"The Suicide Squad" Review

   

I'm not going to mince words: 2016's "Suicide Squad" is bar none one of the worst movies I have ever seen based on a comic book property. Here was a film with so much potential (an interesting choice of director, a great premise for the comic book genre and a killer cast) completely, utterly wasted due to massive corporate mangling after the negative reception for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". To me, it massively damaged the idea of this ecclectic property from DC Comics ever resonating in film after such a high profile, confused disaster. 

Enter James Gunn. 

Fresh off the heels from his unfortunate ouster from Disney following the unearthing of some old, unsavory tweets, Warner Bros. absolutely struck gold by immediately bringing in James Gunn and giving him carte blance to do anything he wanted with any DC property. Considering Gunn absolutely cemented his reputation with handling a band of misfits with the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, it should come as no surprise he would gravitate towards giving his take on the specific group that fits the mold from his most recent films. It was a risky idea, considering how stenched of rot the "Suicide Squad" property is just based on that first film, but it was a risk that paid off. Even with some slight flaws, "The Suicide Squad" is bar none the raunchiest, zaniest, most violent and insane comic book movie I've ever seen, and an outrageously good time. 

"The Suicide Squad" couldn't be any more different than its 2016 progenitor. Whereas the previous film by David Ayer got butchered tonally in the mangled corporate edit (it couldn't decide if it wanted to be a fun, zany romp and a dark and dreary character drama), this new film zeroes in on its quasi-1970's war comedy tone completely, and on top of that, fully unleashes thanks to its R rating. 

The plot of the film is fairly simple. Amanda Waller (played with incredible deadpan delivery by Viola Davis) assembles Task Force X AKA "The Suicide Squad" to infiltrate the island of Corto Maltese to deal with an alien experiment within the island's Jottunheim facility called "Project Starfish". Returning from the first film are the force's leader Rick Flag (John Kinnaman), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie continuing to nail the role), and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and they are joined by newcommers Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Polkadot Man (David Dastmalchian), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), Savant (Michael Rooker), TDK (Nathan Fillion), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling Ng), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Weasel (Sean Gunn), and So. Many. More. Gunn had a stacked cast for this movie, and the film wastes no time in living up to its namesake.

Believe me when I say people DIE, and Gunn wastes little time in eliminating them in the most gruesome of fashions.

This is where I have to put the disclaimer that this is an outrageously raunchy, violent film. Some of what Gunn does here hearkens back to his old, R-rated work, and that gruesome inappropriateness manages to mesh well with the "disfunctional superhero comedy with pathos" he nailed with the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies without ever feeling like he carbon copied his old work. If you enjoyed his "Guardians" work but don't have the stomach for ultraviolence and inappropriate humor/language, you may have a tough time enjoying what he did here. 

Along the way, "The Suicide Squad" features many scenes and moments I couldn't believe I was actually witnessing in a live action comic book movie. Apart from the inapproriateness of some of the violence and comedy gags, just seeing Gunn nail absolutely ridiculous moments like every single interaction from King Shark with the rest of the cast (from the physical comedy to Stallone's pitch perfect line delivery), Polkadot Man's strangely compelling visual powers (and the trauma that triggers them), Ratcatcher 2's relationship with her rat pet Sebastian, John Cena's Peacemaker looking and being an absolute doofus while managing to keep a straight face, to EVERYTHING that surrounds the final act, I can't believe we may have reached the point where live action comic book properties can absolutely recreate the ridiculousness that used to be so derided as cheesy back in the 60's and 70's. 

Yet amidst all that ridiculousness, the fact Gunn manages to extract some emotion and pathos out of anything that happens in this movie is nothing short of a miracle. We're talking ridiculousness like a giant talking shark wearing pants, a girl whose best friend is her pet rat, and where the main villain is a kaiju level starfish with mind control powers. Yet even with all of that, Gunn knows how to deliver the perfect “needle drop” to illicit a great emotional response. Particularly in the end, what he absolutely nails with Ratcatcher 2 was the kind of moment that made me scream "damn". 

As for the death count (which is a super important element that defines any good "Suicide Squad" story dating back to the comics), not since "Game of Thrones" have I seen something be absolutely relentless with how unsafe the headliner characters are. Without spoiling it, some of the deaths came in swift and in absolutely shocking moments, and some get so close to death, it will toy with your emotions. Such are the good stakes Gunn managed to elicit from his story, and I'm glad he didn't pull his punches. 

At the same time, there are moments where not everything fully clicks. The movie is full of comedy, and for the most part it lands, but in its excess, some jokes don't quite land like others. Particularly, some of the jokes from the Red Band trailer that were absolutely hilarious don't land with the same punch in the full movie. Also, there are a couple pacing moments, where there is a bit of a lack of rythm to how some scenes flow from one another. There is a weird balance to when we get the absolute crazy scenes, where at times we get too many back to back, and then where there's some gnawing gaps where you wait a bit too long for things to pick up again. 

But those flaws don't take away from the sheer grandeur and outrageous time this movie gives. Not only will "The Suicide Squad" help the property clean its name after the mishandling of the previous 2016 film, both movies (as well as what happened earlier this year with the Snyder Cut of "Justice League") will serve as great case studies to what can happen when there's too much interference from the top, to when a director is given a vision and executes it with full creative freedom. 

The bungling of the DCEU early on will go down in history as one of cinema's greatest blunders, but to call spade a spade, ever since the mess that was the theatrical version of "Justice League", WB and DC have stricken gold more often than not, with "The Suicide Squad" another feather in their cap. Whether or not these DC films ever hit the kind of universal love the Marvel Cinematic Universe consistently gets has become a moot point. Where DC was expected to strike out more often than hitting, since 2018 their batting average has improved significantly, with movies like "The Suicide Squad" showing their willingness to embrace the insanity and uniqueness amongst the tried and true. 

More of these please, DC. 

★★★★☆

4.5/5 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Written by Alejandro Segovia

Scoring rubric:

★ : 1 point  ☆ : 0.5 points

★★★★★: Essential. Excellent. Close to flawless. Transcends any minor flaws it may have. 

   ★★★★: Great/Highly recommended. Great all around. Some flaws worth mentioning, but nothing to worry about.

      ★★★: Okay/Recommended. Contains things worth watching & experiencing, but flaws can hinder the experience.

         ★★: Bad/Questionable. Pretty much mediocrity. The flaws start to significantly hinder anything good within.

             ★: Avoid/Awful. Getting into pretty bad territory, to downright skip.  (some enjoyment as "so bad its good). Preferably don't waste your time.