The Suicide Squad - Movie Review

The DC universe of cinematic movies has been kind of a rocky road. So often it tries to make their films dark and edgy to the point even Superman is kind of a dick. While their intentions were originally good and unique, most of their films that have followed that path have received mixed reviews. That, along with the rushed storylines in order to catch up with the MCU have caused the films to no longer connect and just be made for fun. This year though I think we finally have a film for the DCU that everyone can give a shining star of approval to: The Suicide Squad.

The Suicide Squad is a sequel that's also kind of a reboot of 2016's Suicide Squad. Just like in that one Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) recruits some criminals to stop some people who might have plans to take over the world. On this team we have the trained, dower marksman Bloodsport (Idris Elba), the freedom fanatic Peacemaker (John Cena), the millenial rat lover Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), the nervous and experimented on Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and the stupid and flesh-loving humanoid shark Nanaue/ King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone). All of the, along with insane Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and dedicated leader Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), are soon wrapped up together that might just be about saving the world. And so I've got to warn you there might be a few small spoilers in this review.

This is a late review, I know. I watched this film as soon as it came out and watched it again later on because I loved it so much. But I didn't think I should review every mainstream movie out there because I want to review things that are worth people's time and are unique in what they present to the audience. The Suicide Squad did that, but I also felt I didn't have to review it because everyone is seeing films now. But after my second viewing I realized something: This movie made me realize that the way I rate movies still needs work. I include a tentative score in my reviews because first viewings can be a lot different from when you see a film again and you might too wrapped up in a film not to notice its flaws. But after seeing this film I thought that maybe I give films too much credit at times. I like the idea of films succeeding, but The Suicide Squad might become a base-plate for my reviews should from now on.

There is so much I love about The Suicide Squad. It takes almost everything from the 2016 film and makes it a lot better. The action, dialogue, comedy, villain, and writing are really damn good in this film! James Gunn (the man behind the Guardians of the Galaxy) directed this film and he is honestly the perfect person to make a film about a bunch of misfits coming together to save the world/ galaxy. Kind of a safe option for director, but also the perfect one for the job. He puts a lot of the GotG vibes with some R-rated elements mixed in, which is great positive element to the film. There is a ton of well directed violence, gore, swearing, nudity, dark comedy, and thematic elements that wouldn't be in a PG13 movie. Better yet while there are over the top moments of these elements, they're not done in ways that feel like the film is going too far into the uncomfortable levels. The right amount of risk taking!

For instance there is a scene in a enemy campsite that is so violently epic and darkly funny that the audience is instantly hooked on the squad slaughtering a bunch of nameless people. But it gets better near the end where we find out what they really just did. Like you're uncomfortable at first when the realization hits you and you give a nervous laugh, but then we get a moment that solidifies the dark humor of the situation and you start howling with laughter. There is also a great moment at the beginning of the film between Bloodsport and his daughter. For any other director they would set up that the father deeply cares for their child and promise they'll be out soon and both would say that they love each other. James Gunn on the other hand has them mostly dropping F-bombs on one another, which felt shocking, but also perfect for the tone of the movie.

All of these characters (especially the new ones) are very entertaining in this movie. For instance Bloodsport has a phobia of rats and it's played in the right way to make it seem genuinely funny especially with how great Idris Elba acts throughout the film. Idris Elba is a really good actor, but he's never been able to fully get the spotlight he deserves. Hell, he was probably only good thing in Cats (2019) and my hate for that film is indescribable. John Cena is also excellent in this film, I can officially say he's no longer a wrestler, he's an actor. And a damn good actor. Peacemaker is such an insane person, willing to kill as many men, women, and children to make sure there is peace. Yet like with the rat phobia joke it's somehow very funny to watch him say those things on screen. Probably the weirdest character would have to be Polka-Dot Man because in the comics (from what I've heard) he's kind of the stupidest, most useless character in the DC universe. But they make him very likeable, lovable, dangerous, and hilarious, especially since almost every around him at times looks exactly like his mother (who kind of fucked with his body in an attempt to make him a superhero, but still fucked with him really badly).

