Story
The Suicide Squad is an American Superhero film, the sequel/reboot to the 2016 Suicide Squad film directed by James Gunn. Amanda Waller assembles a task force of new criminals called Task Force X. They have to destroy a Nazi-era lab and stop The Thinker from unleashing a secret program called “Project Starfish” onto the world. If they complete the mission, they will receive ten years off of their sentences.
Full thoughts and Review of The Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad, to me, was a rather meh film. Nothing stood out, was memorable, and came out at a time that the DCEU wasn’t living up to most of the fan’s expectations. Suicide Squad tried to capitalize on the success of Guardians of the Galaxy and reworked Suicide Squad at the near last minute to match the tone and sensation. When that failed, and fate worked out in Warner Bros. favor, James Gunn, the Guardians of the Galaxy director, was cast to direct the follow-up. From what I heard and read, The Suicide Squad is both a sequel and a reboot. The cast of villains went through a change, with only four of the original actors returning. I am usually a skeptic of sequel films that follow a not-so-great movie, but from what I was reading and seeing, I can say that I felt The Suicide Squad would be better.
The film continues with the team of Task Force X (aka The Suicide Squad) on another black ops mission from Amanda Waller. You’re not going to get a complex story, but a simple understanding of the mission with the get in, get out, tale, and the prisoners get ten years reduced off of their sentence. It works for a story and relies on characters, and the film does this well. You get enough of each backstory, nor do we receive too many unnecessary details. They are likable, build good or frenemy relationships, and everyone plays off each other well. There are some twists to the story that may be predictable, but it isn’t anything that would ruin the movie.
I wouldn’t get used to most of the new Task Force X (sucide squad) members. Although, you may have a good idea who survived and who doesn’t.
Right off the bat, this film is going to feel a lot different. The jump from PG-13 to R was the right move of The Suicide Squad. There are comic book properties or characters that PG-13 just can’t cut it. Suicide Squad is one of those properties that need to be rated R like Joker or Deadpool. If I’m going to see a movie about C-list villains taking on impossible roles and most likely dying, I’d like to see this in the most brutal way possible. Bringing James Gunn into direct this was the right move as well. Unconventional Characters, bizarre events, and preserving humanity and optimism through said unfolding strange events are some of his trademarks in his films. The Suicide Squad does go through this in the movie. Many of them seem to perceive bizarre success or unintentional failures through their actions. But it would remain entertaining while watching the film.
The violence is dialed way up in this movie. There is a lot more gore and violence done to many of the main characters and the opposing antagonists and background characters that get in the way. I’d say it was on the level of Birds of Prey and even had that pop art flair as well. You get the transitions and even times of that artistic flair, but to me, it stood out in a way if you are playing a video game and use a character’s special meter. Harley Quinn was the only one this happened to, and I wonder if this was a decision made by Margot Robbie or James Gunn (maybe both?) to keep with Harley’s character and style from Birds of Prey.
Peter Capaldi’s as The Thinker was good from what I could tell. I’m not familiar with this character at all.
Idris Elba plays Bloodsport; basically, a swapped-out character story of Deadshot from Suicide Squad. Will Smith didn’t sign on for the Sequel, and Idris Elba didn’t want to play the same character, so Idris played Bloodshot. I liked him and his role, but at times, I still saw this as a what-if as both characters were similar. Bloodsport and Dead Shot had daughters that would don’t do anything to protect them; both were marksmen with access to high-tech weapons. The difference happens because Bloodsport feels like a more decisive leader than Deadshot, which the film and story are moving. Bloodsport is a welcome addition, but should Deadshot return, I wouldn’t be bothered by a plot point showing his return.
The few other characters that return are Captain Boomerang, played by Jai Courtney; Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie; Amanda Waller, played by Viola Davis; and Rick Flag, played by Joel Kinnaman. Although I saw a change in Harley’s character in Birds of Prey, the rest of the cast seemed different from the previous movies. They had a great depth of range with emotions and characteristics and didn’t feel as stiff and dark. These characters had some more personalities that made this film likable.
King Shark, might look like your Groot of the group, but He’s not as nice, or as simple as Groot.
Some other new characters are introduced as Peacekeeper, played by John Cena. Peacemaster is a chaotic good villain that would slaughter millions if it means restoring and keeping the peace. It’s like an antithesis to Captain America’s philosophy, and Peacekeeper even seems like a douchey Captain America. Cena was the right choice to play him. Maybe it’s from the time I spent watching wrestling; his wrestling character was a face but came off more as a heel or unlikeable wrestler. Ratcatcher two, the daughter of Ratcatcher, was a heavy sleeping girl who could control Rats and had one as a friend named Sebastian. She took the mantle of Ratcatcher from her father, and I felt she wasn’t evil but just did what she had to to survive. Polka Dot Man, played by David Dastmalchain, the strange group member experimented on, shoots polka dots as his power. Nanaue/ King Shark, voiced By Sylvester Stallone, is a man shark hybrid. The Groot or baby root of the group with his simple-minded slow speaking, but if Groot instead would eat people in a violent and bloody manner.
Speaking of changes, be ready for gaps in the story and characters between the two movies. It’s a soft reboot or Sequel, but there isn’t any mention of previous characters or story elements from the last film. I’m also not sure if this connected with Birds of Prey, as Harley Quinn seems to show up without any rhyme or reason except for a strange way that I can believe how she wound up back behind bars. There isn’t any mention even brought up about Rick Flag’s girlfriend, Dr. June Moore, aka Enchantress from the previous film, and their relationship. Maybe this is for the best and makes the film feel less like a sequel and a soft reboot.
Not so much a spoiler, but you’ll guess the fate of Peacemaker, since Peacemaker got an HBO Max show announced before the movie’s release.
The changes The Suicide Squad made is all for the better. The Suicide Squad movie that we needed back in 2016. The movie is violent in all of the right ways. The characters are not out of place, dreary and stiff like the last film. The Suicide Squad is a significant turnaround movie like DC films, Like, Wonder Woman or Shazam. This movie made me want to continue the series and watch it. I liked this movie, and I’d recommend anyone (at least to those allowed to watch Rated-R movies) to watch this film.
Summarized thoughts and review of The Suicide Squad
Night and Day difference between Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad for the better. I liked this film a lot. The Suicide Squad has great excessive violence, a simple story, and fun as hell action. The is less Sequel and more reboot, and that might be for the better unless you feel that the film should have shown continuity between the two movies. The new characters fit the story’s context and mission and make for believable struggles and conflicts. DC feels like it turned its films around by doing standalone movies and keeping it away from the rushed DCEU.
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