[Rating: Solid Rock Fist Up]
In theaters and on HBO Max August 5.
Take a bunch of interesting unheard-of villains in the midst of Marvel mania, cast a couple of a-listers, have a simple yet compelling premise, and sprinkle in some needed adult humor in a primarily for families genre, and with The Suicide Squad, you have a recipe for superhero success.
Notoriously, Warner Bros managed to mess this up in 2016 with the now infamous Suicide Squad. Somehow Warner Bros. takes all the blame for the blunder due to a controversial cut, even though the bones of the film are incredibly brittle. Even with a director’s cut looming, it’s difficult to imagine that Suicide Squad will follow a similar path as Blade Runner’s road to redemption as the theatrical cut of Blade Runner made questionable narrative choices, instead of having something that looked and sounded like Jared Leto’s Joker running around.
Suicide Squad had so much potential but was so bad that the studio had to reboot it only five years later and just add “the” to the title to make audiences forget all about the nonsensical trainwreck that was the first. Letting the film become a passion project for James Gunn—a more competent director (please don’t tweet at me David Ayer)— plus handling the formula of interesting villains, a compelling premise, and genuine humor makes The Suicide Squad work like a charm. With danger present in every scene and not having previous investment with any of the main characters, with the exception of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), The Suicide Squad does what the first shocking never achieves by having actual stakes through establishing an actual Suicide Squad.
Taking place years after the original suicide squad mission proved to be a success, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) continues to take the most deranged and powerful criminals in prison and use their unique abilities to save the planet, but more importantly, look out for the United States best interest. With explosive devices implanted in their necks, the inmates are forced to execute these missions or die trying. Setting the stage for what would be the most fatal mission the agency has seen, Waller brings about the best of the worst to infiltrate the island of Corto Maltese and destroy an ex-Nazi lab hiding a colossal secret.
Once again Gunn opens the door of what a blockbuster superhero film can be. Finding success in the Marvel franchise with the Guardians of the Galaxy films, where he turned a ragtag group of unknown anti-heroes into beloved household heroes overnight, Gunn makes a pitstop to DC before the third Guardians film is released. Kicking off his Disney shackles, Gunn’s creative freedom is on full display as the inclusion of silly comic book characters becomes intertwined with the high definition ultra-violence visuals that only cinema can bring. Gunn develops his unorthodox heroes into their own original mold, allowing them to showcase both the individual humor they bring along and their importance to the team. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) however, is still a lost cause.
Not only does Gunn allow the characters to be compelling in their own way, he continually alters the film’s style and visuals to fit their personality. A Harley scene is very different from a King Shark (Sylvester Stallone) scene, not due to the fact that the characters are drastically different, but because apparent changes are made to the film’s flow and mise-en-scene to better fit that character. What could be a meaningless scene pops with exuberance because the audience gets to watch something new, which is incredibly refreshing considering the monotone style that most DC films are known for having.
These stylistic choices are brilliantly complemented by captivating cinematography that keeps eyes stuck to the screen. The camera is not afraid to move as it takes you deep into the action, showing off a few techniques to demonstrate that it is more than a popcorn flick. Capitalizing on its visual nature that goes beyond your average action film, Gunn includes direct themes of anti-colonialism and does not shy away from pointing a finger at American foreign policies. As some characters present the other side, viewers are left to ponder the country’s history and what they think is “the right thing to do.” Though the film does not call for revolution, it takes aim in ways that many films of this status would be far too afraid to do.
Unlike most superhero moves that strive to be a comic book come to life, The Suicide Squad plays out more like a video game that makes its way to the big screen. Stuffed with unfamiliar characters with clear motives but lacking unneeded depth, the film moves along from mission to mission, each more challenging than the other. Each mission allows the audience to see new abilities be tested out and the fear of losing a lovable character on each one. The film indulges in hyper-violence that is normally only seen in video games.
The Suicide Squad is not only the bloodiest superhero film of all time, but it may very well be the bloodiest blockbuster of all time. If you can’t stomach violence, this is your warning to stay far far away because you can’t go 10 minutes without seeing someone shot through the head, ripped in half, or melted by polka dots. All of this leads to an exciting big boss fight, which feels impossible to beat.
The cast delivers in full force, each making the character their own. Without having a previous role to compare it to, actors like John Cena are allowed to play upon what they are specifically best at and play heightened versions of themselves. The joke that John Cena is too big for clothes never loses steam. Contrasting with the silly, the more serious actors like Idris Elba and Viola Davis thrive in more grounded roles where they simply show off how great they are at acting. There is a pointless 3-minute scene at the beginning of the film where these two interact with each other and it is significantly better than it needs to be. Put them in a different context and let them share the screen for half an hour and the two would be guaranteed Oscar noms with the exact same energy.
Running away with the spotlight as she tends to do, Margot Robbie further establishes her Harley Quinn as the most iconic pop culture character of the 2010s. Dabbling with depth that is unexplored in her own film from last year, Robbie once again brings electricity to the role that she has become synonymous with. She gets the best action sequence in the film and soaks up every minute of screen time she is allowed. Going on her own misadventure, to allow the new cast of characters room to grow, Robbie showcases that there can be many more Quinn films without it growing old.
Speaking of growing old, The Suicide Squad’s runtime made me feel like I aged three years. Without there being dull moments, once we get past the introductions, the film begins to drag all the way to one of the longest climaxes I have ever seen. As we come to discover the characters—and there sure are a lot of them—the film takes on a repetitive nature that diminishes its greatest moments. Just because something is action doesn’t mean it’s exciting and the film could have used more comedic scenes like the opening group dialogue rather than just showing off another new way to kill someone.
Jonah Desneux is a recent graduate from the University of Missouri with a BA in Film Studies. It’s baffling that someone who just spent four years writing film paper after film paper would immediately want to write some more, but hey, he must love it! Along with writing about film Jonah enjoys writing and performing sketch comedy in Columbia and Kansas City.
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