Review: Suicide Squad (2016)

DC Comics’ cinematic universe is dealt another blow by this messy and sometimes incoherent misstep in which a rag-tag team of supervillains come together to defeat an out of control sorceress (an arm-flailing Cara Delevingne). That’s about as much of the plot that makes any sense. The rest is an exhaustive series of action sequences, each as indistinct than the last, that never so much as raise an eyebrow, let alone excuse from the bland characterisations and strained attempts at humour. Margot Robbie steals every second she’s on screen as the unhinged Harley Quinn, but even her backstory is paper-thin; nothing more than an excuse to have The Joker (Jared Leto) turn up for all of ten minutes. The rest of the cast, including Will Smith and Jai Courtney, are left squirming for definition amongst the CGI mayhem. David Ayer, who directed the excellent End Of Watch, is more than competent, which raises suspicions as to exactly what happened behind the scenes to make this as calamitous as it is.