Suicide Squad

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: David Ayer/Starring: Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Viola Davis, Commmon, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Adam Beach and Karen Fukuhara

After watching Suicide Squad; director David Ayer's eagerly-awaited (at least in comic-book fandom) super-villain blockbuster, I can't help thinking summer cinema 2016 is one of the worst in the annals of summer movie seasons. I haven't seen one major studio release in May, June, July or August that was worth a dime. When one considers movie-summers past, 2016 is comparatively quite wretched. In the summer of 1980, one had Caddyshack, Airplane!, The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining and The Blues Brothers; all classics in their own right and all major hits. Among the aforementioned cluster, only Lucas' film was a sequel. Very few of the 2016 multiplex offerings have been originals; most cineplex fare have been either franchise installments or reboots. I wish I could say a few jewels stood tall among the leavings but to put it bluntly: everything sucked monumentally.

Along comes Ayer's film and the promise of something a little different. Rather than the standard issue movie with costumed good guys saving the world from total destruction, we have a group of baddies who are coerced into doing the same. It's another comic book movie, to be sure, but at least it proposed a new angle. But although the characters are colorful and fun to watch, they're also stuck in a half-conceived, half-ass story that isn't in much of hurry to go anywhere. In spite of its scant qualities, the movie is really another junk-pile offering and just another product with massive marketing potential.

U.S. government official Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) proposes the formation of a super-villain task force after an evil sorceress from another dimension named the Enchantress, frees herself from government control. Her heart; previously hidden in a temple in Mexico, is subsequently discovered by U.S. agents, thus providing the means by which she is held in check. After the witch manages to return her heart to her own body, she summons her brother, Incubus; a formidably powerful entity whose awesome power also poses a threat to the world. The Enchantress and Incubus set about on an agenda of--what else--world domination. Complicating Waller's mission is the man assigned to lead her band of bad guys; Rick Flag (Joel Kinnman); a Special Forces operative, who is in love with Enchantress' human alter ego, June Moone (Cara Delevingne). Moone, a former archaeologist, uncovered the Enchantress' spirit from a cave during an expedition in Mexico. Moone subsequently became the sorceress' vessel and discovered shortly thereafter she was able to summon the witch at will, before the spirit's aforementioned escape.

The narrative slows long enough for us to meet the so-called bad guys being held in a maximum security prison:

• Deadshot (Will Smith): a former assassin for hire whose marksmanship with a variety of guns is inhumanly accurate at 4,000 yards. Deadshot's weakness is his daughter, who he longs to be with and to whom he must account for his murderous past.

• Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie): a former psychiatrist, Quinzel fell in love with The Joker during therapy at the Arkham Asylum in Gotham. The Joker transformed Quinzel into the villainess Harley Quinn with shock therapy and a toxic chemical bath, which helped alter her appearance and hair color. She immediately became The Joker's dangerous sidekick and lover.

• Boomerang (Jai Courtney): an Australian bank robber who wields deadly boomerangs (hence the name).
• Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje): a lizard-like brute who, in Waller's words, "evolved backwards."

• Diablo (Jay Hernandez): a repentant former L.A. gangmember with the power to spray lethal jets of flame. Trying to leave his former life behind, Diablo's wife and two children give him some sense of purpose. Atoning for past crimes, Diablo is reluctant to use his power.

Added to the nefarious mix is Rick Flag's bodyguard; a deadly, katana-wielding Japanese woman named Katana, whose sword holds the spirits of those she slays. Joining the group for a brief time on film is Slipknot (Adam Beach); a villain with superior climbing skills. Adding a wrinkle to Waller's plans is the Joker himself, who wants nothing more than to free his lover.

To ensure the squad remains committed to their mission, Waller places an explosive device inside their bodies that can be activated in the event of an attempted escape. For the squad, Waller promises nothing and offers little in the way of compensation.

The movie's pace, which moves unhurriedly toward the showdown with the Enchantress and Incubus, is good and bad. The deliberate pace means we get to know the characters and more about their lives before incarceration but it also means the story plods along. Its torpid pace probably serves the film more effectively because the Suicide Squad itself is much more fun and interesting than the real villains they're assigned to stop.

How the squad interacts with one another and how they respond to Rick Flag's imperious behavior comprise the film's only really entertaining moments. While some of the squad seem misunderstood--Deadshot, Diablo and Killer Croc--the others; Boomerang and Harley Quinn, are hell-bent on mayhem and menacing the public.

