The Suicide Squad (Review)
The Suicide Squad is a Blood-Soaked Blast!
The Suicide Squad officially makes James Gunn is one of the best writer/directors working in the rapidly expanding superhero genre. Personally, I think that’s because he understands that beneath the incredible abilities and eccentric costumes, they’re only human (well, most of them are human). Gunn knows what it’s like to make mistakes, regret and accept responsibility for them, and grow from them. These experiences make his take on these larger-than-life characters so relatable, and their stories so rewarding. The Suicide Squad is a blood-soaked blast from start to finish with enough heart to make it one of the best entries in the DCEU. Heck, it just might be one of the top popcorn “superhero” movies of all time.
If you’re expecting a band of heroes coming together to save the world in The Suicide Squad, you’re going to be a little disappointed. Not too disappointed though, because it features a ragtag bunch of villains (including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Daniela Melchior, and David Dastmalchian) looking to shave a bit of time off their prison sentences by carrying out black ops missions for the mother of all spymasters, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Letting loose a bunch of super villains might seem like a bad idea, but Waller is a woman who has contingency plans for her contingency plans, including bombs at the base of the convicts necks and a one-man-army to keep them on mission, Col. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman). The Suicide Squad might not be heroes, but they’ll complete their mission or die trying, literally. It’s a good thing the members of this team don’t have a problem getting blood on their hands.
It’s almost impossible to pick a favorite character in The Suicide Squad. Gunn assembles a bizarre group for this movie including a monstrous sharkman (who might be a god), a guy who shoots corrosive polka-dots, and a lackadaisical girl who controls rats. Not to mention the return of fan-favorite Harley Quinn, who has become the new cornerstone of the DCEU. He perfectly cast each of the characters with actors who not only embody their roles perfectly, but who also share palpable chemistry with one another. Gunn knows a thing or two about dysfunctional surrogate families (see The Guardians of the Galaxy), and The Suicide Squad benefits tremendously from that experience as well. There’s a begrudging respect that blossoms into genuine friendship over the course of the film that makes you root for all the characters to get out alive. It wouldn’t be The Suicide Squad if that were the case, and I felt my heart break a time or two before the story ended. That, though, is proof of just how great both the characters and the performances were.
As I mentioned, The Suicide Squad isn’t a movie to shy away from killing off characters and it finds some truly sick and delightfully deranged ways to do so. There’s plenty of bloodshed over the course of the movie, and while it borders on gratuitous, it also serves as a reminder that there are consequences in action movies. Those guards aren’t really “knocked out” from a pistol whip to the head. That collapsed building has horribly injured or dead people trapped in the rubble. Those highway car chases result in emergency rooms filled to capacity. The world of this film is one where victory comes with costs and they quickly add up. I certainly won’t say that there’s “realism” in The Suicide Squad since they fight a giant freaking starfish, but I will say that it’s a movie that understands consequences based in reality. This is especially true with the characters themselves. Gunn’s script considers that heroes and villains are both born of tragedy, and if things had been just a little different for any of the members of the squad, they might have had a chance at being heroes. However, Gunn also understands that no one is the villain in their own story. He examines the characters’ skewed perspectives of reality and displays an understanding of the logic and motivation beneath that perspective. The result of this insight is a triumph of story craft and an excellent example of how good filmmaking defies the boundaries of genre (despite what some people might think).
Good filmmaking or not, The Suicide Squad is a comic book movie and delivers on everything fans love in the genre. The DCEU has been criticized for being too dark compared to the MCU, but Gunn proves that there’s nothing wrong with darkness. In fact, darkness makes the glimmers of light seem even brighter. The film finds its beacons of light in the humor and heart of its characters. The dry sense of humor combined with a self-awareness of just how legitimately crazy the premise and characters are keeps setting up perfect jokes, and the actors consistently knock them out of the park. I especially loved the rivalry between Elba’s Bloodsport and Cena’s Peacemaker. The wrestler turned actor excels in comedy due to his deadpan ability to poke fun at himself. Of course, I should note that both Elba and Cena are impressive physical actors as well, and The Suicide Squad definitely takes advantage of that with over the top action. Even among superhero movies, there are several iconic scenes in this flick. When I wasn’t laughing my butt off, I was slack jawed and dumbfounded by the insanity taking place on screen.
The Suicide Squad is heart-breaking, hilarious, and, most importantly, fun, from start to finish. It’s a truly great superhero movie that refuses to pull punches, but shows mercy in the end (I won’t say who it is, but my favorite character thankfully made it out alive). It has its flaws, but most of them are simply because of the world it takes place in and the only thing worth mentioning is that the stylistic approach it took might polarize some, but it fits the genre perfectly. I’m confident even the most die-hard Marvel fans will get a kick out of this hard R-rated superhero movie.
