Part of my DCEU Rewatch. First Watch? YES.
This, this, is a Suicide Squad movie. This is what was advertised and promised for the first one (such a piece of dreck).
Light-hearted except when being murderous. Light-hearted even when murderous. Bloody humor, and humorous blood. Enough smattering of character trauma and systemic corruption and even apocalyptic threats to make the mass murderers actually seem like heroes to root for.
The selection of characters, from the conventional to the quirky, was lovingly done. The nature of the Squad (high, random mortality rate) is respected. You’ve got bad guys, kinda bad guys, and bad guys who manage to be sympathetic. It literally hits all the notes that make up the best Suicide Squad tales, nearly all of which was missing in the 2016 film as released.
Heck, we even get a decent Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman). Who is actually the same actor from the 2016 film. Which in turn shows you how much a difference writing and direction make.
All the actors though, from the famous (Margot Robbie, John Cena, Idris Elba, Viola Davis, Peter Capaldi) to the relatively obscure do their job splendidly. There’s nothing too deep here demanded; it’s not “King Lear.” But to the extent that they are there, they do rock-solid jobs.
The story as full narrative is pretty straightforward, the magic being in the thousand little details, character asides, and overall zaniness.
The production values are remarkably high: great stunts, flawless CG (big and small), an excellent sound track, and gorgeous, expansive sets.
Throw in an delightful BBEG villain (delightfully rendered), and it makes just a freaking fun movie.
If I have to be critical about one thing, it’s that Davis’ Amanda Waller gets just a bit too shrill and out of control. Playing the control team for laughs doesn’t work quite as much for me as for some, but it was, at least, done well.
And I’ll give them those flaws in return for getting that fabulous Harley break-out, flowers and all.
In short? This film, in a small way, redeems the DCEU, it makes up for the 2017 Suicide Squad (or allows it to be well and truly forgotten), but best of all, it bodes well for James Gunn’s shepherding of the rebooted DCU in the years to come.
Do you want to know more?
- This review, in an earlier version, was posted to LetterBoxd.
- The Suicide Squad (2021) – IMDb
- The Suicide Squad (film) – Wikipedia