Movie Reviews - The Suicide Squad

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