"Suicide Squad" Review by Tim Hellman

'SUICIDE SQUAD': Five Stars (Out of Five)

The highly anticipated superhero flick, based on the DC comics antihero team (of the same name). It's also the third movie in the DC Extended Universe film franchise (following 'MAN OF STEEL' and 'BATMAN V SUPERMAN'), and Ben Affleck even reprises his role as Batman in it. The film stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Jared Leto, Viola Davis, Jay Hernandez, Jai Courtney, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Karen Fukuhara, Cara Delevingne, Ike Barinholtz and Scott Eastwood. It was written and directed by David Ayer. The story revolves around an unlikely team of formerly imprisoned supervillains, that are recruited by a secret government agency; to go on a special black ops mission to save the world. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics, but (most) fans of the comic book insist it's a masterpiece. I absolutely loved it!

The story focuses around a government program, conceived and executed by U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Davis), in which imprisoned dangerous criminals are selected to be a part of a special black ops team. They're promised a reward of clemency, if they succeed; and threatened with immediate execution, if they try to escape. They're mission is to stop a powerful mystic force, and it's lethal army. The 'bad guys' that make up the team, surprisingly bond in the process.

The movie is undeniably fun! It's dark, violent, and sometimes quite disturbing (much like 'BATMAN V SUPERMAN'); but it's also hilarious, and highly entertaining. There's some really interesting character development (throughout), and the performances are outstanding (especially Robbie and Leto). The action scenes are kind of by-the-numbers, but they're also involving (because the characters are so likable). My only real compliant with the film, is that's it's too quickly edited; probably due to studio demands (to make the movie shorter and faster-paced). I'm sure an extended director's cut would make it nearly perfect (like the extended cut of 'BATMAN V SUPERMAN')!