The Suicide Squad

Starring: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Michael Rooker, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Sylvester Stallone (voice), Nathan Fillion, Jai Courtney, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, Jennifer Holland, Storm Reid, Alice Braga, Peter Capaldi, Taika Waititi, Pom Klementieff
Directed by: James Gunn
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A new group of the Suicide Squad is dropped off at a remote island to investigate a strange experiment program that could threaten the planet.

Review:

Tim: I was really excited to see The Suicide Squad. The first movie was a disappointment, but much of what DC is doing falls into that category. This one had a ton of promise- DC brought over James Gunn, who did impressive work for Marvel. The plan was obviously to bring his unique sense of humor and fun to the film. He accomplishes this, but strangely, I can't say this was a good movie. It's an improvement over the first film, but it still felt strangely lacking. Even with Gunn's improvements, I would still place this film beneath every single MCU film. Gunn brings his trademark zaniness to the film and it's a much better film than David Ayer's sensibilities. The idea of a Suicide Squad of villains who routinely act heroic is a ridiculous idea, so you might as well embrace that. Gunn does that here. That part is fun, but the movie still suffers from quite a long list of issues. I'll address a few here.

One of the gags in the film is that Gunn treats these characters as extremely disposable. The problem is that the movie is far too overloaded with characters. Guardians of the Galaxy suffered from a similar issue, but DC didn't restrain Gunn here. Quite frankly, there's too many characters. Many of them are shortchanged in the film. They kind of wash over you, rather than making a lasting impression. Deadpool 2 took this same approach and while funny, it doesn't help the movie as much as expected.

The story is okay, but it again suffers from similar DC movie issues. The plot always felt a bit ridiculous. Gunn doesn't even attempt to dive deep into explaining why a Suicide Squad of villains would work or be a viable option. He seems to just acknowledge the craziness of it and gets into the story. As a whole, the story felt like it was a lot to take it. The other issue that DC characters tend to be significantly worse than Marvel's. I mean, going with Starro the Conqueror is a hilarious antagonist, but it's a freakin' starfish. It was cool and funny to see this and Gunn makes it work, but DC just doesn't have the stable of memorable characters (outside of their top tier characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman).

The same issue is present with our antiheroes. Margot Robbie is memorable because we've seen her multiple times as Harley Quinn now. She is best as a supporting character and that's the case here. I love Idris Elba and he gave a strong performance as Bloodsport. His performance was one of the highlights, and his exasperation at everything around him was truly enjoyable. However, because of the huge cast, we don't get enough time with Bloodsport to fully appreciate and understand him as a character. The movie relies too much on Elba's charismatic performance to make us care about him. He ends up feeling too similar to the first film's Deadshot (and yes, I had to google these names because they're so generic I could not remember them). Elba is great, but you don't necessarily want to compare him to Smith. I know people liked John Cena as Peacemaker, but I didn't really derive much enjoyment from it. Cena has decent comedic timing, but he's overrated. I didn't love Peacemaker. It was nice seeing Joel Kinnaman reprise his role as Colonel Flag. I don't think he is a good actor, but the continuity from the original was nice. I wish he had more to do, but the movie clearly attempts to move on from him. A similar approach was taken with Captain Boomerang. Jai Courtney gives a good performance, but once again, the movie doesn't quite know what to do with his character. Courtney delivers the film's funniest line (about how all names are letters) but doesn't get to do much else. Viola Davis was shortchanged here. She was one of the better aspects of the first film. David Dastmalchian gives a surprising memorable performance. This is an example of when Gunn is at his best. He takes an absolutely terrible character and makes him memorable. Dastmalchian's performance certainly contributes to this. Polka-Dot Man emerges as one of the best surprises of the film. It was nice hearing Sylvester Stallone's voice as King Shark, but I'm not entirely sure the character was needed. He wasn't nearly as funny they thought he was. It was great seeing small performances from people like Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Flula Borg, and Pete Davidson. Their talents are leveraged for their short on screen time and they all contribute with limited screen time.

I will say that the opening sequence is fantastic. The beginning of the film is pure brilliance. It's Gunn at his irreverent, hilarious, over-the-top best. I loved the film's start. The banter between the characters, the subversion of expectations, the violence and crass humor. It was perfect. Once the movie settles in, the plot holes and illogical issues start to overwhelm the film. I really tried to like the movie, because I like Gunn and I really want to DC to do well.

However, in the end, the movie's flaws outweigh the positives. This is definitely a situation where the sequel is better than the original, though. Gunn at least knows what to do with the material. Unfortunately, this is now two Suicide Squad movies that have failed to live up to expectations. I wish DC would just move on from this. They have other characters and they deserve the spotlight. This is a decent movie sprinkled with great individual moments. However, it's not an especially memorable or truly effective film. I know most critics liked this movie more than I did, but I think some of them got caught up in the fact that's it better than the first one. True, but this isn't ultimately the most effective film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey