Warner Bros. Pictures
When Suicide Squad was released five years ago, it came with high expectations for expanding the DC Comics cinematic universe (or DCEU, the E for ‘Extended’), especially with the introduction of Jared Leto’s Joker, who was then supposed to feature in a post-credits tease in Justice League to lead into Ben Affleck’s Batman movie. Well … we all know how that turned out. (And for the record, Leto’s performance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League is much more disturbing than the one he gave in Suicide Squad.) Suicide Squad earned mixed reviews and isn’t that well-regarded among DC fans, and recent rumblings from director David Ayer suggest the studio butchered his version of the film … much like what happened with Justice League. So has Warner Bros. learned a lesson at this point?
It appears they have, turning over the reins for The Suicide Squad to James Gunn (after he was unceremoniously fired by Disney over decades old questionable tweets … then rehired when they realized Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was in danger of imploding without him), seemingly allowing him to have complete creative control over the story, editing and final cut. Judging from what’s on screen, it’s hard to imagine the studio had any hand in that final product except for having to give it a stamp of approval. Probably the biggest question surrounding the film now is — is it a sequel or a reboot? Well, even with a mostly new team, I’m going to say it falls into the sequel category (even if WB doesn’t want to admit it by not adding a 2 to the title) because the main characters, and actors, carry over from the first film: Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and, of course, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Even one other team member, Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) is here. They all know each other so this is definitely a sequel, even if the team is comprised of mostly new members.
I want to tread lightly here as far as the story because a lot happens in the first ten minutes that completely changes the dynamic of the team. Suffice it to say, Waller is recruiting a new Suicide Squad to drop in on the island nation of Corto Maltese, where a new dictatorial regime has overthrown the once US-friendly government, to find and destroy the facility known as Jotunheim, and everything in it … including records that indicate the US involvement in something called Project Starfish. Led by Flag and Quinn, the new team — which includes new members Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) and King Shark (Sylvester Stallone) — encounter dangerous obstacles, mistaken identities, and a surprising final adversary in order to carry out their mission. But in the end, they wonder if they’re working for the good of the country or one woman’s personal agenda.
There are other members of the Squad as well — Savant (Michael Rooker), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling Ng), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Weasel (Sean Gunn) — who figure into the film’s insane opening sequence. There is also Peter Capaldi as Thinker, the man the Squad is sent to intercept to help them gain entry into Jotunheim. It’s a lot to take in. And we haven’t even included Waller’s team members John Economos (Steve Agee), Flo Crawley (Tinashe Kajese-Bolden) and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), who begin to question Waller’s intentions after she threatens to blow off the heads of the Squad if they don’t follow orders, and then makes threats against Bloodsport’s daughter if he fails to obey.
The Suicide Squad is packed to the gills with action, crazy visuals and wild camera movements. It’s bright and colorful too. The film gives Robbie probably her best interpretation of harley Quinn to date, and the character has grown significantly, but following a trajectory from Suicide Squad to Birds of Prey to now. She is completely over Joker and she shows that she’s not going to be anyone’s trophy in one key scene. And then she gets to let loose later as she takes out an entire squadron of guards at Jotunheim in a completely over-the-top, beautifully violent scene. Gunn even manages to make Flag a character you actually care about this time around and Kinnamon’s performance is more natural than in the first film. Idris Elba is a strong presence in the film, but his more subdued character is out-shined but some of the other newcomers. David Dastmalchian’s Polka-Dot Man is a very interesting character, and his backstory involving his mother and S.T.A.R. Labs makes him even more intriguing, and his lethal polka-dots rival Harley’s burst of flowers in the ‘beautiful violence’ department. And it’s hard not to fall in love with Daniela Melchior’s Ratchatcher 2 and her rat Sebastian (who waves at people and has a thing for Bloodsport). Melchior gives the character such heart, and Sebastian is so adorable, that you fear for their safety for the entire film. And John Cena is pretty great too as the comically stoic Peacemaker. At times the character is a bit of a buffoon, but when it comes to carrying out his mission, he is all business and won’t let anyone stand in his way. Quite literally.
What may be most surprising in the film is the body count. Not just the bad guys. There are numerous deaths of both minor and major characters, one in particular that had my jaw on the floor (although the character has died in the comics, it seems too soon for a death this major). If I have any complaint about the film, it’s that it goes on just a bit too long, especially the final scene with Project Starfish. It’s like Gunn tried to cram in an much as he could in case he doesn’t get to make a follow-up. It all just started to wear me out after a while, but that’s a minor quibble for a film that is packed with so much action (easily earning it’s R-rating), humor and heart … and that’s not something you can really say about the first one. That being said, The Suicide Squad is a success thanks to Gunn’s involvement and Warner’s apparent ‘hands off’ approach. The question remains, will it be successful enough for a follow-up, and if not what becomes of Harley Quinn?
Want to see The Suicide Squad and judge for yourself? Click on the image below to see the movie, and be sure to come back and tell us what you thought!
The Suicide Squad has a run time of 2 hours 12 minutes and is rated R for strong violence and gore, language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and brief graphic nudity.
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