The Enchantress sends legions of her faceless (literally) gargoyles to fend off the squad, which they dispatch with little trouble though a boomerang, a baseball bat and guns seem like inadequate weapons against an inter-dimensional being. Nevertheless, the group forges ahead, making their way through a deserted city toward their targets.

The movie's subplot involves the Joker's eventual rescue of Quinn, but his getaway vehicle is destroyed, leaving him dead (presumably). Grief-stricken, Quinn leaves the squad for a spell before returning.

Once we've thoroughly acquainted ourselves with the characters the movie bogs down with its lackluster story line. The big showdown is a dull dud and not very imaginative though the epilogue is quite fun. But by the final credits, I felt bored and eager for the exit.

I liked the concept of evil battling evil but other than Harley Quinn and Deadshot, Waller's bad guys just aren't that amusing or interesting. Nor is the Enchantress, who does little more than sway her hips like a stripper on an altar-like dais; rays of fiery energy emanating from her body. I'm sure Margot Robbie had a lot of fun playing Quinn and she played it well but even her character is under-conceived. I've never been a Will Smith fan but I really enjoyed his performance as Deadshot. Smith found the humor in his role but also a bit of tragedy that made him sympathetic, in spite of his past as an assassin. The character of Diablo could have been developed more but we'll no doubt see him again in future installments. It was painful to see Adam Beach as Slipknot make an early exit, after all; how often do we see a Native American super villain?

I have no natural aversion to super hero movies but one wonders; when will the film industry's fascination with costumed crime fighters--and now costumed villains--end? The answer to that question is simple: when fans stop shelling out dollars for this stuff. With the San Diego Comic-Con's popularity gaining rather than waning, we may never see an end to the genre, or even a moratorium.

Suicide Squad is watchable but not thrilling or bracingly clever. I guess I've learned to be content with splashes of CGI, cool costumes and serviceable plots.

If I'm not mistaken, the film is the last of 2016's mammoth, high-profile, summer blockbusters. It isn't hard to see the squad as the filmmaker's answer to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy though it is no match for what was a funny and irreverent film. Now we wait for the more substantial, fall offerings to trickle in, though we still have three more weeks of August. Hollywood, I've seen enough for the summer. Now show me the good stuff.

Focus

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Glen Ficarra and John Requa/Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro and Gerald McRaney

I've never been a fan of Will Smith, so I was less than enthusiastic about seeing Focus, directors Glen Ficarra (I Love You Phillip Morris) and John Requa's new film that is mainly about the world of cons but is as much about the sex appeal of its two leads. The trailer didn't exactly wow movie-goers and I must say it left me feeling impatient and bored. But if Focus isn't particularly riveting cinema, it's hardly disposable. It has its redemptive attributes and though it isn't difficult to see the story's sleight of hand and anticipate its direction, it still manages to have fun getting to its destination and for once, I didn't recoil from Smith's presence onscreen.

With every film about cons, we're asked as an audience to determine who is conning who and how much of what we see is some sort of elaborate put-on. Focus asks us to do more of the same but like every film of its ilk, the visual landscape must be stocked with charming and attractive confidence men and women. Will Smith and Margot Robbie fill the bill nicely.

Smith plays Nicky, a professional con man with a team that traffics in every sort rip-off scheme, big and small; from pick-pocketing to ATM scams to identity and credit card theft. Like all cons, they aren't hampered by crises of conscience about what they do.

Nicky's team targets major sporting events where crowds are sure to gather, like the Super Bowl and college bowl games.

When we first see Nicky, he is appraising the sexy Jess (Margot Robbie) in a hotel bar. After conversation leads to a bedroom tryst, Nicky finds that he is the target of a would-be scam when a man purporting to be Jess' husband bursts into the room with a gun. When the gunman fails to frighten Nicky, the con is laid bare. Nicky, further wounding the small-time con's wounded egos, offers them pointers on how to properly carry out the con they failed to perpetrate.

Not long after, Jess approaches Nicky and learns of his professional life as a con. Taking Jess under his wing, he introduces her to his team and even shows her his temporary New Orleans headquarters, where merchandise, money and valuables, pilfered from the unsuspecting, rest.

A series of scenes follows where Jess participates in elaborate pickpocketing and credit card thefts which are a little too neat and flawlessly executed.

