Suicide Squad – Tango’s First Impressions

Okay, so the movie has been out a short while now and in that time, it has managed to amass a serious amount of negative reviews. Sure, it has had some positive ones as well and it seemed the fans have stayed divided. I finally got a chance to see it, so let’s take a look at what I, Tango, thought of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.

First off, I have to talk a bit about the casting. Every single one was spot on, in my opinion. Will Smith’s Deadshot was amazing, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller was fantastic, Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag was brilliant and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn was phenomenal, hell, even Jay Hernandez’s Diablo was great. But what about Jared Leto’s Joker? Don’t worry, we’ll get to that later on. Karen Fukuhara’s Katana was not in the slightest bad, but I actually prefer Fukushima’s version in the Arrow-verse. But, and this is a big but, the one that really surprised me was Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang. Fuck, I never thought I’d say this but the guy wasn’t half bad. I actually liked him in this, which came as a haymaker out of left field.

But, on to the Joker now. I have seen comments about his performance online where they put his performance through the dirt and I have seen comments rising him to almost Ledger-like status. Me, I am one of those that loved the shit out of it. It was lunacy incarnate in a way that felt new but at the same time familiar. Sadly, his screen-time was cut down to a miniscule part, but given the way the movie itself played out, I’m having a hard time figuring out where he could’ve been for it to work for the better. His part was small but efficient and I am anxious to see where he pops up next. Kudos to Leto for bringing us a fantastic take on an iconic villain.

Onwards we go to the story of the film, and this is where it gets a bit wonky. The story of a group of bad guys coming together to fight an even bigger threat is not something new, nor is it groundbreaking, but for us comic book fans, it was a pure delight. It did feel a bit all over the place, but the red thread was there (which you all know was something that was severely missing from BvS) and I’m kinda leaning towards blaming that on the editing. Some cuts felt off and out of place and the pacing suffered a bit for it. We had flashbacks thrown at us at random and we had flashbacks that came right when it should, so yeah, I blame the state of wonky on the editing.

David Ayer managed to bring together a group of rag tag villains, known to lesser known, in a funny, action packed and sometimes even heartfelt way and even though the movie had its flaws (which they all do, even The Lion King), I left the theater with a faster than usual heartbeat and one of the biggest, nerdiest smiles I’ve had in a while, so to end this first impressions-post, I’m giving the Suicide Squad a ‘Platinum Stamp of Approval’. Yeah, that’s right. Fuck everyone downvoting it, ’cause this movie was spectacular!

I’m leaving you now in a quandry, as I’m not sure if I’m gonna watch Assault on Arkham or revisit Batman v Superman, but rest assured, there will be more reviews (of sorts) coming your way again soon, but until then….

#Focus – A Tango’s Thoughts review

Will Smith skyrocketed to Super stardom in the mid- to late 90’s and he kept that stardom well into the 2000’s, but after his Seven Pounds, his career seemed to have hit a halt. Whether it’s by his own choosing or not, I don’t know, but for the last few years it seems he’s been aiming to tower over the world with his talents yet again, starting with the 3rd installment of the Men In Black-franchise in 2012 and the upcoming Suicide Squad next year as well as an announced 3rd installment of the Bad Boys-franchise. I’d say it’s safe to say that he’s reconquering the world of entertainment once again. With that said, let’s take a look at what I thought about his latest title, Focus!

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa co-wrote and directed the film about Nicky Spurgeon (Smith), a seasoned con man taking a protege, Jess Barrett (Robbie) under his wing, teaching her the subtle but delicate ways of the world of cons and scams. The movie has a sort of Ocean’s Eleven feel to it as we get to see how they device and carry out their scams, but as Nicky and Jess’ relationship evolves, we’re treated with a whole new kind of movie. Up to about mid-second act, it’s all about the “heists” and cons, but after an outstandingly brilliant scam, the two part ways and the movie winds down to somewhat of a romantic drama-esque type of film. It shines through that the film had two writers but the two different styles work well and when it’s all said and done, this movie experience was a delight. The film was well written with great dialogue and intriguing characters and the twists, although somewhat transparent at times, were well executed and they worked great with the overall plot.

As for the acting in the film, there is nothing negative to say about it at all. Both Smith and Robbie brought their A-games and the chemistry between them felt real and it made me hope for a lot of screen time for the two together in Suicide Squad. The rest of the cast was just as good, all contributing to the film wherever something was needed. In short, a delightfully well cast movie through and through.

So, to cut this review short, Focus is a well written, brilliantly directed and excellently performed cinematic experience and yet another recipient of Tango’s ‘Platinum Stamp of Approval’. Now, I’m gonna go play some video games before I make a decision on what to watch tonight. Be sure to tune in every day this week, as I’ve planned on a lot of fun stuff for you to read, but until next time…..

Suicide Squad Official casting confirmed!

Well would you look at that. In the midst of all the holiday bonanza, the official casting for the Batman V. Superman-follow-up movie, Suicide Squad, is announced, and the geek in me can’t seem to stop giggling. 

The casting was reported by The Hollywood Reporter earlier today, and the ensemble is looking pretty damn good, I have to say. Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Cara Delevingne, Jai Courtney, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie has all been signed on the helm the ominously awkward team of (evil?) do-gooders and apart from Jai Courtney, I am a fan of them all. “But who will play who?” you ask… well, let me tell you.

Rick Flagg, the group leader, will be portrayed by none other than Bane himself, Tom Hardy. Some might say that it’ll be a bit confusing, seeing as he already did another DC-character (iconically, one might add), but for an actor to helm two different comic book characters is nothing new. My thoughts on the cast; Awesome!

Captain Boomerang will be portrayed by the (in my opinion) awkard Jai Courtney. Not my first choice, but seeing as Captain Boomerang is far from a favorite character, I don’t really care, it could go either way.

Enchantress will be portrayed by the mysterious but oh so talented Cara Delevingne, which I see as one of the best casting choices of the decade. Nothing at all can go wrong with that one!

Deadshot will be played by, and this was a Big surprise to me, Will Smith. Wow! How did that happen? But who cares, it’ll be sinceriously badass!

And finally, the couple to end all couples, the Insanity-embodied duo of pure and utter chaos, Joker and Harley Quinn will be portrayed by Jared Leto  and Margot Robbie respectively. How hot is that? Harley has yet to be immortalized on the big screen so I’m really excited to see how Robbie will handle it, but the Joker…. well, that’s a different scenario all together. Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger have all brought us spectacular Jokers all in their own rights, but I am more than certain that Leto has the versatility needed to do them all justice.

As I mentioned earlier, I am not a fan of Jai Courtney, but apart from that, I am excited about this ensemble and I can’t wait for Batman V. Superman to be over so I can start getting really excited for the Suicide Squad.

What do you think about these choices? Let me know. And tune in tomorrow for another installment of my 2014 Holiday-a-Thon, keeping the merriment going all through Christmas!

Take care now, bye bye then….