Brian Tallerico started his review by saying, “Many
will see James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” as a funhouse mirror inversion of the
writer/director’s work with “Guardians of the Galaxy.” After all, it’s another
collection of underdog heroes who overcome all odds to defeat an interstellar
enemy. “Guardians for Adults” wouldn’t be entirely incorrect. However, the main
influence on this clever action comedy isn’t Starlord but The Toxic Avenger.
Gunn has brought the B-movie sense of humor and brazenly adult level of
violence that he honed working with Troma Entertainment in the 1990s to his
first DC adaptation, even giving his mentor Lloyd Kaufman a cameo. Only the man
who wrote “Tromeo and Juliet” could deliver something this gleefully grotesque,
vicious, and unapologetic, and the DC Universe is all the better for it.”
Gunn intelligently avoids many of the problems of the
beginning moments of David Ayer’s attempt on this series of the DC Universe by
introducing a dozen or more characters into the film (thereby not giving views
a repeat of the hour or so of introductions from the first movie). Just to
clarify, this is somewhat of half-sequel, half-reboot where some actors play
the same characters but it’s also very much a standalone film. You don’t really
need to see the first one (and probably won’t) but it’s also not entirely a new
start.
For example, Viola Davis is one of the returning actors
from the first film, once again playing Amanda Waller, the manager of a group
called Task Force X. She is in charge of what is basically the Suicide Squad, a
team of superpowered criminals who are sent into fight with chips implanted in
the back of their heads. If they go off the mission, don’t do what they’re
told, say something against Waller, Waller sets the chip off. Most of the
anti-heroes don’t return, which is the reason for their name.
Waller has grouped a team to drop off the shore of a
South American island called Corto Maltese. It’s led by the fascinating Rick
Flag (Joel Kinnaman in a larger role) and the forever corrupted Harley Quinn
(Margot Robbie), but also includes Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Blackguard
(Pete Davidson), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling
Ng), and the creepy looking Weasel (Sean Gunn), which is a wide-eyed, six-foot
weasel. Going along to Corto Maltese on his first mission is Savant, played by
Michael Rooker, who somewhat leads the film in the beginning.
We’re just getting started with characters, so take
notes.
At the same time the first group is heading into
impending doom, another group is landing on an opposite beach, basically
allowing team one to be the distraction. They’re the real group of “The Suicide
Squad” and they include the born leader Bloodsport (Idris Elba), the blindly
patriotic Peacemaker (John Cena), the insecure Polka-Dot Man (David
Dastmalchian), the charming Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), and the
unforgettable King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), whose basic superpower appears
to be him wanting to eat his enemies (and possibly his comrades if he ends up
having to). When this group is joined by Flag and Quinn, the movie really moves
along, sending the team off to destroy a Nazi-type prison in the core of the
island where we see that a powerful alien animal named Starro is caged. A lot
of madness happens.
Tallerico said, “Chaos is the key aesthetic choice
here but directing this kind of sensory assault and not getting lost in the
noise is much harder than it looks, and it's Gunn’s greatest accomplishment
here. He never loses the characters in the action like so many poor modern
blockbusters tend to do. While it feels like “The Suicide Squad” is a
rollercoaster without brakes, it’s actually a very well-calibrated action
comedy, alternating humorous beats with bursts of intense violence. On that
note, this is the most insanely violent superhero blockbuster yet, making
“Deadpool” look kind of sweet. Gunn doesn’t just edge into adult territory with
his violence, he embraces the R rating that Marvel would never give him,
allowing limbs to be ripped from bodies and fates of his characters to usually
come with a gross, sticky sound. It’s a film that’s playful in its action in
ways that most modern blockbusters aren’t allowed to be. You can tell that Gunn
and his team are having a blast, and that kind of thing can be infectious.
Audiences know when a filmmaker is going through the motions for a corporation.
The films that last are when that doesn’t happen, and Gunn is doing this from
his Troma-raised passionate heart.”
He's also a really underrated filmmaker when we look
at balancing comedic tone with is cast. Tallerico noted, “The “Guardians” films
felt fresh because they remembered things like charisma and playfulness, both
of which are in abundance here too. Robbie knows Quinn inside and out by this
point, and it feels like Gunn returns her a bit more to her origins (even just
in color palette) than Ayer.” Elba finally gets a strong action movie lead and
does an amazing job – the conversation about how he’d still be an excellent
James Bond should happen again. He’s fascinating and even finds a little depth
in his character’s conflict over being forced into heroism. They’re the
standouts, but everyone here works, bringing their own fun to the cast, which
really shows Gunn’s skill with large casts.
I agree with Tallerico when he said, “Like so many
modern superhero movies, “The Suicide Squad” starts to feel long and
repetitious after a while, and it’s a little disappointing that a film borne
from a subversive template culminates in heroes and villains crashing into
crumbling buildings again. Without spoiling anything, there’s an element of the
final scenes of “The Suicide Squad” that I found playfully wonderful, but they
also become overly familiar in their “big boom, building fall down” structure.”
As smart as the film is made, a lack of ambition leaks in during the final
third. However, Gunn does get a hold on it just before it feels like it’s about
to go back into boredom, focusing it again on what has always interested him
the most: the underdog. It could be The Toxic Avenger, Rocket Raccoon, or The
Polka-Dot Man – they’re all the same to James Gunn, people who could be heroes
if only given the chance.
If you didn’t like the first “Suicide Squad” movie,
this one is for you. It is pure madness and insanity at its best. I think this
is what the first movie was supposed to be, but now that we have this sequel, I
really think it was worth it. All the violence, gore, characters, comedy,
everything about it just makes it pure DC fun. This is another step in the right
direction for the DC Extended Universe, and I’m looking forward to what it has
in store for us next. Check this out on HBO Max, if you don’t feel comfortable
going to the theaters yet.
Thank you for joining in on my review tonight, look
out next Friday for the next installment in “The Crow Month.”
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