Gunn Gone Mad

I’M A SUPERHERO! I’M A MOTHERF***ING SUPERHERO!

POLKA-DOT MAN

Synopsis

In the war-torn island nation of Corto Maltese, there is a Nazi-era laboratory housing political prisoners who are forced to undergo various scientific experiments in an effort to create a weapon of mass destruction. Scared that the new anti-American Corto Maltesean government–brought to power via violent military coup–will unleash the weapon on the United States, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) once again unleashes Task Force X: a team of incarcerated villains hoping to shave some time off of their respective sentences by doing some good for the American government. 

Breakdown

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is a sequel, reboot, introductory film, and part of a larger universe, all at the same time. Yes, it features characters and the actors that portrayed them from the first Suicide Squad film, released in 2016. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), and Davis all reprise their roles from the previous film, but the connections to that movie and other movies in the DC Extended Universe are tenuous at best. A hinted history between Rick Flag and Harley or mentions of Harley’s bad taste in men are really the only references to previous movies–this film is truly its own stand-alone thing. And though I am a huge fan of continuity, The Suicide Squad is a better film because of this. 

There’s no question that Warner Brothers and DC botched their first shot at an MCU-style interconnected cinematic saga. Their tactic moving forward is to keep the things that worked from their initial efforts (namely–the actors that fans gravitated towards), hire talented directors, and let them do whatever they want. For the most part, it works; Davis and Robbie both prove once again how good they are in their respective roles, with Amanda Waller acting even more ruthless and heartless than ever, and Harley at her most deranged self. Kinnaman is fine once again as Rick Flag, although after two ‘meh’ attempts to bring the character to screen, one has to wonder why they filmmakers are trying so hard with a character and an actor that is just okay. 

New faces to the team have varying degrees of success. John Cena’s Peacemaker delivers a few laughs as douche-bag Captain America, King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), and the mother-obsessed Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) are a pair of scene-stealers if there ever was one, and Idris Elba makes his DCEU debut as Bloodsport, a mercenary with a suit literally made of weapons. While Elba does a fine job in his role, it is screamingly obvious that the part was written for a return of Will Smith’s Deadshot from the first movie, but because of scheduling issues he was unable to join this film. Their storyline is the exact same–expert assassin and reluctant leader with a young daughter Waller can exploit to get them to join the team. It’s as if the script was written, Smith declined to return, and Gunn hit ‘find and replace’ in the script to swap out Deadshot for Bloodsport. Don’t get me wrong; Elba was enjoyable in the movie, but it would have been nice to give him a different background and motivation than what was present in the film. The core cast is rounded off with Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), a villain who has the ability to control rats. She serves as the heart of the film, though it is pretty surface level at best. 

The rest of the cast is filled out by a who’s who of DC’s D-list villains: Javelin (Flula Borg), Weasel (Sean Gunn), The Detachable Kid (Nathan Fillion), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), and more bring the wackiest and weirdest DC has to offer to the big screen. It’s obvious from the start that they are there to serve as cannon fodder, but with a story that weaves its way in the past and present, many of the characters have more screen time than you would have initially thought. All of these bit character parts serve the greater purpose of showing just how much Waller doesn’t care about the people–she only cares about the mission.

There was much talk about James Gunn coming to write and direct this film after his huge success doing the same for Marvel with Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel and then subsequently getting fired because of past tweets. My biggest complaint about the movie is that this is Gunn trying to do the most “James Gunn” movie possible. A distinct twelve-year-old-boy mentality is baked into every fiber of the film, from the penis-, poop-, and splooge-laden script to the gory graphics and insane kills peppered throughout the movie’s runtime. When it works, it is an absolutely rollicking ride, but it doesn’t always hit the mark and sometimes comes off as trying a bit too hard. I felt the same about Christopher Nolan’s most recent film Tenet; it was as if Nolan tried to make the most “Christopher Nolan” movie possible first, and then tacked on a plot and characters to fit around that. The Suicide Squad shows Gunn at his best and his worst, but thankfully his best is what shines through the most. 

Issues with the script and wackiness aside, this movie is a cool, stylish film. From scene titles woven into the set and surroundings themselves to the big baddie who visually reminded me so much of Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas, the movie is oozing charisma and charm. One standout scene shows Harley Quinn breaking out of being held captive with bullets and carnage literally exploding in flowers and bright colors around her while she massacres people left and right. The Suicide Squad shows off Gunn’s talent as a director, that is for sure. 

Verdict

Overall, The Suicide Squad is one of the most enjoyable outings DC and Warner Brothers has done in a long time. At times it veers too much in to the wacky, just for the sake of being wacky and not at the service of the plot, but that is limited and a minor complaint, to be sure. After I finished the movie, my biggest takeaway was that I couldn’t wait to see what (most) of the characters were going to do next. I want more of Harley Quinn. I want to see what Amanda Waller does when she isn’t coercing Task Force X. Wanting more means that the movie did what the creators set out to do; I was entertained, I enjoyed the experience, and I am excited to see what DC has in store for the future. 

Side note–I saw the movie before it released at an early screening in a packed theater, and this is absolutely the way the film (and all films) should be watched. Surrounded by fans who are audibly responding to the visual buffet they are being served. It felt good to be back in the theater once again.  

Mark Pereira is a staff writer for Boss Rush Network. He loves all video games, but his top three favorites are Skyward Sword, Super Mario 3D World and Batman: Arkham Asylum. You can find him on Twitter where he’s usually talking about Nintendo, video games, movies, and TV shows.