Into the DC Murderverse: "The Suicide Squad"

 "The Suicide Squad" (2021)

"Suicide Squad" was a pretty terrible movie. It was not good. Have I mentioned it was real bad? Quality doesn't stop movies from getting sequels though and a second "Suicide Squad" movie was greenlit soon after the first movies opening weekend. The first movie came out in 2016 and a five. year wait between sequels is not super common in out pump em out fast movie climate. In this case though, the time taken was worth it. They jettisoned first director, David Ayer, and scooped up "Guardians of the Galaxy" auteur, James Gunn, when he was briefly on the outs with Disney/Marvel, to write and direct. "Suicide Squad" fans breathed a sigh of relief with this news. If anyone understands how the Suicide Squad works, its James Gunn.

Principal photography on "The Suicide Squad" began in September 2019 and ended in February 2020. The film stars Margot Robbie as Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn, Idris Elba as Robert Dubois/Bloodsport, John Cena as Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, Joel Kinnaman as Col. Rick Flag, Sylvester Stallone as the voice of Nanaue/King Shark, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, David Dastmalchian as Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2, Michael Rooker as Brian Durlin/Savant, Jai Courtney as Digger Harkness/Captain Boomerang, Peter Capaldi as Gaius Grieves/The Thinker, Alice Braga as Sol Soria and Pete Davidson as Richard "Dick" Hertz/Blackguard. The film was written and directed by James Gunn. "The Suicide Squad" was released on August 5, 2021.

These fools...

Since I began this post dragging the original "Suicide Squad," I think I should start the meat of the post by saying this movie is really, really, really good. It is definitely exactly what you'd want as a fan of the Suicide Squad. It hammers home how disposable these people are. If you thought it was bullshit that hardly any of the Task Force X'ers died in the original film, than you have to love this one, because it's a massacre right out of the gate. The movie gives you a quick recap on what Task Force X aka the Suicide Squad is all about it. A group of horrible criminals imprisoned in Belle Reve agree to participate in deadly secret missions in exchange for time off their sentence. To make sure they comply, a bomb is implanted at the base of their skull that Amanda Waller can trigger at her discretion.

Waller recruits a team consisting of Captain Boomerang, Savant, Weasel, Blackguard, Javelin, TDK, Mongal, Harley Quinn and Rick Flag. They head to the shores of Corto Maltese and are immediately betrayed by Blackguard who gets his face blown off for his trouble. It is a shit show. A highly violent, entertaining shit show. Every member of the Suicide Squad is gruesomely killed except for Harley and Flag. Savant gets his head blown off when he makes the understandable decision to flee the carnage. It's a wild way to start the movie and is absolutely perfect. The reveal that there is a second team on the other side of the island and the first team was a distraction for them. It's a very Amanda Waller and a nice little bait and switch to start things out and get you going.

The Harley Quinn.

The cast of "The Suicide Squad" is incredible. Even the small roles are filled out with great actors. Nathan Fillion plays the Detachable Kid, who can detach his limbs and they fight on their own. It's so gross. Pete Davidson is perfect as the slimy Blackguard and makes the most out of his short time on screen. Gunn regular and "Guardians" alum Michael Rooker is fantastic as Savant. 

The main cast is uniformly excellent. Idris Elba is the reluctant leader of the Squad, Robert Dubois aka Bloodsport. Dubois just wants to serve his sentence in peace but Waller uses his daughter and a shoplifting incident to blackmail him into joining the Squad. The scene with Dubois and his daughter is so good. They would hate to admit it but they are definitely father/daughter. The screaming "fuck you" at each other is hilarious. But, no matter what he says to her, Dubois clearly loves her based on his threats to Waller. Elba makes a scumbag like Dubois very charming and his ratphobia humanizes someone that most casual moviegoers wouldn't necessarily sympathize with. 

John Cena is perfect as Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker. A douchebag who believes all the fucked up shit he does is because he loves his country. Everyone can see through this except for Smith. Cena is such an All-American guy. He's handsome. He's ripped. I don't think anyone is upset when he's parading around in his tighty whities. Cena uses that charm to kind of lull you into a false sense of security with Peacemaker. You might think he's a just a dumb douchebag, but he reveals late in the game that he's also a trained sociopathic killer. And he's the worst kind. The kind that thinks they horrible things he does are justified. 

Really every member of the B squad is perfect. David Dastmalchian who plays Polka-Dot Man is a sad sack who becomes a hero. Sylvester Stallone voices the dim but lovable for a carnivorous humanoid shark, King Shark. Daniela Melchior is lovely as Ratcatcher 2 and we get a nice cameo from Taika Waititi as the original Ratcatcher. They are the perfect blend of actors. Their chemistry is part of what makes this movie so great.

King Shark is having a moment.

