I saw Suicide Squad yesterday and thought it was pretty good. Let’s just say it pales in comparison to the masterpiece that was Captain America: Civil War but was way better than the absolute disaster Batman v Superman. And it definitely beat out the feminist Ghostbusters (which I gave a reluctant positive review).
While Suicide Squad suffered from some minor problems, it’s clearly a movie that the majority of comic fanboys and casual moviegoers will thoroughly enjoy. A fun, fast-paced summer joyride, ripe with masturbatory geek service, solid action, and excellent performances by leads Will Smith (Deadshot) and Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn). A great rebuttal to Zach Snyder’s dour, self-serious BvS, Suicide Squad emulates and improves upon some of the levity and humor that make Marvel films so successful.
A common complaint by critics was the film was muddled and confusing. It was not. In reality, it was a point A to B movie with plenty of flashbacks to add backstory and humanize the team of anti-heroes. No scene compares to the absolutely inscrutable apocalyptic alternate reality scene in BvS.
But the real movie to compare the film to is the new Ghostbusters. Both films were action comedies dominated by women — Ghostbusters a comedy with action and Suicide Squad an action with comedy. While most of the “Suicide Squad” were men, women had the largest roles in the movie. Harley Quinn was the co-lead, while the villain was the Enchantress played by Cara Delevingne. Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller acted both as the coercive leader of the squad and their chief antagonist. But while both were relatively middling films, Ghostbusters received the feminist bump in reviews while Suicide Squad got absolutely hammered. A 73% compared to 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. Both had strong women in traditionally male roles, so how can you explain all the Suicide Squad hate.
Perhaps it’s because Suicide Squad doesn’t have the right type of women. Who knew a film about the worst villains on the planet would not produce feminist role models. Harley Quinn is psychotic, sexualized, and madly in love with her abusive boyfriend (the Joker). Amanda Waller, perhaps the most badass character in the film, is a cold, uncompromising sociopath. The Enchantress is a mythical South American deity who existed before the revelation of third wave feminism.
The Daily Beast’s Jen Yamato believes a film about super villains “sends an unfortunate message to younger audiences: Strong women are mostly either crazy, evil, or both.” By that logic, you shouldn’t let your daughters watch 101 Dalmatians for fear they’ll think women are a bunch of evil puppy killers.
The women in Suicide Squad are not role models, just like the men. That’s the general conceit of a movie about “the worst of the worst.” But despite the repeated calls for more female baddies in films, when one is finally full of them, it gets criticized for portraying women in a negative light.
Suicide Squad took legitimate risks in story telling, and although many critics thought it failed, it provided a new unique take on the superhero genre. Ghostbusters was just a moderately funny, retrograde copy of the original — but with women.