Bad Boys for Life (2020) review

In 1995, Michael Bay made his directorial debut with the buddy cop comedy Bad Boys, which starred Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the lead roles of Miami Police Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. Bolstered by the phenomenal camaraderie of its two leads, the film was a solid hit at the box-office and effectively launched Bay’s directorial career while also jumpstarting the film careers of both Smith and Lawrence, who were known more for their work on TV at the time. Eight years later, the three returned for a sequel, Bad Boys II. At this point, Bay’s definitively chaotic directorial style was now in full effect, which means that the film became the very definition of a ‘Michael Bay film’ that did about as well as you’d expect with critics. In other words, they hated it. However, just like its predecessor, Bad Boys II was a big hit with audiences to the point where even some of Bay’s biggest critics will go on record arguing that it’s one of his best films. Despite this, however, plans for a potential third Bad Boys film languished in development hell for several years, partially due to Bay and Smith demanding some of the highest salaries in the business. Thus, for the longest time, the closest bit of continuation that the franchise ever got was a spin-off TV series, L.A.’s Finest, that centered on the character Syd Burnett, played by Gabrielle Union, who made her series debut in Bad Boys II. But in 2019, production finally began on Bad Boys for Life… albeit without any direct involvement from Michael Bay. Instead, directorial duties go to the Belgian duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who are currently slated to relaunch another classic action franchise, Beverly Hills Cop. Until then, this duo has given audiences a chance to reunite with Mike and Marcus in a solidly entertaining follow-up that might just be the franchise’s best installment yet.

For the past 25 years, police detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) have continued to do what they do best (namely, causing a whole lot of mayhem and shooting a bunch of bad guys) in their efforts to protect the city of Miami. But while Mike intends to keep on “running down criminals until he’s 100”, Marcus admits that he’s recently been considering retirement, especially in the wake of him becoming a grandfather. And as fate would have it, Mike ends up getting shot in a drive-by by Armando Armas (Jacob Scipio), an assassin who operates under the orders of his mother Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo), a cartel leader who seeks revenge against Mike and the other prominent figures who orchestrated her arrest and the death of her husband. But while Mike manages to survive this near-fatal encounter, this is ultimately enough to convince Marcus to finally retire, effectively leaving Mike without a partner. Undeterred by this development, Mike promptly begins his one-man crusade to hunt down Armando, which then leads to Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) re-assigning him to Advanced Miami Metro Operations (AMMO), a newly formed tech unit run by Mike’s old flame Rita (Paola Nunez). However, when the case starts to delve into some truly personal territory (especially once the details behind Mike’s history with Isabel are revealed), Marcus decides to return to the field to help his longtime partner get the job done “one last time”.

While Michael Bay isn’t the director this time around, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah do maintain the general visual aesthetics of Bay’s films. Granted, Bad Boys for Life doesn’t go all out when it comes to replicating what critics have often referred to as ‘Bayhem’, but as to be expected from this franchise, its action sequences are incredibly over-the-top and are almost always filmed in an overly flashy manner. And yet, even with all the familiar Bay-esque shots (e.g. that classic 360° camera spin) and explosions, this film ends up feeling more in line with the generally laidback proceedings of the original Bad Boys rather than the unabashedly chaotic madness of Bad Boys II. For one thing, Bay’s ‘eccentric’ brand of humor that often leads to some very juvenile sexual/racial jokes isn’t as prevalent in this film and I’d dare say that the humor is a lot more consistent because of it. But when it comes to the most notable difference between Bad Boys for Life and the two Bay films, it’s that the former sports a plot that has a lot more depth to it compared to its predecessors. Now, to be clear, this is still Bad Boys we’re talking about, so it’s not like the material here is Oscar-worthy or anything, but when you factor in plotlines like the connection that Mike has with Armando and Isabel or Marcus turning to religion to try and help Mike’s recovery, this is easily the most maturely-written entry in the series. It does a very nice job of addressing how much time has passed since Bad Boys II and the ever-present subject of one’s own mortality, especially in the case of the supposedly invincible Mike Lowrey.

