John Ostrander Gives Extended Review Of Suicide Squad

Several days ago, John Ostrander, the legendary comic book writer that created the modern-day version of DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, provided a short review of David Ayer’s film, saying he “loved it,” and now, Ostrander has written a lengthier review, going into detail as to what he liked and didn’t care for.

“I really liked the film. Not perfect by a long shot, but a really good time in the movie theater,” Ostrander wrote. “And for me a lot of it was just amazing. The look, the detail, the feel of the film is not something I’ve seen in superhero movies before.

“Chief for me were the performances, starting with Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. All the other characters in the Squad, both the comic and the movie, were created by others. In the comic especially I would re-define and expand on them but they were established characters. Amanda Waller was my creation and Viola Davis embodied her to perfection.”

Ostrander felt that Margot Robbie gave a scene-stealing performance and described her Harley Quinn as “sexy, innocent, funny, lethal, crazy and dangerous.”

One of his few complaints was that he would have like to have seen more of Jay Hernandez’s El Diablo and Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang. As for the latter: “He’s very much as I wrote him in the Squad – he knows what he is and he likes it. In that respect, Boomerang is very well adjusted. Which is scary.”

“Are their problems with the film? Sure,” he admitted. “The antagonist(s) are not well defined and, to my mind, you need a good antagonist to help define the protagonist(s). It’s the antagonist who usually sets the plot in motion and it is defined by what they want. The story is a little more generic ‘we have to save the world’ than I usually did; I always liked having one foot squarely in reality.”

He added, “I also liked having a political and/or social edge in my Squad stories. That would also give a greater feel of reality and I don’t see that here.”

Click here to read Ostrander’s full-review of Suicide Squad.

It feels good to be bad… Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity.U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do.However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?

Written and directed by David Ayer based on the characters from DC Comics, the film stars Will Smith (“Ali”), Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”), Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Joel Kinnaman (“RoboCop”) and Viola Davis (“The Help”). The cast also includes Jai Courtney (“Insurgent”), Jay Hernandez (“Takers”), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (“Thor: The Dark World”), Ike Barinholtz (“Neighbors”), Scott Eastwood (“Fury”), Cara Delevingne (“Paper Towns”), Adam Beach (“Cowboys & Aliens”), and Karen Fukuhara in her feature film debut. It is produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.

Suicide Squad is now playing in 3D, and in 2D, and in select IMAX 3D theaters.