Librarian Movie Review: Suicide Squad

MOVIE TITLE:
Suicide Squad

MOVIE SUMMARY:
A band of super-criminals is offered time-off for good behavior, if they will work for the military, to protect the Earth from other super-villains who are even less friendly.  The military isn’t really asking; they don’t trust this Suicide Squad; they don’t even like them.  But the main characters bond with each other in the work at hand, and they do it with humor and valor.

REVIEW:
The best part about this movie is the humor and camaraderie shown, especially, by Deadshot and Harley Quinn.  Aside from Deadshot and Harley, the only other squad-member with any depth to his character is El Diablo, who, in addition to being pyrokinetic, is also a pacifist.  The writers / editors don’t bother filling in much story for the rest of the squad; I was especially hoping for more from the character Katana.  One squad member walks on set with almost no introduction and is dead within a few minutes; this sort of writing / film making does not lend itself to my caring one bit for most of the cast.
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The second best part about this movie is how it muddies the idea of what is “heroic” and what is “villainous.”  It is clear that Harley Quinn knows what constitutes a loving and loyal relationship better than almost any other character in this film.  Deadshot’s dedication and commitment to his daughter is also laudable.  The prison staff and military, on the other hand, are clearly cast as the true villains in this film, manipulative, vindictive, petty, sadistic, they will stop at nothing to use the Suicide Squad with no intention of making good on their promises to the super-villains.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I felt the “action” parts of this film were not bad, but not spectacular either.  For me, it was more of a character study and a drama, than an action film.  This movie is not a waste of time and I enjoyed it; but don't expect as much depth as you'd like.

Cautions for Sensitive Watchers:  
Adult concepts for sexual content and prison life, though it carries a PG-13 rating since nothing is really shown.
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Language: Swearing
Violence: Violence and misogynistic treatment towards women; comic-book action-violence
Sex: Sex club and prison scenes are not revealing; but dialogue and concepts are for mature audiences.
Drugs/Alcohol: Some social drinking but no drunkenness and no drugs.