Last night I used HBO Max (free to me with my Verizon unlimited Plan) to watch The Suicide Squad, a loose sequel to Suicide Squad. Now Suicide Squad was a disaster and incoherent nonsense. Coming on the heels of the equally disastrous Batman v Superman the combination almost sank DC for Warner Brothers. So when James Gunn (of GOTG fame) was engaged to do this movie there was some hope but also trepidation - would it be woke? Would it be better than the first film? Would it give DC a decent film?
Well, I would say Gunn largely succeeded.
First the good parts.
Number one, the characters were portrayed better. The overall level of acting was better and there was some level of camaraderie present. Idris Elba was great as Bloodsport and Daniela Melchior is a find as Ratcatcher 2 - who is in a real way the heart of the group. I was not as high on John Cena as Peacemaker as others but he was competent in his part. And Peter Capaldi clearly had fun as The Thinker. And I loved King Shark too - we have another James Gunn film where he takes a weird nonhuman and makes them relatable.
Number Two. Harley Quinn was a side character and to be honest she is tolerable as such. In Suicide Squad she was somewhat annoying and in Birds of Prey she was unwatchable and a major reason that film was such a bad movie. Here they seem to have finally found a balance and I think having her be a side character is part of it. Also she seemed better written and as such Margot Robbie was better in the part - this Harley IS psychopathic but also has some good elements - in other words more comic like.
Number Three. The tone was more consistent and it felt like a Suicide Squad story instead of a bunch of random scenes like the last film did. The film was violent, bloody and the humor was kinda sick at times. And it all held together pretty well.
Finally, the story was simplistic but held together enough to propel things. And Starro was a weird villain and actually kind of fun.
But it isn't perfect...
First, the pacing is inconsistent. It has parts that flow nicely and others where it seems to stall out. I think part of this is a subplot with Harley Quinn and the dictator of the country they are in which just grated on me. There are also a couple of group comic dialog scenes that don't seem to know when to end.
Second, while the music was okay it was not the kind of close fit to the tone like we usually get from James Gunn.
Third, it does indulge in some Tarantino style out of order storytelling and I REALLY wish films would stop doing this. Tarantino himself overused it - it only works in Pulp Fiction.
So, I would call it a worthwhile watch, You?
Well, I would say Gunn largely succeeded.
First the good parts.
Number one, the characters were portrayed better. The overall level of acting was better and there was some level of camaraderie present. Idris Elba was great as Bloodsport and Daniela Melchior is a find as Ratcatcher 2 - who is in a real way the heart of the group. I was not as high on John Cena as Peacemaker as others but he was competent in his part. And Peter Capaldi clearly had fun as The Thinker. And I loved King Shark too - we have another James Gunn film where he takes a weird nonhuman and makes them relatable.
Number Two. Harley Quinn was a side character and to be honest she is tolerable as such. In Suicide Squad she was somewhat annoying and in Birds of Prey she was unwatchable and a major reason that film was such a bad movie. Here they seem to have finally found a balance and I think having her be a side character is part of it. Also she seemed better written and as such Margot Robbie was better in the part - this Harley IS psychopathic but also has some good elements - in other words more comic like.
Number Three. The tone was more consistent and it felt like a Suicide Squad story instead of a bunch of random scenes like the last film did. The film was violent, bloody and the humor was kinda sick at times. And it all held together pretty well.
Finally, the story was simplistic but held together enough to propel things. And Starro was a weird villain and actually kind of fun.
But it isn't perfect...
First, the pacing is inconsistent. It has parts that flow nicely and others where it seems to stall out. I think part of this is a subplot with Harley Quinn and the dictator of the country they are in which just grated on me. There are also a couple of group comic dialog scenes that don't seem to know when to end.
Second, while the music was okay it was not the kind of close fit to the tone like we usually get from James Gunn.
Third, it does indulge in some Tarantino style out of order storytelling and I REALLY wish films would stop doing this. Tarantino himself overused it - it only works in Pulp Fiction.
So, I would call it a worthwhile watch, You?
