Thus far, 2016 has been a polarizing year for film. We’ve been offered some obscure and fantastic features, but, along the way, the studios have also delivered some smoldering piles of garbage. The most recent addition to that pile being the most recent installment of the DC extended universe, Suicide Squad. Yikes, was this a disappointing flop.

Back in January, we were treated to the first trailer for writer-director David Ayer’s super villain team up. Set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, this trailer sold everybody on the film, and if there were any movie-goers who were unconvinced prior to this, they surely did not remain that way. In the glorious two and a half minutes, viewers witnessed the brilliance of editing at work, as the entire trailer is set and timed masterfully to the famous 70’s ballad, from hails of bullets to maniacal clowns.

The film that we received in full did not capture the aesthetic of any of the trailers. What we got instead was two hours of almost exclusively nonsensical plot, tugged along by a phenomenal cast, who despite their best efforts, could not save this film. The feature is completely void of the splendid editing present in the trailers; as a matter of fact, this movie is a technical and visual failure as much as it is a narrative one. Overall, the transitions, photography, cuts, and editorial techniques used in the film completely rip it to shreds. Perhaps it was an attempt to be stylistic, but the end product left metric tons of quality to be desired.

The first act of the film is remarkably not awful. The soundtrack is appropriate, though abundant (no single song must have lasted more than twenty seconds). The only redeeming factor of this film is just how much you love the characters you’re supposed to hate. The cast is superb and their performances leave you laughing and, occasionally, in awe. Will Smith plays Deadshot, the world’s deadliest hitman, who follows the lead of Joel Kinnaman’s Colonel Rick Flagg, who escorts the ragtag team of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Killer Croc, and Jay Hernandez’ El Diablo, among others. For the first third of the movie, we’re only being introduced to the characters— the conflict doesn’t immediately take effect. As we come across these hardened/sadistic/cannibalistic criminals and murderers, we aren’t bothered by the fact that they’re criminals and murderers; this is perhaps the most charismatic lineup of “heroes” we’ve ever had jump from comic-to-screen.

It is when the plot begins that the movie ends. Although you can’t wait to see the dynamics of all of these beloved characters interacting with one another, the moment they’re assembled, the fabric of their existence tears. Their motivations are distorted every few minutes, as are their allegiances. They care too much for being the types to not care at all. Worse to come is how they falter once they begin their mission: going after this spooky, cursed doll-looking thing so they can stop the Enchantress and her magic robot boyfriend(?) from… Taking over humanity? Or destroying it. Both were on the agenda. This is a world with invulnerable beings, immortal goddesses, human lightning bolts, and Batman. And the government sends people with guns to stop an ancient god king and his ancient goddess queen stripper-lady, both of whom are pretty much invincible to whatever these people with guns and baseball bats can do. Spoiler alert, the bad(?) guys do win. Not sure how, though. Neither is the movie.

Suicide Squad is the definition of despondence. The only good parts of this movie went ahead and ripped themselves to shreds, and tossed their remains into a two hour plate of moldy spaghetti. The movie is good only for the first twenty minutes or so; after that, feel free to fast forward around for Jared Leto's Joker, except for about half of his scenes, which are of course ruined by the plot. Suicide Squad has proven to be a critical failure, void of anything movies should have and carrying truckloads of everything that makes movies horrible. Overall, Suicide Squad is really, really...