But, of course, the best aspect of this film is the triumphant return of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Mike and Marcus. Even after nearly two decades since the release of Bad Boys II, their camaraderie is still just as tight-knit as ever and they very much carry the whole film… even if there’s about half an hour or so where they’re apart due to Marcus’ retirement. The two also benefit nicely from the more emotional angle that the story takes. The film also sees the return of some prominent series regulars including Theresa Randle as Marcus’ no-nonsense wife Theresa and Joe Pantoliano as Capt. Howard, who’s still just as stressed out as ever. Sadly, Gabrielle Union doesn’t return as Syd due to her commitment to the spin-off series, but Paola Nunez does a nice job in her place as Mike’s new love interest Rita thanks to her solid chemistry with Smith. This brings us to the biggest additions to the cast, Rita’s team at AMMO; weapons expert Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens), tech man Dom (Alexander Ludwig), and Rafe the muscle (Charles Melton). Yes, this is a rather blatant example of the ‘old school vs new school’ theme that often ends up being applied to long-running action franchises to try and spice things up, but in this instance, it’s handled okay. Hudgens, Ludwig, and Melton work well with Smith and Lawrence, and while they don’t get any major bits of character development to work with, Ludwig’s Dom does get one notable character beat that leads to a fun payoff at the end. Finally, while the Bad Boys films have never really been known for their villains, the duo of Isabel and her son Armando do fare a little better as this film’s main antagonists thanks to the big twist that reveals their history with Mike. It is worth noting, though, that this mainly applies more to Armando since Isabel ends up being one of those villains who primarily operates behind the scenes to the point where she doesn’t even share any scenes with Mike until the finale.

In the past, I’ve mentioned that I’m one of those rare critics who does like most of Michael Bay’s films. And yet, you may be surprised to find that his two Bad Boys films are, ironically, some of my lesser favorites when it comes to his filmography. Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re decently entertaining popcorn flicks, but at the same time, they’re not ones that I’d re-watch as often as The Rock or the first Transformers. With all that in mind, I find myself fully agreeing with those who have been calling Bad Boys for Life the best entry in the series. Now, with that said, I’m not going to simply attribute this to the change in directors, especially because of how easy it was to apply that same argument to Bumblebee AKA the Transformers film that Bay didn’t direct. However, while directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah do manage to pay considerable homage to Bay’s often imitated but never fully duplicated directorial style, they never go to some of the most extreme lengths that Bay went to when making Bad Boys II. And in this instance, I’d say that this is a good thing since I’ll admit that Bad Boys II is the only case where I personally feel that all that ‘Bayhem’ is a bit too much. But perhaps the most impressive thing to take from this new Bad Boys film is how it manages to craft a story that’s a lot more emotionally involved than either of its predecessors while never getting rid of any of the things that fans love about this franchise. This, of course, includes the iconic lead duo of Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett as Will Smith and Martin Lawrence continue to do what they do best even after all this time. In short, it’s easy to see why Bad Boys for Life has been such a big hit with audiences (even as a film that was released during the typically slow month of January) to the point where a fourth Bad Boys film is already in the works. Simply put, the third time’s a charm.

Rating: 4/5

Gemini Man (2019) review

For the past few decades, Ang Lee has consistently been one of the most prevalent filmmakers in the industry. After making it big in his native country of Taiwan with a pseudo-trilogy of films known as the Father Knows Best trilogy that explored the clashing of generational ideals, Lee transitioned to Hollywood and would go on to helm several critically acclaimed films. This includes, among others, the Emma Thompson-penned adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, the groundbreaking martial arts flick Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the emotionally devastating romantic drama Brokeback Mountain. However, in recent years, Lee’s films have become defined by their attempts at breaking new ground in the medium of film. This arguably all began with his 2012 outing Life of Pi, which was one of the biggest hits of that year and touted for its impressive visual effects. Four years later, Lee took on his next project, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, which became notable for being the first film shot at a frame rate of 120 frames per second, five times more than the industry standard of 24 frames per second. However, this method proved to be difficult to present in theaters, which meant that only a select few could present it in its intended format (120fps in 3D at a 4K resolution). But now Lee’s back with his newest attempt at a film shot at such an astoundingly high frame rate, Gemini Man, and while its script doesn’t exactly match the aspirations of its technical aspects, it still manages to be a decent little action flick that also serves as a fascinating experiment for its technology.    

