Film Review: James Gunn gives us “The Suicide Squad” we deserve
For many of us comic book movie fans, the first Suicide Squad (2016), directed by David Ayer, was a bit of a let-down. The third entry to the DC Extended Universe, Warner Bros’ answer to the MCU, Suicide Squad (2016) fell into the same trap that befell its predecessors (looking at you, Man of Steel), by delivering a lacklustre movie that didn’t quite match up to the high expectations set up by the expertly crafted, hype-inducing trailers that lead up to it.
While it was not without some delightful moments of supervillain antics (most of which were credited to Margot Robbie’s wonderfully realised portrayal of Harley Quinn), Suicide Squad (2016) felt like an awkward 2-hour character introduction montage strung together by a great soundtrack and a screenplay trying its best in doing a Guardians of the Galaxy impersonation.
CUT TO: 2021, the second pandemic year, where everything is possible in the movie/TV/streaming content landscape. Warner Brothers straight up re-uploads a longer version of the Justice League movie, and takes of advantage of Covid brain to give us THE Suicide Squad, this time from James Gunn, the actual director of Guardians of the Galaxy. But this time, my friends, this time - it’s actually good.
On the surface, the premise of this new Suicide Squad iteration is your typical superhero movie fare: Our favourite anti-heroes, consisting of DC darling Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag, John Cena’s Peacemaker, Idris Elba’s Blood Sport, Sylvester Stallon’s King Shark, and other B-list villains, are sent by “Whatever it takes to protect my country” Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to go on a top-secret mission in a fictional country to stop Something Bad from happening. We all know the drill by now, but what makes The Suicide Squad (2021) such a fun movie-going experience is what happens when it goes absolutely haywire, and veers wildly off course.
Director James Gunn is certainly no stranger to making fireworks out of putting a team of losers and misfits together, but the glee he must feel from having the creative freedom and R-rating to realise his wickedly absurd vision is very evident on screen, as we are gifted with deliciously violent action sequences, almost Final Destination-esque death scenes, and the most wonderfully bizarre antagonist-monster I have ever ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
Gunn goes all-out in this movie, filling the screen with eye-popping colour and magical realism, along with some ridiculous visual gags and cheesy one-liners. But aside from the freight train of spectacle and jokes peppered throughout this movie, The Suicide Squad ultimately triumphs where its predecessor failed by providing us with a clear narrative through-line, a good dose of heart, and an unapologetically chaotic team of loveable villains that finally live up to their name.
It also helps that the star-studded cast have decent chemistry with each other. John Cena holds his own in a mostly comedic role as the meat-headed Peacemaker, and - big surprise - Idris Elba makes a cool comic-book movie character when he is actually given enough material, and not being criminally underused (looking at you, Thor 1, 2,& 3). But of course, the magnetic Margot Robbie continues to shine as the breakout character of the DCEU, by imbuing the role of Harley Quinn with the perfect mix of charm and psychosis.
Is The Suicide Squad pitch perfect? Of course not. Lost in the chaos of film’s tonal tightrope are characters like Rat Catcher 2 and Polka-Dot Man, who seem like they were meant to be the “heart” of the film, but were ultimately not developed enough to stand out from the blinding light of wit and wickedness exuded by rest of the squad. But hey, so what? Ultimately, James Gunn is able to deliver on exactly what was promised in those initial Suicide Squad trailers 5 years ago: A wild, wonderful time at the movies.
