This is what happens when you give a mad man a budget.... and it couldn't be more glorious! A second attempt at 2016's attempt to create a team of anti-heroes out of supervillains, The Suicide Squad comes about after writer-director James Gunn, after being hired on to direct two Guardians of the Galaxy films for Disney, got canned for tweets he sent out years before getting hired on to direct two films for Disney. Slow and steady wins the race, I guess? I'm admittedly late reviewing this one, but it has given me the privilege to see the film twice before reviewing it, and after such, what are my thoughts? Let's take a look!
Quick Thoughts on Suicide Squad (2016)
I reviewed this one on my blog in the past, and sadly, my thoughts on it haven't softened. It's a mess. It spends too much time on backstory and not enough on story. The visuals are dark and lifeless, with too much of the action shot in the dark. Most of the best parts are when it's focused on the team just being a team, but they're minimal and lost. Jared Leto serves no purpose in the film. It had the best trailer of the year in my opinion, but the actual film was a letdown.
And all I can say after that is God bless James Gunn! Onto the current film!
Amanda Waller returns with a new mission for a new team! This time around, she's sending her recruits to a facility containing what's only known as Project Starfish, with the mission being to destroy the facility and all of the records in it. The team this time consists of an assassin named Bloodsport; a buff vigilante prone on maintaining peace at any cost named Peacemaker; the daughter of a scientist that focused on controlling rats to do his bidding named Ratcatcher (the daughter holding the name Ratcatcher 2); a man whose mom's experimental attempts to turn him into a superhero result in him being forced to shoot out polka dots, named Polka Dot Man; Rick Flag from the first movie, only now recast; Harley Quinn being Harley Quinn in a subplot; and my personal favorite, a CG shark whose stomach is bigger than his brains, King Shark.
What's Good About It
Many people who read my review of the first movie mentioned that my complaint about spending too much time on backstory wasn't fair because a team up movie like The Avengers featured each team member in their own movie. What this film proves, however, is that characters aren't defined by their past, but by their present actions and dialogue. This movie, while holding a little backstory when dramatically reasonable, mostly lets the characters be themselves, which makes the film much more focused and developed than dwelling on the characters' past all of the time.
This makes me realize just how restricted Gunn must've been on his Guardians movies. With this one, Warner Brothers has given Gunn full range to do what he wants, and his passion is on the screen every second. The action, the visuals, the dialogue, the music... Everything is flamboyant and extravagant.
Every actor here fits into their parts perfectly. Idris Elba is both suitably orderly as an assassin and compellingly snarky as a man dragged out to a place he doesn't want to be; John Cena is just as good at basically being a supervillain version of Mr. Incredible as you would think; and Sylvester Stallone is hilarious as King Shark!
I don't think I can speak too much on this without spoiling anything, but the main team itself has character arcs that are emotional and wholehearted. The whole recurring theme to me is lowly rats becoming the heroes; each character was treated as scum in their past life, but through working with each other and treating each other with respect, they end up coming together and winning the day. I would say this is the best team-up movie since The Avengers.
What Doesn't Work About It
Now, let me clarify: I'm not saying the violence in this is disgusting or that I'm squeamish or anything. What I am saying is this, though: What did seeing King Shark eat people add to the story? What did seeing Bloodsport's guns blow holes through people say about his character? Why did we need to see Captain Boomerang's boomerang split a guy's brain in half? This movie could've been PG-13, or at least a soft R, and the story could've been told the same way.
Where Should You See It? In Theaters
Overall Thoughts
I'll say it again, because it needs to be said... God bless James Gunn! The Suicide Squad is one of the best films of the year and one of the most unique comic book experiences of all time. It's juvenile, but in an appreciative manner. It creates compelling characters with satisfying arcs helmed by an outstanding cast. It's a huge improvement over 2016's mess, and if you're skipping out on it because of the dent that that film left, I plead that you give this one a chance.
My rating:
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