“The Suicide Squad” (** out of four) was a half-hearted sequel to the 2016 original about the crime-fighting squad (Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, and others) who join the mysterious Task Force X and are plunged into the remote island of Corto Maltese in a battle against the vicious military and the villainous Thinker (Peter Capaldi) who are attempting world domination. Lots of action and visual effects but film lacks the spice and style of the underrated original and comes up empty; even Robbie who was dynamic in the original is more annoying than entertaining. Spectacular final half-hour compensates a little but film is numbing and overlong at over two hours.