Suicide Squad is a film that is revered extremely negatively by both critics and audiences. As for me, because I'm not fully up to speed with the DC Extended Universe, I hadn't seen it until very recently. I'm rather indifferent about it overall; I certainly don't share the animosity that many people have towards it, but I also don't really think it is all that good. Nevertheless, with a new take on this group, this time around with a definite article in the title, I went to a packed cinema to give it a go after hearing some very good things.
The plot involves a group of criminal misfits being sent to a remote island on a mission to destroy evidence regarding a dangerous experiment, in exchange for reduced prison sentences and for other personal reasons.
As many others have said, this movie is wildly entertaining; and I think the reason for this is down to a few things, most of which hinge on the perfection that is James Gunn as the writer / director.
First of all, he's successfully handled obscure and ridiculous characters on the big screen before. What many people best know Gunn for is his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy films, where he was able to bring a group of peculiar and, for many people including myself, obscure characters to the screen rather wonderfully. The Suicide Squad, based on what I've seen from the movies, is an equally bonkers set of characters. If there's one person you needed to successfully bring to life a guy that throws deadly polka dots, a girl that controls rats, and a giant, talking, humanoid shark, I'd definitely go with the same person that did so for a talking raccoon and a talking tree. As a result, all the characters in this movie are all really well realised. But, is that enough?
Well, another reason why Gunn was an excellent choice is because he's funny. If there's one thing Suicide Squad was lacking, it
was good humour. It felt like it was definitely going for humour a lot of the time,
yet even with usually funny actors like Will Smith, I hardly laughed
throughout the entirety of its two-hour runtime. I knew this movie was
doing a much better job in the comedy department when the first ten
minutes alone were funnier and more enjoyable overall than anything in
the previous film. It doesn't feel like it's taking itself as seriously by comparison, which feels tonally very in line with these wacky characters.
On top of all this, the way he helms the action scenes is completely fitting. As I'm only familiar with Gunn's work with the Guardians films, I was unaware that he definitely has a knack for crafting such beautifully brutal action. The Suicide Squad's action scenes are fairly standard modern superhero movie antics but with extreme amounts of blood and gore, in a sort of Tarantino way. And, honestly, I'm all for it. I'm sometimes a little squeamish but I do find a twisted enjoyment in a film that has no limits in just how violent and graphic it can get, so I hugely enjoyed what this film had on offer because it is an absolute bloodbath. But not only that, this also helps to give the action more flare and make it more distinct, which is another area where the last Suicide Squad movie was lacking; the action was so plain, while this film's definitely isn't.
The performances help to really elevate the movie into being as enjoyable as it is. Margot Robbie, who was by far the best thing in the first movie, is even better here, as not only is she written better and funnier, but it felt as if the filmmakers gave her manaiacal behaviour more time to shine, and it's so hard to resist. Idris Elba does a great job as well; he functions as kind of the straight man in the group, constantly commenting on just how absurd everything is, which is perfect coming from him. John Cena is also a stand-out - he's definitely becoming a favourite actor of mine as, much like fellow wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson, he's just such a likeable, funny, and charismatic presence, which was very apparent here. Everyone else in the cast was solid too, not least Sylvester Stallone, who provides the voice of King Shark - the giant, talking, humanoid shark with the mannerisms of Hulk, which was just as fun as you can imagine.
As far as negatives go, there aren't an awful lot. I suppose there's not an awful lot of thematic brilliance to take away from the movie, but I don't really think that's a necessity for a film of this nature. There are also some choices made regarding certain characters that I wasn't such a fan of, but that'd require me to go into spoilers so I'll elaborate later on. Other than that, there really isn't much to critique.
Overall, The Suicide Squad was great fun. An extremely entertaining and delightfully bloody action spectacle with some top-notch comedy and terrific acting. I wouldn't say it's anything amazing, but it's a blast for sure. It obviously blows the original Suicide Squad out of the water, as if that needed saying, so definitely give it a go if you were disappointed by that film, because this should absolutely win you over.
I'm going to give The Suicide Sqaud an 8.0/10
I'm now going to briefly discuss my issues with the film that require me to go into spoiler territory, so if you have not seen the movie and don't want anything ruined, don't read the following. SPOILER ALERT!
So, my biggest issue with this film is that I didn't like the way they handled Peacemaker, the character played by John Cena. In the film, he turns against the group for reasons related to his own personal ideologies as well as the objective of the mission, and is soon killed off by Bloodsport, Idris Elba's character.
While this is a justifiable choice in the landscape of the movie, as Peacemaker was set up as kind of arrogant and poses as a contrast to Bloodsport, I don't think it was particularly satisfying. I feel like it would've been better to see these two overcome their petty differences and defeat the enemy together. Even if what did happen was in line with his character, I feel like it could've been easily altered. Basically, the bottom line is I was really enjoyed John Cena in the movie and loved the dynamic between him and Idris Elba, and was annoyed that it didn't go on for longer.
I guess I should stop complaining and just appreciate the fact that the filmmakers actually managed to make John Cena visible. That can't have been easy to do.
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