A romance blossoms between the two cons, in spite of Nicky's reluctance to bring Jess into the fold.

After Nicky informs his team of their successful take, which exceeds one million dollars, he invites Jess to the Super Bowl in New Orleans; giving her a taste of the lush life his business brings. Intoxicated by the luxury seats Nicky has secured, the two casually watch the game and the crowd. The two begin casually making bets on fan tendencies and when a wealthy Asian man sitting nearby asks to join the betting, the monetary stakes begin to climb. At this point, we know Nicky has had a troubled gambling past, which adds some tension to the scene. When Jess tries to stop Nicky from making making larger bets, he is egged on by the Asian man's taunts. As he continues to lose the double or nothing bets, the prize grows to one million, which causes Jess more than just a little anxiety. As Nicky makes an enormous, last stand bet, we discover a highly elaborate con in play. How it plays out reveals something about the degree to which Nicky will pursue an intricately crafted con. It also says something about how the film virulently petitions the audience to overlook logic and plausibility. Though it is an exciting sequence, it is also quite improbable. Why would Nicky and the Asian gambler be carrying bags of cash on them at the Super Bowl? Wouldn't bags arouse security's suspicion? And what about the con itself? Would Nicky and his crew have such superhuman faith in a con involving subliminal messages; whose success is hardly guaranteed? And would they be willing to risk losing a million dollars to earn more? It is worth mentioning that the convoluted plan involves one of Nicky's crew standing on the sidelines in a uniform, which seems laughably absurd. But somehow we're coaxed along and if the sequence seems too fantastic to swallow, it also manages to be entertaining.

Nicky, feeling some kind of guilt for dragging Jess into his world, decides to part company with her. Crestfallen, he leaves her with a substantial chunk of cash before saying goodbye.

The story picks up three years later as we find Nicky in Argentina. He is now a part of a Formula One Racing pit crew. Why he would end up in such an unlikely place is slowly teased out in the plot. We learn he is part of a con that involves selling a highly coveted but bogus device that is supposed to give driver's an edge over their competition. Nicky is in the employ of a wealthy man named Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro); an avid race fan who hopes to con a competitor into spending big dollars on the useless copy of his device. The con, in part, involves Nicky staging a fight with Garriga's pit crew boss at a party he is throwing; a deception that is supposed to draw the attention of Garriga's target. But after Nicky arrives for the party, he is shocked to see Jess romancing Garriga, which arouses his jealous ire. Nicky manages to re-kindle the relationship with the resistant Jess. Not long after, Nicky double crosses Garriga by selling his device to all the opposing racing teams. As Nicky and Jess try to escape, they are captured by one of Garriga's henchmen. Tied up, the two await execution in a warehouse. Of course we learn that Nicky's rekindling of the romance was part of a larger deception conceived to steal a password for Garriga's encrypted computer files, which contains information about his wonder device. But it also becomes known that Jess herself was working Garriga and we're meant to be titillated by the multiple double crossings that are an imperative in all con films.

Why Argentina and Formula One racing? I suppose filmmakers wanted an exotic locale for the second half of the film but why racing? Why would that appeal to a con man? It doesn't make sense but I guess the audience isn't meant to quibble about where a con finds his or her marks.

In spite of the plot hokum, the movie still held me captive. Part of the film's appeal is the chemistry between Smith and Robbie. Inter-racial romances are rare in Hollywood films so the relationship was something different and refreshing.

I can't say the character of Nicky challenged Smith much. That he be suave and cool were the lone demands of his performance though a back-story dealing with his grifter father was an attempt at depth. Jess' wardrobe and Robbie's acting seem to be on loan from her character in The Wolf of Wall Street. It's uncanny how few differences separate the two characters. Robbie even sounds like her character in Scorcese's film.

If you look too closely, nothing in Focus makes much sense and if it had a believable moment, then it probably escaped my notice. But in spite of impossible odds, I enjoyed the movie anyway. It doesn't take itself too seriously and it knows not to sell its whopper of a plot too hard. The romanticized life of a grifter: big money, beautiful women and the potential for danger is the draw here, not air-tight, unassailable, plot-twisting storytelling. Nevertheless, directors Ficarra and Requa know how to keep their story one-step from the abyss of the ludicrous.

Focus is fun. It is a last-weekend-in-February diversion before the more-stimulating March fare arrives. It is adequate for now but it may wither in the early morning light of March 1st. We'll see.