After years of being one of the top assassins in his field, Defense Intelligence Agency operative Henry Brogan (Will Smith) decides that the time has finally come for him to retire. However, not long after leaving his old life behind, Henry learns from his old colleague Jack Willis (Douglas Hodge) that his last target wasn’t a global terrorist as he was originally led to believe. Instead, he was a scientist who was working on a secret black-ops project known as ‘Gemini’, and as a result, Henry learns that he’s become marked for death by his superiors, specifically Gemini’s director Clayton Varris (Clive Owen). This, in turn, forces him to go on the run with fellow DIA agent Dani Zakarweski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who also becomes a target due to her interactions with Henry. Eventually, Henry finds himself pursued by Gemini’s top asset and is surprised to find that this mysterious agent acts a lot like him while out in the field. Sure enough, Henry ultimately discovers that this agent, named Junior (also played by Smith), is his younger clone and has been raised by Varris to be the ultimate assassin without any of the emotional baggage that had led to his retirement. Thus, as Henry and Dani fight to stay alive against Varris’ forces, they must also try to convince Junior of the ulterior truth behind his existence.

The first thing to talk about when it comes to this film is its ambitious 120fps format since I was lucky enough to be at a theater that could present it as such, albeit at a 2K resolution instead of 4K. Sure enough, that difference in frame rate is noticeable as soon as the film begins… which also means that it’s quite distracting at first when you’re seeing images that move much faster than what you’re normally used to when watching a film. As such, I can see why some feel that this format hinders the classic cinematic feel and makes films look like soap operas in the process, especially whenever an in-camera transition like a zoom-in/zoom-out is used. At the same time, though, it does live up to its claim of producing a highly crisp image quality that, in turn, also lends itself nicely to 3-D. This is especially apparent in the film’s action sequences, which are enhanced considerably by their crystal-clear cinematography. However, this primarily applies to any action sequence set during the day since, aside from the finale, most of the nighttime action sequences are severely hindered by some incredibly hasty editing. As for the film itself, there’s admittedly not much to talk about as this is very much one of those middle-of-the-road action flicks with a decent enough premise but also minimal plot and character development. After all, it is worth noting that this film has been in the works since 1997, with the likes of Joe Carnahan and the late Tony Scott attached to direct it and stars like Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, and even Sean Connery being approached to headline it.

Ultimately, Will Smith ended up being the one to headline this film, and despite its shortcomings, he’s easily its biggest highlight thanks to his solid turn in the dual role of Henry and Junior. Of course, to have Smith properly portray the latter, the film goes the same route as several recent Marvel Studios films by de-aging him with CG and motion-capture technology, and for the most part, the visual effects for Junior are solid. It also helps that Smith manages to establish a solid distinction between the two, with Henry being the disenchanted veteran forever hardened by his experiences in the field and Junior being the wet-behind-the-ears rookie who gradually begins to experience moments of pure emotional turmoil despite being a clone. Everyone else in the cast is solid as well even if they don’t have as much to work with by comparison. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, for example, is a solid foil to Smith as female lead Dani, who thankfully isn’t just limited to a straight-forward ‘love interest/damsel in distress’ role since she does get to partake in several of the film’s action sequences. Backing the two of them up is Benedict Wong as Baron, an old ally of Henry’s; sure, the role is your standard best friend archetype, but Wong makes the most out of what he’s given. The same applies to Clive Owen as main antagonist Clayton Varris; it’s as basic of a villain role as you can get but at the same time, the character does manage to form a fascinating father-son relationship with Junior.

Gemini Man notably served as my first major experience of seeing a theatrically released film that was shot and presented at a high frame rate. As you might have guessed, I didn’t see Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk in theaters, and even if I did, odds are that it wouldn’t have been at the full 120fps format since only a few theaters in the country could present it as such. However, I still remember when Peter Jackson did something similar a few years back when he filmed the Hobbit trilogy at 48fps, double the industry standard. Plus, unlike Billy Lynn, I was near a theater that could show these films in their intended format. And yet, while I did have the opportunity to see the first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, in the 48fps style, I only ended up seeing it via the traditional 24fps format in IMAX 3D. Regardless, the film’s use of a high-frame-rate proved to be highly controversial, and as a result, this experiment arguably fell by the wayside once The Desolation of Smaug and Battle of the Five Armies rolled around as their 48fps screenings came and went with little to no fanfare. Thus, while I’m not going to outright dismiss the concept entirely, it’s still very much an inherently flawed method of filmmaking as it provides some of the most crystal-clear images ever put on film… while also making films look rather cheap in the worst possible ways. And yet, the irony of Gemini Man is that this whole discussion behind its ambitious high-frame-rate is far more interesting than the film itself. Sure, Will Smith is genuinely excellent in his dual leading roles and, at the very least, the film is a decent little popcorn flick, but at the end of the day, that’s all that Gemini Man has going for it, really.

