Rarely in Hollywood do filmmakers get do-overs. After DC’s “Suicide Squad” back in 2016 was an abysmal failure, many thought that would be the last we would see the supervillain team. But despite the critical failure of the film, it made quite a lot of money. Raking in almost $800 million at the box office, a sequel to “Suicide Squad” seemed inevitable.
Still, DC knew the sequel couldn’t make the same mistakes as its predecessor. So after James Gunn, director of both “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, was fired from Disney after some old tweets resurfaced, DC didn’t hesitate. A mere few days after his firing, DC offered him the chance to write and direct the new “Suicide Squad” film. And unlike “Zach Snyder’s “Justice League,” he would have full creative control.
“The Suicide Squad” isn’t quite a sequel of the first, and isn’t quite a reboot either. Many of the characters from the first including Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, Captain Boomerang, and Amanda Waller return, but a majority of the team is brand new. I would describe it as more of a soft reboot; it keeps the characters and development from the first, but tries to distance itself from it as much as possible.
From the first scene, we know that this is a whole different monster from the first. Instead of wasting half the run-time on the introduction of characters and set-up, we jump right in. A new Suicide Squad is formed, and they immediately take us into their first mission: a siege of the fictional South American country Corto Maltese after a dangerous new leader takes over. Ambushed, the Suicide Squad get obliterated, one-by-one. The opening credits roll, revealing the destroyed bodies of our heroes. Then we’re meet our main protagonists: a second Suicide Squad, who, using the first as a distraction, are able to get into Corto Maltese.
It’s a stellar opening, showing us that Gunn has taken the name of his film to heart. Already, more key characters have died in the first ten minutes than the entirety of the first film. I’d like to note that this is a full R rating, an element that Gunn was not backing down on, as he said he would walk if he could not make this film in all of its bloody glory. And boy, he holds nothing back. Blood, guts, brains—the whole thing. Still, I don’t think he’s being gory just for the sake of gory. Each death means something, and has an effect on the plot as a whole.
Our main cast includes Bloodsport (Idris Elba), fan-favorite Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), peace-loving Peacemaker (John Cena), team leader Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), polka-dot wielding Polka Dot Man (Daniel Dastmalchian), newcomer Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), and the lovable King Shark (Sylvester Stallone). Each of these characters feel so unique, especially compared to the first, where everyone felt practically the same. Still, this film has the same problem that the 2016 version had. By the end, the movie tried to convince us that they were good friends. But the problem is, in the little time that they spent together, they barely ever talked, apart from a few sob stories about their childhood. In both instances, I didn’t feel that the squad actually had a relationship.
On that same note, reviewers have been praising “The Suicide Squad” for its astounding character work. And while I don’t think it’s amazing, Gunn did really well at making us care for these characters. I was always worried that my favorite was going to get killed, and that’s quite an impressive feat.
This film does struggle with pacing issues, however. The middle chunk of the movie slogs, filled with scenes that barely do anything for the plot. It’s no coincidence that this part of the film was the one with the least action, as after a while of seeing these characters banter and whine about their past, one can get a little bored.
That’s not to say that the performances are bad, though. John Cena gives the performance of his acting career as the psychotic man who will do anything for peace. Such an intriguing character, one that I’m excited to see in his upcoming spinoff show, also directed by James Gunn. Sylvester Stallone shines as King Shark, a dumb, cute, anthropomorphic shark. Akin to Vin Diesel’s Groot in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Gunn knows how to make these CGI characters come alive. I hardly think Idris Elba gave us a career best as Bloodsport, however. He just seemed kind of bland to me. But Daniela Melchior’s performance was probably my favorite. I haven’t seen her in any other projects before, so hopefully she’ll be cast more after this.
The thing is, the main problem with this film is intangible, since all the elements of the movie are top-notch. The acting is good, the writing is phenomenal, and the plot is great. Gunn once again managed to make a team of superheroes that no one cared about into household names.
I think the reason why it’s a step down from Gunn’s “Guardians” movies is because, well, it’s essentially another “Guardians” movie. It’s great to see more of his great work; but after you’ve seen a funny, team-up superhero flick with a lovable CGI character for the third time, it loses its effect. Now, perhaps if the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films didn’t exist, it would be a contender for the best comic book movie of all time. Still, it manages to be one of the craziest and most satisfying entries of the DCEU, and a big improvement over the letdown from 2016.
