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Suicide Squad (3D in some cinemas)

3/10

Stars: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Jared Leto, Viola Davis, David Harbour, Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Jai Courtney, Cara Delavingne, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Karen Fukuhara, Adam Beach, Common, Alain Chanoine

Director: David Ayer

Not so much the Hateful Eight as the Slimeball Seven, although in truth this pretty dreadful DC Comics-inspired movie owes more to The Dirty Dozen than anything else.

Whatever the 'inspiration', it's sad to say that comic-book action films hit a new low with this virtually plotless account of seven super-criminals released from top-security prisons to take on The Enchantress (Delavingne) and her invincible, giant, fire-covered brother (Chanoine), who plan to take over the world.

If this sounds tired and lame, it is, and little of the acting is any good either, save for Leto as an overcooked but still scary Joker, and Davis as the mastermind behind the Suicide Squad; but since she shoots all the people who work for her, we wouldn't trust her with a water-pistol.

Under her command are ace hitman Deadshot (Smith), whose weakness is his seemingly motherless daughter, Harley Quinn (Robbie), beloved of the Joker, Croc-Man (Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Fire-Man (Miller), a female Japanese warrior (Fukuhara), Boomerang-Man (Courtney), who proves practically useless, and another despatched early on.

'These are criminals,' Davis is told. 'This makes no sense,' although the speaker may be referring to what there is of the plot. Flashy special effects are overly familiar if somewhat better than most critics have allowed. But frankly, my dears, this is rubbish and the only telling line is the last in the film (apart from a coda involving Affleck as Batman): 'Let's go home!'

David Quinlan

USA 2016. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers. Colour by deluxe.
123 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 05 Aug 2016