A Reel Review: THE SUICIDE SQUAD

In 2016, Warner Bros. brought us the David Ayer-directed, DC Comics super-villain team-up film SUICIDE SQUAD, which finished as one of the most dysfunctional movies of all time. How bad was it? Bad enough that Warners decided to pretend it never happened, and to bring us a new version; this time directed by James Gunn and re-titled THE SUICIDE SQUAD. 

 

U.S. Government Intelligence Officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), recruits and blackmails a team of assassins and criminals out of prison to overthrow an anti-American regime in a South American island. The team is led by Col. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), and includes (but not limited to), the master-assassin Bloodsport (Idris Elba), the gung-ho sniper Peacemaker (John Cena), a human-hybrid shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), a vengeful human experiment gone wrong called Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), a young woman called Ratcatcher 2 who controls rats (Daniela Melchoir), and the slightly-insane legendary criminal Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). 

 

Seemingly aware of the endless introductions and exposition that plagued the first attempt at this property, James Gunn puts the petal down hard in the opening minutes; offering very little setup which is then followed by half of the Squad getting wiped out. It’s a jarring, awkward beginning, which is only justified after the narrative goes backwards for the required set-up; a tool that the film uses often. From there, the remaining members of the team are split up (so much for the Squad), and the film moves into a series of episodes as they move closer to their goal.

 

The story is thin, so THE SUICIDE SQUAD relies on its many characters to keep things moving. The Squad is a bunch of oddballs with odd personalities, and Gunn peppers them with his witty writing and one-liners. There are many laughs to be had in dialogue and visual gags, and a fair amount of fun. The film tries really hard to avoid the dourness that most DC Comics films are known for; in fact, too hard as eventually the humor moves into juvenile territory. Overall, the entertaining characters just don’t elevate the plot as much as they need to. 

 

Gunn does a fair job in keeping the energy levels high. The action scenes are done very well although some of them go on for way too long. The film is a bloodbath with bodies blowing up all over the place. Eventually more plot is stuffed in with the real, secret reason why the Squad was sent to this island, and it reveals another big bad villain which is funny at first but overstays its welcome and becomes utterly stupid. 

 

Acting is all over the place. Idris Elba gets most of the heavy lifting and does well, even though he has very little to work with. The great Viola Davis is shortchanged as all she does is play angry for no reason. Margot Robbie is once again a delight as Harley Quinn, but her character is one-note, and they seem to be (again), trying to hard to make the character into a hero. Daniela Melchoir is excellent, and John Cena is a blast. 

 

The question everyone wants answered is; is it better than the first version? It is, but that isn’t saying much. THE SUICIDE SQUAD is definitely more coherent and more fun, but its over-reliance on gags and blood, thin characters, and a weak plot that doesn’t make the mission worth the 132-minute run-time only makes it a tad better. Maybe the third crack at it will deliver something more than a few laughs. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it