As a big fan of the first two “Suicide Squad” films, I hated to see the third film killed off. So, when Warner Bros. announced the team was getting a spinoff film, I figured this will be a great chance to see where this franchise could go. I was wrong.
Hollywood has always been about excess and spectacle. Even the most successful films on the big screen have a tendency to feel bloated or bloated-adjacent, filled with action-set pieces and special effects that often feel like they don’t belong in the movie. But sometimes, a movie comes along that feels like it gets everything just right, and “Suicide Squad” is the latest example of that trend.
After years of watching movies with mindless characters with no motivation to do anything, a film like “Suicide Squad” comes along and uses insane characters to give insight to a society that’s lost its momentum. Sure, it’s a superhero movie that’s dead on its feet in every way but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining.. Read more about suicide squad 2 and let us know what you think.
Take a trip back in time to August of 2016, five years ago. Following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War, which had superhero friends battling each other over opposing ideals, the notion of a comic book film focused on a ragtag gang of criminals grudgingly working for the greater good was extremely appealing. Oh, how stupid we were to be fooled by these fantastic trailers, which were allegedly so excellent that the guys who edited them would be hired to edit the whole film. Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer, was an utter catastrophe of a film that seemed strangely eager to be loved. The film is essentially a microcosm of everything wrong with contemporary blockbuster filmmaking, from the obnoxious classic rock soundtrack to the faux punk Hot Topic aesthetic, the cringeworthy attempts at humor, the ludicrously overblown stakes, and whatever the hell Jared Leto’s portrayal of the Joker was supposed to be.
Suicide Squad was obviously intended to be the DCEU’s reaction to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy’s unexpected success. However, Warner Bros. is a studio that produces films. decided to employ James Gunn, the guy whose tone and style they were attempting to imitate in the first place, to direct the sequel/soft reboot of this quirky band of violent misfits. While James Gunn defies Sean Parker’s suggestion in The Social Network by not dropping the ‘the,’ The Suicide Squad stands out for much more than that three-letter article.
Once again, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) gathers DC’s rogues’ gallery of minor and second-rate villains imprisoned in Belle Reve Prison to be dispatched on dubious, top-secret government missions in return for mercy or time off their sentences if they survive. This time, if they accept the mission (which the bombs in their necks have chosen for them), they must infiltrate the fictional South American island nation of Corto Maltese and destroy a research facility housing the nefarious Project Starfish, as well as apprehend its insane creator known as the Thinker (Peter Capaldi with a dozen Lite-Brite pegs glued to his head).
Among the new cannon fodder at Amanda Waller’s disposal are Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie in her third appearance as the now-iconic character), Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). Idris Elba’s Bloodsport is a deadly assassin with a golden heart and a severe case of musophobia, John Cena’s overly patriotic and bloodthirsty brute with the rather ironic moniker of Peacemaker, a woman with a magical Playstation Move controller that can summon swarms of rats, Nathan Fillion as a man who can detach his limbs from his body, a man with an inter- (Meathead action actors portraying huge, stupid, loving CGI characters are obviously Gunn’s thing.)
Warner Bros.
The Suicide Squad delivers on what fans wanted the first time around, with a larger cast, the promise of a greater death count, and all the blood, guts, and profanity that comes with the R classification. Gunn’s finest filmmaking instincts are on full show here, as his twisted sense of comedy, when combined with these vile people, raises everything to a new level of goofiness and filth. The stakes in the film are still too high for these types of characters to deal with, but the third act, in which a giant alien starfish and its army of face-hugging offspring terrorize Corto Maltese, is on par with, if not greater than, the insane register on which the entire film has been operating. Gunn’s Troma influences have pervaded his Hollywood work, and The Suicide Squad is where they shine most. The brutality is so hilariously over-the-top that there’s a scene when Bloodsport and Peacemaker inadvertently kill an entire camp of freedom fighters, and Gunn manages to make it hilarious. Because he understands and owns how trashy and ridiculous what he’s creating is, the film can pull off difficult comic moments like these with ease.
Even though the bulk of the characters seem to have an expiry date written on their forehead the minute they come on screen, The Suicide Squad’s irreverent and in-your-face attitude doesn’t imply it doesn’t care about them. Whereas in the last picture, most of the characters’ backstories were tacked-on afterthoughts, The Suicide Squad handles them more elegantly, with some additional comedy and some unexpected nuggets of emotional depth. Ratcatcher II (Daniela Melchoir) is a Pied Piper-like character whose hard childhood on the streets with her father (a strange but effective appearance by Taika Waititi) provided her with a sense of purpose via her relationship with the rats. Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) was the product of his mother’s failed attempt to turn him into a superhero when he was a kid, and he is constantly tormented by her face everywhere he goes. After being separated from the rest of the team early on, Harley Quinn establishes her own independence and agency, culminating in a fantastic prison escape sequence set to the tune of Louis Prima’s Just a Gigalo, in which Harley gleefully guns down dozens of prison guards and sees them bleed cartoon birds and flowers. In his collection of disposable human targets, Gunn shows some real compassion, yet he is still able to find comedy at their expense that, although sometimes mean-spirited, is never disrespectful to them.
The Suicide Squad is the course correction that DC needed for these characters. It’s funny, filthy, and a bit harsh. It’s self-aware of how crazy the film is and has a tremendous amount of fun with it, all while without spraining an eyelid from winking at the audience. That is what distinguishes DC’s recent production from Marvel’s; they have shown they aren’t scared to go strange, and James Gunn openly flaunts his freak flag.
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Warner Bros. has done a remarkable job of making a movie based on a DC Comics property that is both critically and commercially successful. The studio’s next DC film, “Suicide Squad,” arrives in theaters this month. While it has been a few years since the last live-action “Batman” film, this one should attract more fans than the last film did, and with the critical and box office success of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” it’s no wonder.. Read more about suicide squad characters and let us know what you think.
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