The returning actors from "Suicide Squad" are clearly happier to be in a better movie and it shows right from the start. Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag was a 2D wet rag saddled with a chemistry-less relationship with Enchantress in the first movie. Here, he's a wisecracking, take charge colonel who actually has a moral compass that ends up getting him killed when Peacemaker stabs him through the heart with a piece of shrapnel. If you had told me watching the first film that I'd actually get sad when Rick Flag died, I would have laughed in your face. But here I am, tearing up basically every time I watch it happen. That's solid writing and filmmaking people.

Viola Davis was one of the best parts of the first film and she's even better in the sequel. Waller is even worse than in the first film. She's more conniving. More sinister. More willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish her goals. She's willing to let an entire country be overrun by mind controlling starfish aliens just to cover up the United States' dirty dealings. She's so hated by her own team that she gets popped in the face so they can actually do the right thing. Davis brings a gravitas to everything she does and she makes this movie feel more serious when it needs to be. 

There's a reason that Margot Robbie is number one on the call sheet for "The Suicide Squad." If the movie has a main character, a heart, I'd say it's Harley Quinn. Robbie has came so far since she first portrayed the character in the original film. She was able to finally make the character her own in "Birds of Prey" and this Harley feels like a direct extension of the Harley we meet in "BoP." It helps that Gunn clearly has a great handle on the modern Harley Quinn voice and he gives her one of my favorite Harley scenes committed to film. Harley is taken by the new Corto Maltesean president, Luna, and wined and dined. He wants to marry her and at first Harley is on board. How could you not be? This guy is powerful and handsome and apparently hung to boot. But when he tells her he wants to use Jotunheim to murder anyone who opposes him including their families and children, that is something that Harley just can't ignore. Her speech about how she can't ignore red flags anymore and she doesn't trust herself to watch away is so perfect, particularly when you think about her past with the Joker. It makes total sense. It may seem a bit extreme but it is very in character for Harley Quinn.

Robbie doesn't just harness Harley's voice she also encapsulates her physicality. There is a scene where Harley uses her foot to grab a key from a dead guard and then unlock her hands from above her head. Robbie did that herself and that makes it all the more impressive. The following action scene is probably my favorite of the film as Harley takes out a multitude of guards by herself with her fists, guns, and finally Javelin's javelin that he bequeathed to her. The sprays of flowers as Harley dispatches the guards with the javelin is a way to sort of tone down the brutality but also give us another glimpse into how Harley's mind works.

Starro!!

Speaking of action, the action in "The Suicide Squad" has some amazing action set pieces. I have to say that this movie clearly owes a lot to the first two "Deadpool" movies. You can't watch "The Suicide Squad"s over-the-top, balls to the wall action and not think about Wade Wilson. That's not shade at all. It's just acknowledging that "Deadpool" was the first of it's kind when it comes to superhero film and that there are other franchises that can benefit from that style and Gunn is taking advantage of it. 

The reveal that the alien at the heart of Project Jotunheim is Starro the Conqueror is great. Starro is pretty famous in DC lore. He was the first villain that the JLA fought when they were formed so it's kind of cool that he is what this new iteration of the Suicide Squad is facing. It's almost like they are acknowledging that these misfits and weirdos are worth something. 

It's not uncommon for the third act of these superhero films to sort of drag. They become bombastic special effects driven nonsense. And don't get me wrong, when you have a giant alien starfish rampaging through Corto Maltese, you're going to have some special effects driven nonsense. But even with said nonsense, the movie never loses sight of what has made it great up to this point and that's the characters. The surviving Squad members each get their moment to shine. Polka-Dot Man gets to finally be a hero. Picturing Starro as a giant version of his awful mother. He at leasts gets to die a hero since he's crushed by Starro shortly after his big moment. King Shark uses his cannibalistic tendencies for the greater good on Starro. Ratcatcher proves that it's rats that are king on Corto Maltese and Bloodsport sort of conquers his fear.

But it's Harley Quinn that is the big hero. The whole movie she's been searching for the reason why Javelin gave his titular weapon to her and she finally finds it in the battle against Starro. She uses it as a pole vault and jams it right in his eye, taking a swim inside it's optical fluid at the same time. Who would have thought the Suicide Squad would save the day and blackmail Waller to get what they want in the meantime? All that and the mid credits scene shows that Weasel actually didn't drawn in the opening ten minutes. Watch out kids of Corto Maltese. 

The post credits scene reveals that Peacemaker survived his altercation with Bloodsport and that Amanda Waller still has plans for him.

Next up, we begin wrapping up our sojourn into the Murderverse with "The Suicide Squad" spin-off, HBO Max series, "Peacemaker."

What do you all think of "The Suicide Squad?" Are you as over the moon as I am about it? Is there anyone who likes the original more than this one? Let me know in the comments.