‘The Suicide Squad’ Review: The Second Time’s The Charm
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad starts strong, roaring out of the gate with a delicious avalanche of horrific violence and hilariously mundane discourse. By default, it can’t help but be disappointing when it settles down after the first reel and becomes a pretty conventional “flawed men and women on a doomed mission” movie. Yes, the R-rated film is filled with graphic and grotesque killings. It also relishes the kind of 80’s-era action movie amorality that only works in 2021 because it’s a supervillain flick and because the cast of anti-heroes slaughtering various South American soldiers is mostly “not a white guy” actors. Save for a few “Oh, he went there!” moments, Gunn’s DC Films flick is by the book in terms of plot, character arcs and pay-offs. It’s (to quote The Simpsons) rebellious in a conformist sort of way.
Yes, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is a more coherent, more enjoyable and just-plain better all-around movie than David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. Yes, I know that the 2016 predecessor was pretzeled and scrambled to pieces by WB executives in the wake of Batman v Superman’s reception, but it’s not like Bright was much better. Despite Gunn and company trying to argue otherwise, this is a sequel through-and-through, and that’s a good thing. That some of these characters (Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn) have a shared history and kinship elevates our investment. Viola Davis is so damn funny as Dr. Amanda Waller that I prefer the moments set in her office (as her coworkers have mundane “another day at the office” reactions to the comic book events) to the conventional blockbuster set-pieces. pg gaming
There isn’t much plot beyond another group of C-level supervillains being rounded up for an “if you survive, you get ten years off your sentence” mission. These literal “expendables” have to sneak into the Corto Maltese and destroy a weapons-building prison after the “evil but friendly to American interests” royal family gets dispatched by a military coup. So, we get the usual gang of weirdoes, including Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian offering tragic pathos to a ridiculous character), King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), Rat Catcher 2 (Daniela Melchior, acting as the motivational “heart and soul” of the squad), Peacemaker (John Cena, getting his own HBO Max prequel series) and of course Margot Robbie as a post-Birds of Prey Harley Quinn. There are many other small-time villains played by big-name actors, but, as the poster says, don’t get too attached.
Idris Elba’s Bloodsport is the unofficial leader, whose backstory is so similar to Deadshot’s that I have to wonder if they expected Will Smith to come back. Elba’s interactions with the distinct members of this group of a-holes work even well enough that the action scenes quickly become a distraction. Robbie has a few centerpiece moments, including one that turns her into a horror movie monster, but Cena saves his nuance for the HBO Max show. Steve Agee both plays one of Waller’s worker bees while giving the physical on-set performance for King Shark, making him the arguable MVP for this flick. Nonetheless, Dr. Waller steals the movie, with Davis offering a hilarious turn that in no way compromises her bad-ass machismo. I’m not “surprised” (good actor acts good), but it’s a thrill nonetheless.
