big a cast this film has. But of course there are some performances who for me completely stole the show.

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The one, the only, the infamous Harley Quinn (i'm sorry I couldn't resist.) I've been waiting for a film featuring Harley Quinn for years, she is one of my most favourite comic book characters, so I was over the moon that she has finally appeared on the big screen. Portrayed by the fabulous Margot Robbie I was desperate for this rendition to be a success, and in my opinion it is. This version of Harley is the perfect mixture of psychotic, vulnerable and completely bad ass. I know there was a lot of criticism regarding her revealing costume, I personally love it. For me its quirky, cute but is also bad ass, I can completely picture the character picking that for herself. Don't get me wrong I'd have loved to see her rock the classic jester outfit, which we were teased with, but this modern version suited both the character and the film perfectly.

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Another stand out performance for me was Harley's Puddin' himself Mr J aka the Joker. Arguably DC's most famous bad guy, played this time by 30 seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto. This performance came under huge criticism before the film had even been released, in fact once the casting had been announced. Now I can see why people were concerned about how the character was going to be portrayed considering the powerful performance by the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Having watched Suicide Squad I think Jared Leto has taken the Joker so far away from other representations that its impossible and actually really unfair to compare the them.

 I loved this performance so much, Jared Leto is such a talented method actor that I couldn't see even the tiniest ounce of him in this, its all joker. I loved the look, its so creepy but also kind of hot (I can't be the only one who thinks this?) My only criticism of the Joker is that he is not in it enough, considering that a huge amount of the promotion and marketing featured the Joker he's hardly in it. I was gutted to find out that a lot of the characters scenes were cut and I pray we get to see them somewhere. I understand why he doesn't feature too heavily considering he doesn't massively fit into the story. I just pray this isn't the last we see of him.

I want to talk about the relationship between Harley & the Joker in the film. Margot Robbie and Jared Leto quite clearly have palbable chemistry and fed off each other wonderfully to demonstrate such a passionate, toxic relationship. Now before I get head ripped off for saying that I'd like to clarify that I don't condone or romanticize abusive relationships. I think its important to remember that these are fictional characters and are meant to be so far away from reality. I love the artistry of this toxic relationship which is almost a game of cat and mouse, these performances show the obsessive element of their relationship, but also demonstrate elements of genuine care, concern and love for one another which I think gives the characters extra dimension. I really enjoyed that the roles were kind of reversed in which The Joker is the character in the sideline shown as Harley's boyfriend rather than the other way round. 

I would love a stand alone film featuring these two as I think there is so much more to explore with them. I want to see more backstory. I loved David Ayer's interpretation of the King & Queen of Gotham.

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I think the soundtrack needs a quick mention, as one of my favourite movie soundtracks ever. I've been listening to the album non stop. I love it. My personal favourite songs are: Sucker for Pain, Heathens & You don't own me. If you've not listened to the album I would 100% recommend it.

There were some things about the film that I didn't like of course. I found at points the pacing was a bit slow and it took a while to get into the flow of things. There were moments that weren't placed quite right so therefore didn't completely make sense. In my opinion the film was nowhere near dark enough. Jared Leto mentioned in an interview that the film should have been rated R (in America) and I completely agree. There was so much opportunity to make it gritty and dark, which considering it focuses on the bad guys I think it should have been. My main criticism of Suicide Squad was the choice of 'villain.'  I hated that they made Cara Delevigne's Enchantress into the big bad, it just really didn't work for me. 

My face while watching this film.
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Obviously this film was never going to be perfect and there were some serious flaws, but I think the negative reviews and overwhelming criticism has been harsh. I really enjoyed the film, it was fun and enjoyable and for me stayed close to the comic book representation. I hope the reviews haven't destroyed the chances of revisiting this bad guy gang or for future stand alone character films (cough Harley Quinn/Joker cough) because I think there is so much more to see.

Have you seen Suicide Squad?

What were your thoughts?

Who is your favourite DC character?

Speak Soon

Charlotte xx

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