Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay Review (Movie Review)
As with the majority of animated films and shows produced by DC Comics and Warner Bros., I was delighted to finally get my hands on this action-packed movie about robbers playing cops. I have never been disappointed with previous animated DC movies, and that statement remains true after watching Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay.
The movie begins with a quick introduction of Deadshot working alongside fellow Task Force X members hunting down a mobster working for Black Mask. Early into the movie Amanda Waller, who created and lords over Task Force X, displays true savagery and a take-no-bullshit attitude when she kills two members of the team without hesitation using the bombs implanted within their necks. The teammates who were executed were going to sell the data they were sent to retrieve, instead of returning it to Waller. This amount of gore and viciousness only captivated me even more into what was to come. To add to the previous point, I was very impressed with the portrayal of Deadshot, an assassin who never misses his target. Deadshot executed the calm and collected attitude perfectly even in life or death situations.
For the majority of the movie Deadshot plays team leader over the likes of Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Copperhead, Killer Frost, and Bronze Tiger. Task Force X is sent to retrieve a mystical card that allows the user to bypass Hell and go straight to Heaven. Waller needed this card because she had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and was desperate to stay out of Hell for the heinous acts she had committed in life. In return for completion of this dangerous mission, Waller subtracted 10 years off of each members’ current sentence in prison, for Deadshot this meant freedom and the opportunity to mend his relationship with his daughter. But all the celebrating would have to wait because the team would have to go through not only Vandal Savage, but also Professor Zoom and his merry band of misfits.
The movie is mostly serious, but has a nice amounts of quips and humor, most of which coming from Harley Quinn. What surprised me most was the fact that this movie played as sort of a sequel to Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox. The story continues after Zoom is shot in the head by Batman from a different timeline. Zoom is also searching for the card in order to spend his afterlife in heaven. There are a ton of badass fast-paced battles in areas ranging from a strip club to a penthouse to a secluded base in the middle of nowhere.
But the movie awkwardly threw in a version of Doctor Fate that felt like an insult to the complex character. On top of that unforgivable flop, the battle against Vandal Savage is hyped up the whole movie, only to have him be killed with one move from Zoom, who mind you is suffering from a bullet to the head.
Even though there were some poorly executed scenes, the movie as a whole was very fulfilling. There were a ton of cold-hearted betrayals, but the ending left me feeling good about Deadshot, who gave the card to an unexpected character who deserved it far more than Waller. The movie itself was mostly good, and definitely earned its place among not only the glorious DC Animated films but also my personal collection of great movies.
Article by: Mat “Quarter J” Sterlin