Easily the most memorable character in the movie is Nanaue/ King Shark. James Gunn just seems to have a talent for making animal/ non-human characters extremely lovable, even when they're yelling swear words or in this case literally ripping people in two with their bare hands. King Shark is kind of a dumb, lonely kid who loves to devour humans whole and while this isn't the most complex role Stellone has done in his long career he does an excellent job voicing this man-eating monster. We learn early on that he has no friends and the squad become his first real friends. The scene where we learn this is simple, but it made me seriously cry. He, along with Ratcatcher 2, are the hearts of the film and they make the best of friends. Ratcatcher 2 was such a sweetheart (despite being called a villain) and I seriously would love to see Daniela Melchior in more movies, her performance is full of emotion and love! These two, along with the rest of the squad, have wonderful chemistry with one another and these two are the main members that keep the team together.

The film does more than that to make us care for the characters. At the beginning of the film (this is a spoiler) we get another suicide squad sent in and almost all of them get murdered in the most horrific ways. This sets up that anybody can die and makes the audience instantly worry about the safety of our main characters. James Gunn had a lot of balls to kill of so many characters at the start and Viola Davis's performance doesn't help because Amanda Waller is mother fucking scary. Seriously, she might have no superpowers, but Davis is going 110% in the "I don't give a fuck" and "I own you, you are my dog" attitudes and there is no reason for her to go that far, but I love that she does. The opening and her make us really fearful for the safety of our lovable gang of misfits.

Another big positive of the film are the visuals. I learned in the behind the scenes, is that a lot of the film, despite using a lot of digital, uses a ton of practical and physical effects. In fact James Gunn has said it's the most practical sets he's ever used in film before. The way the digital and practical blend together is phenomenal in The Suicide Squad. A few of the digital effects can be noticeable, but they're never bad and some of the visuals are fantastic. There is an epic hallway scene with Harley Quinn that really brings out the best of her and its visual additions really compliment the character. Additionally there are some fantastic uses of visuals to change the scene or introduce a new chapter in the story. My only problem with the visuals is small: There are some moments where the color palette feels a little greyed, reminding of the dark and edgy DC films that aren't as respectable like Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman. Mostly though I love the visuals in this movie!

Other than the small complaint on part of the visuals I only have a few small problems with this film. First I feel there are a few moments in the script that could have been cut, like Harley Quinn having her own section of the film for a while that doesn't really connect much with the rest of the story. We could have also gotten to know our main characters a little bit more and that would have fleshed them out more. The script could have been polished more to remove excess scenes that aren't really needed. I've had some people say the film is a little lackluster and I can see where they are coming from, but I'm mostly very pleased with The Suicide Squad.

The only other thing that keeps me from giving this a higher score is that this is kind of a sequel reboot it feels very similar to the other Suicide Squad film. There are elements very similar to the previous film that feel a little close to the mark with this new film. We got the reluctant leader who is of African descent (Deadshot and Bloodsport), the douchebag who is kind of annoying to the rest of the cast (Captain Boomerang and Peacemaker), the quiet dangerous one that prefers not to fight (El Diablo and Polka-Dot Man), the viscous animal (Killer Croc and King Shark), Harley Quinn (Harley Quinn and Harley Quinn), and a mission into enemy territory to prevent something extremely dangerous from getting out and destroying the world. This is to name a few. Even though this film does all of that much better, I have to acknowledge that this feels very similar to the previous Suicide Squad film and so loses some of its originality.

In the end, The Suicide Squad was epic. Action-packed, great humor, great visuals, and has made a lot people highly interested in characters that were originally boring nobodies in the DC universe. With all the flops that Marvel has been making this year this film pulled me out of my superhero fatigue and made me cheer for superhero films once more! We need more daring that James Gunn has for films and no just for these films, but films in general. Yes, this wasn't perfect, but my god did I have a blast and I have happily watched this film multiple times in the past few weeks! Might even go out and buy it on BluRay!

Tentative Score: 8.5/10

Amazing how James Gunn now has worked with both DC and Marvel. If they make another Suicide Squad I'd like to see him back again, but if not I really hope that the next director will be as daring and professional as Gunn was.