Rating: 3/5

Aladdin (2019) review

Disney’s ever-expanding line of live-action remakes of their animated classics continues with one based on their 1992 release, Aladdin. The original Aladdin was very much another big success for Walt Disney Animation during their big Renaissance period in the ’90s. It was the second film of the era to be directed by the duo of Ron Clements and John Musker following The Little Mermaid, AKA the film that officially launched the Renaissance in 1989. And upon its release, Aladdin became the first animated film to gross over $500 million worldwide, effectively making it the highest-grossing film of the year and the studio’s highest-grossing film to date until The Lion King (which will get its own remake later this summer) surpassed it just two years later. It won two Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for ‘A Whole New World’, which also notably became the first (and, to date, only) Disney song to win the Grammy Award for Best Song of the Year. But, of course, for those who grew up with this classic, arguably its most definitive highlight is Robin Williams’ legendary turn as the friendly, pop-cultural savvy Genie, which won him a Special Achievement award at that year’s Golden Globes ceremony. With all this in mind, this new version of Aladdin has arguably faced some of the toughest expectations that any live-action Disney remake has faced so far, especially after it had to deal with a bunch of controversies during its production that ranged from casting decisions to poorly-received bits of marketing. However, it is now upon us, with veteran filmmaker Guy Ritchie behind the camera and Will Smith taking on the difficult task of following in the footsteps of Robin Williams, and the end result is a film that may not surpass the original but is still a fun time to be had as a retelling of the story of the ‘Diamond in the Rough’.  

In the bustling streets of the desert kingdom Agrabah, a charismatic street rat named Aladdin (Mena Massoud) spends every day scraping around for food and staying out of trouble with his monkey sidekick, Abu (voiced by Frank Welker). On one fateful day, Aladdin helps a young woman out of a troubling predicament and the two begin to hit it off. However, Aladdin soon learns that this girl is none other than Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), who aspires to be Sultan but is being forced by law to marry a prince from one of Agrabah’s neighboring kingdoms. Recognizing that he has no chance of being with her, Aladdin agrees to an offer made to him by Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), the Royal Vizier to the Sultan (Navid Negahban) who secretly aspires to take over the kingdom. Per Jafar’s request, Aladdin enters the mythical Cave of Wonders to retrieve a magic lamp that’s hidden inside. Once Aladdin finds it, he unleashes the lamp’s sole occupant, an omnipotent Genie (Will Smith), who informs him that he’s now been granted three wishes. Thus, with Genie’s help, Aladdin becomes the majestic ‘Prince Ali Ababwa’ in his attempt to try and woo Jasmine. But as Genie reminds him, it’s going to take a lot more than just his new princely status to win her over. Plus, there’s also the pressing situation of having to deal with Jafar’s sinister plot to use the Genie’s powers to become the next Sultan of Agrabah.

On paper, Guy Ritchie may seem like an odd choice to be this film’s director as most of his films tend to be either gritty crime dramas (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) or flashy period pieces (the Sherlock Holmes duology starring Robert Downey Jr., Man from UNCLE). At the same time, though, Ritchie’s also been known for his extremely stylish action sequences, which is arguably quite fitting for a swashbuckling adventure flick like Aladdin. Sure enough, this film’s action sequences are solidly done, and Ritchie’s directorial flair also factors well for the musical numbers. As was the case with the original film, Alan Menken handles the score and all the classic songs that he created with Tim Rice and the late Howard Ashman are featured once again, with La La Land/The Greatest Showman songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul providing some updated lyrics. Pasek and Paul also provide the film with its sole new song, ‘Speechless’, a big solo for Jasmine that’s an undisputed highlight of the soundtrack. As for the plot, it admittedly follows the same beat as the remake of Beauty and the Beast by not making any major narrative changes. It’s still the same story of Aladdin wooing Jasmine with the help of Genie while also dealing with the threat of Jafar; as such, the biggest changes compared to the original film are primarily cosmetic ones (e.g. new characters, a different spin on Jasmine’s character arc, etc.). Because of this, it does put this film in the same boat as the Beauty and the Beast remake as some will undoubtedly ask “Why remake this, then, if you’re just going to tell the exact same story?”, and to that, I have no answer. At the very least, Guy Ritchie does a solid job handling the source material and keeps everything at a solid pace throughout.  

