What happens when you throw a bunch of wacko super villains against a mission with a 0.0001% chance of survival? Death, as well as a good comic book movie.
“The Suicide Squad” is the recent rag-tag-villain-team film set in the DCEU and a follow-up to 2016’s “Suicide Squad.” It was written and directed by James Gunn, who also created the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films for Marvel. It was released in theaters and on HBO Max.
The film follows Task Force X, a group of several villains who must complete a mission for Amanda Waller. If they complete it, they get 10 years off their prison sentence. Otherwise, the only avenue is death, whether by implanted explosive or in the field. In this case, they must infiltrate a military state nation and stop a secret weapons program from going out of control.
“The Suicide Squad” works as a fun and fairly standalone comic book movie. It does everything it needs to and in style, even if it doesn’t break much new ground. But it’s bound to be a good time regardless.
The film has an extensive cast. There are a few returning faces, like Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. Now, some new faces include Idris Elba, John Cena, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Sylvester Stallone, Peter Capaldi, Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion and Sean Gunn, plus many others.
Generally, everyone does a great job at making each character distinct enough to stand out amongst the large cast. As the film goes on, a more set group emerges. Without spoiling anything, the group that lasts the longest provides great performances, especially from David Dastmalchian and Daniela Melchior. Just don’t get attached to every name listed above.
The surviving members create the movie’s strongest element, which is the characters. There is a surprising amount of depth given to the main cast, especially for some admittedly stupid characters. But Gunn has created a believable and well-rounded team of broken individuals that offer some decent emotional cores throughout the movie.
The overall story is pretty basic, just following the team on their mission. However, it’s sometimes told non-linearly, with several instances of the movie going to a brief flashback (sometimes to just minutes prior) to convey information. It can be a little distracting at times, but it’s consistent enough to get used to.
This does lead into one of the movie’s issues, which is a carryover from “Suicide Squad.” The movie has an exposition problem, where the movie delivers most of its information through dialogue. It’s not the worst usage of exposition, and it is often played for a joke, but it’s annoying having characters directly say who and what other characters are without showing it until much later.
Along with that, the pacing of the movie is a little off, specifically in the opening scene; it is way too fast, delivering information and introducing characters so quickly that it’s hard to keep up for a few minutes. It works as a joke, but it’s hard to latch onto anything. Afterwards, it becomes more consistent as the movie progresses, leveling out well enough to follow along.
Generally, the editing works well, especially in keeping everything comprehensible — something that the previous movie is infamous for failing at. There are several fun and stylish techniques used, especially in transitioning between segments. It provides an extra touch that helps the film standout from other superhero movies.
Speaking of Gunn’s flourishes, the soundtrack is pretty killer. It alleviates the previous film’s overuse of pop songs, but it’s still ever present throughout the film. However, the difference in this film is that they serve a better thematic purpose that matches the tone, style and on-screen antics of the movie. There’s also a score to this film that acts like a bunch of guitar riffs. It works for the movie, but it’s indistinguishable from the soundtrack at times.
The overall sound design works well, too, providing a punch to the face with its gunshots and fight scenes. Elements like the main threat are impressive with how they decided to make it sound, which is fantastic in a large theater.
The cinematography is great, if a little basic at times. There’s not any crazy lighting, but there are several sequences with some incredible camera movements. A few highlights include a walk up fight in the rain, a one shot in a bus with the action taking place outside, a fight scene focusing on Harley Quinn (which is both visually and stylistically the best scene in the film) and a pissing contest between two characters on how many people they can kill.
Speaking of pissing contests, the comedy in this movie is consistently good, but not outrageously funny. There are several good jokes placed throughout the movie. However, only a few garnered more than just a smile. The comedy is good enough that audiences will be able to enjoy the movie on that basis alone.
“The Suicide Squad” is an entertaining villain movie that works as a spin-off within the larger franchise. Its engaging characters, energetic nature and good comedy will resonate with audiences for a deadly good time.
Personally, this film isn’t placed within the upper echelons of the DCEU. But, it’s at least reassuring to know that DC has the ability to release good summer superhero blockbusters that feel weird and different enough from everything else. It at least doesn’t feel derivative, except maybe for James Gunn’s Marvel work.
Hopefully, Gunn will continue to work within the realms of the DCEU. It will be refreshing having a different directorial voice within that universe. For now, this film acts as a good time in the theater for what ultimately amounts to a bloodbath of villainous proportions.
3.5/5 Torches
