Superhero movies are a large part of pop culture. There are so many different superhero movies that the companies that make them have to constantly come up with new ways to present the same characters and same basic plot line. “Suicide Squad” was a really cool idea that ended up being an O.K. movie. It wasn’t the most thrilling superhero movie ever, though it did have a unique new spin on the definition of a superhero.

The things that brought the film down in my eyes were the characters of Harley Quinn and the Joker, as well as the plot line. Harley Quinn, one of the main characters of “Suicide Squad,” is sexy, crazy, the Joker’s pet, and not much else. Her character is defined exclusively by the fact that she is crazy, and all of her actions and lines throughout the movie constantly remind the viewer of this. Many of her lines have to do with hearing or seeing things, and it gets a little repetitive. Her character also revolves around the Joker. The reason she is crazy is because she fell in love with the Joker, and when he tortured her and almost killed her, she kept up her obsession with him, whereas the Joker clearly doesn’t care as much about her. He tortured her and would easily cast her away and leave her to die if she was in the way. She changes very little over the course of the film, and is always waiting to be rescued by her Joker.

I also highly disliked the Joker. His portrayal by Jared Leto was creepy and disturbing, but not in a good way. This Joker is not the kind of villain that you love to hate. He was repulsive, and I hated every scene with him in it. His voice and the way he talked were two of the main reasons for my dislike of him.

The plot of “Suicide Squad” was a bit contradictory. It begins with Viola Davis’s character, Amanda Waller, who is the meanest “good guy” ever, describing her plan to prevent future metahuman attacks by assembling a group of criminals together. They have these criminals in captivity, and Waller convinces the U.S. government to let her assemble this team. Conveniently, the Enchantress, Waller’s main subject of this plan, breaks free from her control, and creates an evil army to destroy humans. The criminals are then assembled and forced to cooperate by having bombs planted in their necks. They are then told they have to rescue a vital character, who turns out to be Waller. They are not sent to fight this supernatural threat, but are instead specifically told not to, even though that was the whole point of the original plan. The Suicide Squad actually has to directly disobey orders to do what they were originally assembled to do.

There were, however, many good things about Suicide Squad. These included Deadshot, El Diablo, and, of course, the soundtrack. Deadshot and El Diablo were the most developed and human-like characters (excluding El Diablo’s fire powers). Deadshot, played by Will Smith, is a hitman and cold killer, but is also a natural leader, and has a soft spot for his daughter. He may be a terrible criminal who has killed many, and initially objected to working for the government, but at the end, he sacrifices his beliefs to be able to see his 11-year-old daughter.

El Diablo, played by Jay Hernandez, is a metahuman who can control and make fire. However, from the start of the film, he is very different from the other members of the squad. He does not want to fight or kill people anymore. We learn that he killed his wife and children with his powers, and doesn’t wish to hurt anyone else or lose control. At the end of the film, he sacrifices himself to help his newfound family in the Suicide Squad defeat the Enchantress. He is the most heroic character in the film, and is a positive addition.

The soundtrack features mostly classic rock, including artists like Queen, AC/DC, and The Rolling Stones. These classics give energy to the film, and hint at the time period in which the DC comic books the film was based on were released—in the 80’s and earlier.

While “Suicide Squad” lacked some essential character developments and a more cohesive plot, several of its actors as well as its soundtrack made the experience less painful.