As you can probably guess, easily one of the most talked about aspects of this film was finding someone to play the Genie. It goes without saying that Robin Williams’ version of the character from the animated film still stands as one of the most beloved performances of his career. Thus, finding someone to follow in his footsteps was undoubtedly one of the most daunting tasks in recent cinematic history. As such, the way I see it is that the only way to have a Genie that’s up to par with Williams’ version is to find someone with a bona fide screen presence… Will Smith is one of those actors, and sure enough, Smith does manage to hold his own against Williams’ Genie. Instead of just copying Williams’ comedic style (e.g. his knack for impressions), he implements his classic Fresh Prince persona into the role, and ultimately, it does work very well for this version of the Genie. Smith’s then backed by the film’s excellent lead duo of Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott. As Aladdin, Massoud is properly charismatic, has phenomenal camaraderie with Smith, and wonderful chemistry with Naomi Scott. Scott, meanwhile, benefits greatly from the film providing some very satisfying updates to the character of Jasmine by focusing more on her desire to be Sultan as exemplified by her compassion for the kingdom of Agrabah. This especially comes into play during a key scene in the finale, which generally gives her a lot more to do when compared to her animated counterpart. It also helps that the film gives Jasmine a new ally in her loyal handmaiden Dalia (Nasim Pedrad), who gets plenty of the film’s best humorous moments. But if there is one weak link in this film, it is, unfortunately, Jafar. Marwan Kenzari does his best with what he’s given, but the film never really gives Jafar an opportunity to be as delightfully sinister as he was in the animated film.

As noted in the intro, this Disney remake faced quite a bit of controversy prior to its release when compared to others from its subgenre, and not just because it was a remake of a Disney Renaissance film. Prior to filming, controversy arose over certain casting choices, namely Naomi Scott as Jasmine because she isn’t primarily Middle Eastern and Billy Magnussen as one of Jasmine’s princely suitors AKA the sole white guy of the main cast (though, to be clear, he’s only in it for about 3-5 minutes). Once filming began, another scandal came into play over reports that white extras were being made up to look Middle Eastern, which Disney claimed was only for some rare instances of safety precautions. And then finally, once the marketing for the film kicked in, let’s just say that the first reveal of Will Smith as Genie in his traditional blue form didn’t exactly go over well with people on the internet. Simply put, this film faced a lot of scrutiny going in, and yet, at the end of the day, it’s another solid entry in this current line-up of Disney’s live-action remakes. No, I’m not saying that it’s ‘better’ than the original, but thanks to an enthusiastic trio of performances from Will Smith, Mena Massoud, and Naomi Scott, this new take on Aladdin is still a very entertaining romp. And really, that’s what I’ve been saying all along with these recent Disney live-action remakes. For the most part, they’ve been generally respectful takes on their source material, and their mere existence doesn’t harm the legacy of their animated counterparts as much as some may claim. After all, I’d argue that most Disney animated films are strong enough to stand the test of time regardless of how dated some of them may be, and that is very much the case with the original Aladdin. And to its credit, the new Aladdin does manage to be a fun, nostalgic trip down memory lane.   

       

Rating: 5/5!

