Talk about a complete 180! How do you go from the a generic, problem riddled movie with some likeable but ultimately wasted characters, to a story that's equal parts unpredictable, funny, surprisingly heartfelt and darkly comedic with the kind of over the top violence you'll never see coming? Why you hire James freakin' Gunn of course!
I don't know what I was expecting when I sat down to watch DC's The Suicide Squad (2021) but it certainly wasn't this and I mean that in the BEST way possible. Gunn's near perfect blending of the more fantastical elements you would find in the pages of any comic book and the realistic (almost insanely brutal at that) depiction of violence and madness come together to make a comic book adaptation the likes of which no one has ever seen before. The closest thing I could compare it too is the television series The Boys and even then, this is not that.
Gunn and his team also make the smart choice of choosing to highlight characters that most everyone would be unfamiliar with. This way we start with a clean slate and an open mind. With the exception of a few returning faces like Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) and of course Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), we're invited to join an entirely new squad of D-listers on their impossible mission. This time around we also have main players Ratcatcher II (Daniela Melchior) Peacemaker (John Cena) Bloodsport (Idris Elba) Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) and Sylvester Stallone, yes you read that right as the cutest murderer ever brought to screen King Shark and when I tell you you're gonna fall in love with each and everyone of these people, I am not exaggerating.
I don't want to waste time comparing this movie to the one that came before, but I just have to mention how absolutely bonkers it is James Gunn made the time to give us one-on-one moments with each and every single one of these squad members without bringing the pacing or the energy in this movie to a halt. I teared up over Polka Dot Man and that's a sentence I never thought I would ever write.
It goes without saying the actors here brought their A-game and more to their roles with the aforementioned Polka Dot played by Dastmalchian bringing both laughs and real emotion to his part. Equally so was Melchior in her role as Ratcatcher, excuse me Ratcatcher II. A very important distinction since the one and only Taika Waititi plays the role of her father, the man she takes her name from and the player who also made me choke up a bit with his/their tragic story. I would be remiss in my review if I didn't stop to talk about Robbie absolutely slaying it as Harley Quinn. She has some of the coolest, most memorably stand out moments in this movie with her monologue on why she did that thing she did (no spoilers) showing us a side of Harley that has never effectively been brought to the screen before. And can we talk about her action sequence? Are you kidding me?!! This is one of those moments I mentioned where Gunn uses his genius to blend the comic world with the real one. It gave us a "look" into the way HQ's mind works as she blocks out the truly horrific things she's doing in a way only Harley can.
John Cena as Peacemaker was intense and I honestly didn't expect such great things from him. His role was the one that made me think most of Garth Ennis' series The Boys and I genuinely look forward to seeing more from this character. Last but never ever the least, let's talk about the cutest thing in the room. No I don't mean Sebastian the rat, (although, yes, he's a cutie in his own right) No my friends I wanna talk about King freakin' Shark! Gunn and Vin Diesel made Groot the character everyone wanted to take home with them and now the same can be said about Stallone's King of the Ocean, or in this case, a possible Demi-god named Nanaue. The choice to play him as a child-like creature, with the appetite of a great white was brilliant and there was never a scene where Shark with his inquisitive nature and his need to have more "nom-noms" didn't steal the show. I can't wait to get my hands on a plushy version of this guy!
With one memorable action sequence after another, Gunn keeps audiences on their toes and made sure The Suicide Squad lived up to their name. There was more than one moment where I was shocked by which character died next and I loved every minute of it. From that opening scene that felt like a replay of D-Day to the final act of our last remaining anti-heroes going up against the unthinkable and unstoppable (by the way I'm so glad I avoided the trailers and articles as I honestly didn't know who the villain was supposed to be) every one of these scenes out did the next and I was never left wanting. And can we talk about that soundtrack? Such a HUGE difference from Ayer's choice to just stick every single iconic song in his movie, whether it worked in the scene or not. Here Gunn once again shows his love for the obscure but fitting songs, the way he did with Guardians of the Galaxy. I have a couple of friends who are gonna be loving themselves with this soundtrack and its scores.
So are there any negatives? Well it's always hard to pin these down after just one viewing when you're all hopped up on adrenaline and excitement, but if anything comes to mine for me it would be the first act. It took me a minute to adjust to the tone of this new story and it felt a bit jarring as things settled into a rhythm. But that might just be me as I wasn't expecting a movie such as this to have such a wonderfully weird tone. I also wished we got more Amanda Waller. Viola Davis is as elite an actress as they come and she was one of only two things I enjoyed in the first movie so I was hoping for more time with The Wall. Although to be fair, what I got was everything you would expect from this character (for those who know her well) and once again Davis proves there's no person more terrifying than the woman with her hand on the literal red button.
Last but not least was Idris Elba's Bloodsport. Easy now folks, put down the pitchforks and torches, I'm not saying I didn't like this character. What's not to like?! That has to be one of the coolest looking suits I've ever seen and the way it works was all kinds of awesome. Idris also delivers on some powerful moments in this movie especially when we're talking about the more emotional stuff. I just felt like compared to the rest of them, Bloodsport got a bit lost in the background. Maybe it's because he sometimes feels like you're seeing Deadshot in another form or maybe because with so many memorable characters to choose from, Bloodsport just falls a bit lower on the totem pole for me. The villains (with the exception of the big guy himself) didn't leave any impression, as well as the freedom fighters who sadly were only in this movie as scene stoppers and cannon fodder. Poor Alice Braga. Will this woman ever find a role in a comic book adaptation that isn't forgettable?
Again, this is just my personal nitpicks and as of right this second, I can't think of any reason not to call James Gunn's The Suicide Squad a home run of comic book movie making. I could go on and on about this but then I would be writing a novel and not a review, so I'll just say I loved the tone, the music, the action, the characters, the editing, the pacing, the visuals (OH MY GOD, THE VISUALS!) and of all the comic book movies out there, this one in my opinion will be one of the most rewatched in times to come.
Good luck to future Directors of this series who has to take up the baton and run with it. You're gonna need it!
7 out of 16 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Tell Your Friends