Director: James Gunn
Genre: Action/
Adventure
Runtime: 132
minutes
Year:
2021
Starring: Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena, Sylvester Stallone,
Alica Braga, Viola Davis, Michael Rooker, Peter Capaldi, David Dastmalchian,
Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion, Daniela Melchior, Taika Waititi, Sean Gunn
Description: Supervillains
Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena)
and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret,
super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused
island of Corto Maltese.
Review: It’s not often that a film is released that seems to serve primarily as
a retread of its predecessor. Then again, few films fail the way “Suicide Squad”
did in 2016. This attempt to provide some differentiation for DC’s superhero
line had plenty of potential, but the end result was far from impressive. The screenplay
was a hastily written mess, the characters as flat as a dime and the choices
for musical accompaniment both arbitrary and ridiculously obvious. And if those
flaw didn’t already neck the film, the questionable editing did. In the end,
the most memorable thing about the film was Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.
The film was nevertheless a
financial success. The sequel was not immediately made with the same people.
The audience would not fall for it so easily the second time around. “The
Suicide Squad” functions to some extent as a sequel film (same concept, some
returning actors), but one that takes as little notice as possible of its
predecessor. To be on the safe side, writer-director James Gun has been
enlisted for this second attempt. And he turns out the be the right person in
the right place.
This time, the criminal
troupe is assigned to a sabotage mission in a South American island state where
a coup has recently taken place. That this premise sounds like the average
American action film from the 1980s is probably no coincidence. Whereas the
productions from the Reagan era took it for granted that American mourners
could go about their business overseas, “The Suicide Squad” questions this a
lot more. But even apart from all the critical notes that are cracked, this set-up
ensures that the mission is completely clear from the start, even when the team
members are somewhat in the dark. And when the situation does suddenly take a
supernatural turn, it’s an unforeseen complication for which they were not
prepared, rather than the film’s loudly stated premise.
Another big improvement is
that, unlike his predecessor David Ayer, James Gunn never seems to feel the
need to try to portray his characters in a cool way. Thus, the new team
consists of all but a few goofy characters in outfits that look anything but
intimidating. It is therefore not inconceivable that Gunn explicitly wanted
characters that had no plans for film anyway. He succeeds in doing so because
he treats the plot with the necessary lightness, but provides characters with
sufficient humanity. So this time no visual profiles to show how eccentric the
team members are, but just normal introduction scenes and then clear
characterization by how these characters deal with the circumstances and each
other.
While it is quite plausible
that Gunn was hired based on his “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, the success
of “The Suicide Squad” is mostly related to his past work. After all, Gunn
began his career at Troma Entertainment, which specializes in exploitative
horror. And he can draw from that experience for “The Suicide Squad” a lot more
than he could from his Marvel films. So keep in mind an extremely brutal and
sometimes even grotesque spectacle in which a blood flows richly. Perhaps this
orgy of violence will not please everyone, but anyone who is used to it can
look forward to a frenzied bloody showdown.
The casting choices are on
point. Margot Robbie has of course already proven herself as Harley Quinn and
is again magnificent in her role. Idris Elba, who sort of serves as the main
character Bloodsport, does a wonderful job as well and his interaction an
dynamic with John Cena’s Peacemaker is one of the highlights of the film. I
also enjoyed David Dastmalchian and Daniela Melchior, who portrayed
Ratcatcher 2 and Polka Dot Man, who did an amazing job in supporting the
supervillain team. But the scene stealer is without a doubt King Shark, a
walking and talking shark voiced by Sylvester Stallone.
Although all elements have an origin in the DC comics,
“The Suicide Squad” rarely feels like a movie version of a superhero world.
Guns’ eclectic mix of extreme body violence, bizarre characters, absurdist
scenes, nihilistic fun and uncomfortable body horror, which also includes alien
life, American imperialism and Nazi experiments in passing, is more reminiscent
of a “Rick and Morty” episode. In terms of tone, it’s hardly in keeping with other
DC films, but the idea of a consistent shared film universe was already a thing
of the past with the first “Suicide Squad”. “The Suicide Squad” is one of the
best DC movies, probably even the best since “The Dark Knight”.
Rating: 4,5
/ 5