Suicide Squad (2016) review

Warner Bros hasn’t really been very lucky with their attempts in establishing a cinematic universe centering around the characters of DC Comics a la Marvel Studios and their Cinematic Universe, at least in terms of critical reception. Whereas the Marvel Cinematic Universe films have consistently done well with critics, the ‘DC Extended Universe’ films haven’t fared as well. The first installment of the franchise, 2013’s Man of Steel, attracted generally mixed reviews from both critics and audiences, easily making it the most polarizing film of that year. And then things got even more complicated with the next installment, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Released this past March, the film was absolutely savaged by critics. And while it certainly had its fair share of fans, this time around those who didn’t like it were much more vocal. It certainly didn’t help matters when, before the film was released, it was made clear that the version shown in theaters wasn’t director Zack Snyder’s intended cut. Instead, he was forced to cut more than 30 minutes out of the film, including some very important plot-points, in order to reach a more manageable run-time. As a result, the ‘director’s cut’ AKA the ‘Ultimate Edition’ debuted with the film’s home media release and most people agreed that, at the very least, this was the superior version of the film. Regardless, though, the theatrical release of BvS didn’t turn out as well as the studio hoped, meaning that more pressure was to be put on DC’s subsequent films to fare better critically. And out of the current slate of DC films set to follow in the next few years, arguably the most anticipated of the bunch was the other big DC film of 2016, Suicide Squad.

This truly is one of the most unique installments to come from a film genre that’s unfortunately been getting more and more scrutinized these past few years. And that is because while most superhero films have focused on just that, the superheroes, this film handles things differently and instead focuses on a group of supervillains. Specifically, the film centers on the villains that make up ‘Task Force X’, a disposable black ops unit controlled by the government to do their dirty work for them. Under the direction of David Ayer, writer of Training Day and director of films like End of Watch and Fury, and featuring an all-star cast that included the likes of Will Smith, Jared Leto, and Margot Robbie, the film was no doubt poised to be a smash hit for Warner Bros. For one thing, the marketing for the film was one of the most exciting marketing campaigns in recent memory, implying that the film would be a much different kind of beast compared to BvS, especially in terms of its overall look and feel. However, now the film has come out and, well, unfortunately it ends up sharing one major similarity with BvS and that is that the reviews for it have been absolutely savage. And yet, also like BvS, this is a case where those reviews are making it out to be worse than it really is. Because even though Suicide Squad is undeniably flawed in a few ways, it still manages to stand on its own merits due to its unique style, an equally unique premise that explores some fascinating aspects of a world filled with superheroes and supervillains, and an excellent ensemble cast.

The film opens up sometime after the death of Superman as was witnessed in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As the existence of ‘meta-humans’ (AKA the term used to describe DC’s superhuman characters) is becoming more publicly known, the government begins to fear the possibility of having to deal with a being like Superman that ‘isn’t’ on their side. It is during this time that agent Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) comes up with a bold idea. Having assembled a wide array of dangerous criminals at the Belle Reve Penitentiary in Louisiana, she proposes that the criminals be put to work for the government as part of a black ops unit known as ‘Task Force X’. To make things easier for the government, this ‘suicide squad’ would be easily disposable if they were to fail their mission. And so the squad is formed under the command of Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), with some of the other members of the squad including but not limited to assassin Floyd Lawton (Will Smith) AKA Deadshot and former psychiatrist turned crazed villainess Dr. Harleen Quinzel AKA ‘Harley Quinn’ (Margot Robbie). Their mission finds themselves heading into Midway City under the guise of them rescuing a high-profile mark during an alleged terrorist attack. However, this excursion soon turns into them having to save the world from the real threat, an ancient evil force known as Enchantress, who has taken over the body of Flag’s girlfriend, archaeologist June Moone (Cara Delevingne), and is hell-bent on destroying mankind for ‘imprisoning’ her for so many years. Then there’s also the uncertainty of the ‘wild card’ that is Harley’s lover, the ‘Clown Prince of Crime’ himself, the Joker (Jared Leto).

Like the theatrical cut of BvS, this film’s primary issues mainly stem from the writing and the editing. Now this isn’t exactly like BvS in which certain scenes were forcibly cut from the theatrical cut to the point where it effectively shuttered the story. Though with that said, it has been reported that, once again, there’s been quite a lot left on the cutting room floor, namely scenes that would’ve given more development to certain characters. Ultimately though, in this case the biggest problem with the editing is that it can be a little too erratic at times. By that I mean it sometimes cuts really fast to the point where there are quite a few ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ shots. But even with this in mind, the film still manages to be a really fun comic book flick full of cool visuals and entertaining action sequences. While Batman v Superman was criticized for being too ‘dour’, Suicide Squad is certainly much more light-hearted in tone. Granted that doesn’t mean that this film has the same kind of tone as, say, something out of the MCU but at the very least it does make a greater attempt to inject some humor into its proceedings, which mainly comes in the form of the banter between the various members of the squad. Pair that with an enjoyably flashy color palette, the always solid visual effects that you’d expect from a superhero film of this magnitude, and a really badass soundtrack that’s seriously up there with ‘Awesome Mix Vol. 1’ as one of the best superhero film soundtracks ever and you just have a fun, albeit maybe a bit simply plotted, supervillain-centered adventure that has a style unlike any other film in the genre.

