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PG-13 rating blunts twisted super villains 'Squad'

Taking a cue from its title, “Suicide Squad” self-destructs in a furiously frenzied, freakishly flat action film with an ending so reminiscent of “Ghostbusters” that Columbia Pictures should sue.

The most anticipated motion picture of the summer, “Suicide Squad” launches into theaters with a great marketing campaign because of Jared Leto's nightmarishly clownish makeover as the Joker, plus Margot Robbie's playfully raw sexuality as the suggestively attired and frighteningly sociopathic Harley Quinn.

Director/writer David Ayer constructs “Suicide Squad” as a sick and twisted celebration of mental illness, obsession and sadism, presented as relative virtues that can be channeled into serving public good in a bad world, now without Superman.

No doubt inspired by Robert Aldrich's “The Dirty Dozen,” Amanda Waller (the great Viola Davis, lending more gravitas to this production than it deserves), a ruthless intelligence officer operating under a suspiciously vague authority, pulls together an elite team of psychos and violent malcontents to carry out suicide missions.

They can choose to do that, or else Waller or her chief officer Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) will detonate those mini-bombs planted inside their heads.

The lead nutjobs, Joker and Harley Quinn, are madly in love as well as lovingly mad. Joker comes off as a green-haired victim of an overly ambitious dentist. Harley blends high-school cheerleader fetish with fatal forbidden fruitiness.

Super villainess Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) hammers home a point in David Ayer's "Suicide Squad."

They headline a lineup of lesser-explored characters, Monster T (Common), Killer Croc (former model Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Boomerang (Jai Courtney), the flame-throwing Diablo (Jay Hernandez), Slipknot (Adam Beach), the sword-wielding warrior Katana (Karen Fukuhara) and the vengeful Witch (Cara Delevingne), aka Dr. June Moone, lover of Colonel Flag.

(Purists will note their relationship deviates from the graphic novel.)

We meet hitman Deadshot (Will Smith), who can shoot the eye off a fly. His heart belongs to little daughter Zoe (Shailyn Pierre-Dixon), a sweetie who, during an early fight scene, pleads for the life of a vulnerable Batman (an uncredited Ben Affleck), so he can go make the next stand-alone Caped Crusader adventure after appearing in 2017's “Justice League.”

These characters flit from one fight to the next without ever doubling their one-dimensional personalities. (Contrast this movie with Joss Whedon's superior superhero tale “The Avengers,” which effectively juggles the working relationships of six main characters, plus their battles.)

Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) intimidates foes as Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) drives them batty in David Ayer's "Suicide Squad."

Of course, these are villains, not heroes, as Ayer constantly reminds us.

“We're bad guys,” Harley harps. “It's what we do!”

“Don't forget,” Deadshot says, “We're the bad guys!”

Do they worry that we haven't been paying attention?

Ayer, whose most impressive movie so far would be the L.A. cop drama “End of Watch,” clearly wants to delve into taboo territory with “Suicide Squad,” but PG-13 limitations blunt his provocative story into a teasing narrative of pulled punches and cartoony, sanitized violence.

A raging war between the Squad and an evil army screams out to be a visceral, brutal battle. Instead, these soldiers simply crumble to dust like pixilated targets in a first-person shooter video game.

In the age of edgy programs such as “Game of Thrones” and “American Horror Story” - where audiences can truly experience the dark side of humanity - this movie settles for being beige.

“Suicide Squad”

★ ½

Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck, Joel Kinnaman

Directed by: David Ayer

Other: A Warner Bros. release. Rated PG-13 for language, suggestive behavior and violence. 100 minutes

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