In the months leading up to the film’s release, it was made clear that its ensemble cast had established quite a strong camaraderie during filming, which is certainly a good thing for a film of this nature. And it certainly shows as far as the final product is concerned. The cast is excellent and work off of each other extremely well. And even with some of its story-based shortcomings in mind, it’s still really fascinating to watch the film attempt to find the humanity within a bunch of characters who are normally villainous in nature and for the most part, it actually does manage to succeed in doing just that. Will Smith is pretty much the film’s biggest ‘headliner’ in the role of Deadshot and in a film in which it’s shown that not all of these bad guys are ‘truly bad’, Deadshot is certainly the most ‘layered’ of the bunch in regards to the film exploring his humanity, primarily shown through his relationship with his daughter Zoe. The role’s also a pretty darn perfect fit for Smith as far as him utilizing his ability to make a whole bunch of wisecrack remarks. Viola Davis also shines in the role of Amanda Waller, the Squad’s ‘boss’ who, despite being a part of the US government, can be just as ruthless as those she’s leading. The big scene-stealer, however, is Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Whereas most superhero film castings have been subjected to some form of pre-release scrutiny from fans, I find that Robbie’s casting had been well-received by most people when it was first announced. And although there has been some controversy over how the character is portrayed in the film, Robbie absolutely kills it in the role, from the mannerisms to the New York accent to her unabashed love for ‘Puddin’.

Speaking of ‘Puddin’, this film re-introduces the character of the Joker to the big screen nearly a decade after Heath Ledger’s iconic, and Oscar-winning, turn in the role in The Dark Knight. So with that said, how does Jared Leto fare in the role? Well remember what I said before about there being quite a lot of deleted scenes? Because according to Leto, many of them involved ‘Mr. J.’ so unfortunately Joker doesn’t factor that much into this film. However, in the scenes that he does appear, I will say that Leto certainly proves to be an entertaining Joker. He certainly gives off the impression of being perhaps the most unhinged out of all of the on-screen Jokers we’ve seen to date. After all, we are talking about a character who’s supposed to be a complete psychopath and it’ll be interesting to see how future DC films will utilize his Joker. As for the rest of the cast, while the film primarily focuses on characters like Deadshot and Harley Quinn, there are a few notable standouts amongst the other members of the squad. This includes Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, a former gang member with the ability to summon fire but is hesitant to use his powers after they caused him much personal tragedy and, believe it or not, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, who gets quite a lot of funny moments primarily based around the fact that the character is basically a straight-up jackass. Don’t expect much of a villain, though, because the ones in here are ‘fairly standard’ at best. By that I mean they’re not absolutely ‘terrible’ but they’re not that ‘great’ either.

As was the case with Batman v Superman, this film’s poor reviews have resulted in quite a considerable divide between fans and critics. And sure enough, this has once again led to the ‘critics are being paid by Marvel’ conspiracy that got tossed around when the previous film came out. But believe me when I say that this clearly isn’t true and keep in mind that this is coming from someone who admittedly can be quite the MCU fanboy most of the time. However, I am starting to sense some unfair bias when it comes to how the DCEU films have been received by critics. Because come on critics, this film isn’t THAT bad. Sure, like BvS, it does have some flaws. In the case of this film, they mainly stem from the occasionally erratic editing and for some elements of the story being a bit underdeveloped. However, at the end of the day, this film still manages to stand out amongst its fellow superhero films on its premise alone. We legitimately have not seen anything like this before when it comes to live-action superhero films and I think it’s really cool to have a film like this that dares to try and make characters who in any other film would be the bad guys the ‘heroes’ of a story. And overall the film does succeed for the most part in finding the humanity in a bunch of bad guys. So in short, I’m all for another adventure with the so called ‘worst heroes ever’. I’d say they earned the chance for a sequel, which hopefully will happen because given the fact that this is the second straight DCEU to get generally negative reviews, once again the future of the franchise is uncertain.

Rating: 4/5