2021, d. James Gunn - on demand
I mean, I've seen it twice, but it's not enough.
I love this movie. It's everything I wanted it to be and more. I can't believe it got made, but I'm so happy it did.
The trailers give you enough to maybe spoil so much of the plot of the film, but it only captures a very, very small amount of the deliciously manic glee that James Gunn infused into it.
Gunn is a product of Lloyd Kaufman's Troma Entertainment, a production/entertainment house that specializes in low-budget action/horror with a specific eye towards satiating fans of hyper violence and gross-out gags (moments of violence that are so absurd in their excess that they transcend horror into, literally, gags...jokes...but I guess there's the double-meaning where it could be they're so gross you gag on your own vomit? I digress). Gunn's early studio films - Slither and Super - play into the gross and/or hyper-violent, which obviously had to be tamped down when venturing into PG-13 Marvel land (but there's still subversive things Gunn presented in those films, like Rocket's obsession with artificial body parts, and the opening sequence of the second film, for example), but the tempering of Gunn's more outre sensibilities revealed he has a pretty sharp sense of humour and excellent comedic timing, as well as an ability to marry music with scene that rivals Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright.
The Suicide Squad was given permission from Warner Bros/DC to aim for an "R" rated film, as such he was liberated from the constraints that Marvel put upon him in their universe... and he uses that R rating to its fullest extent.
Returning from the last film are only a few familiar faces: obviously Margot Robbie is back as Harley Quinn, but for all the actor and character's superstardom, the film wisely makes her just part of the ensemble rather than the focus. Harley can be a lot, and Gunn knows just how to employ that. Viola Davis also returns as Amanda Waller, and it's surprising how minimal her role is here. If there's a main character to The Suicide Squad of the comics, it's Waller. Joel Kinnaman returns as Rick Flagg, and manages to get a much looser, more fun character with real chemistry with at least some of his teammate as opposed to the forgettable pole-up-the-ass babysitter Flagg from the previous movie. Jai Courtney also returns as Captain Boomerang, one of the stand-out characters from the previous, but, as you may have surmised from the trailer, he's only in this briefly. Make of that statement what you will.
The Squad, this time, has a few primary players, first in Bloodsport, played by Idris Elba. By all accounts, Bloodsport was basically a last-minute substitution for Will Smith's Deadshot due to scheduling conflicts, and rather than recast Deadshot, Gunn wisely introduces a different character with a similar backstory (daddy-daughter stuff) but swinging in a very different direction. In Bloodsport's case he seems to regret being a father, especially given that he has little capacity to raise her outside of his own tough love upbringing and military background.
Bloodsport is joined by Ratcatcher 2, the daughter of the original Ratcatcher (the seemingly omnipresent Taika Waititi), who had a marvelous relationship until he died, and she was unjustly imprisoned. The daddy-daughter thing, surprisingly does not lead to Bloodsport acting as surrogate father or anything, but they both recognize that there's a bit of a void they fill in each other's lives and form a bit of a bond.
Polka-Dot Man, an absolutely absurd villain from DC's pantheon (though hardly the most absurd, see the Doom Patrol for that), played by David Dastmalchian, is a product of experimenting gone wrong, and is only deemed a villain because of his mental health issues and the chaotic nature of his power. His mental health issues stem from his abusive mother, and are played for laughs, somewhat, but there's pathos and tragedy.
I find it somewhat amazing that this is the THIRD major King Shark appearance in pop culture in recent years. He's been a feature villain on The Flash tv show, and a main supporting player in the Harley Quinn cartoon. Nanaue, is voiced perfectly by Sylvester Stallone (physical mo-cap performed by Steve Agee, who appears in the film as one of Waller's supporting crew), and is a hulking man-shark with the brain of a child but the bloodlust of a shark. He'd be a sweetie if he weren't so dangerous. I struggle with whether I prefer Stallone or comedian Ron Funches' performance as King Shark, but I love them both, and can have them both, so I don't have to choose.
And then there's Peacemaker, as played by John Cena. He's a mentally unstable mercenary who is willing to do anything for peace, which often involves excessive amounts of violence. He's getting his own spin-off TV mini-series on HBO Max, so I wasn't expecting him to be as charmingly unlikeable in this film as he is, which will make for an interesting show that centers around him.
The promotional material for the Suicide Squad has an additional cast of another 8 or so members of the Suicide Squad. They're the B-team to the A-team above. They're absurd and you can probably intuit what happens to them...just maybe not how what happens happens, or why.
People don't really go to "superhero" films for the messaging, it's all about spectacle...but Gunn uses the Squad purposefully. In the comics and other media, the Squad's purpose is to act as team of supervillains sent into a particularly precarious situation as clandestine agents of the U.S., so that if things go afoul the U.S. government can proclaim they have no knowledge of why or what those criminals were doing there. Here, Gunn has them invading the fictional country of Corto Maltese, a place where the U.S. instilled a favorable government (to the U.S. not to their own people) that was recently usurped. The Squad is there to destroy a particular secret experiment, "Project Starfish", which in invariably turns out was something sponsored by the U.S. military. The inference here, obviously, is that the U.S. meddles in foreign affairs for their own benefit and not the greater good of the citizens of the countries they're meddling with. As well, they're often the creators of their own enemies, time and again, which you thing would be enough lessons learned to just fucking stop, right?
Anyway, the trailer spoils the reveal, but it doesn't matter. "Project Starfish" is the codename for Starro: The Conqueror, a classic absurd Justice League villain from the pop-sci-fi 60's, a gigantic purple, blue and white starfish from space that can quickly dispense hundreds of mini starfish that grip onto peoples faces making them mind-slaves of Starro. We watched and loved Godzilla vs. Kong earlier this year, but I think Starro is the better Kaiju this year. Starro is most definitely a force unleashed upon the world that has to be stopped, but, at the same time, there's a tragic aspect to the character (and for sure there is a character there... that giant center eyeball is very expressive).
The film, already an absurd delight, goes bananas bonkers in the last act and is every kind of giggle-inducing gross, and yet it all still pays off with a core cast of characters who are genuinely likeable and have developed relationships that feel like real connections. It's quite a feat.
This is everything right up my alley. It's bright, bold, stylish, and not only is it fun to watch, but it seems like everyone is completely chuffed to be there. Everyone seems absolutely game for everything they're asked to do and they all really commit. These big super-things work less well when people don't really get it, or don't care to get it.
The film, unfortunately, was a victim of COVID-times, and wasn't very successful in its theatrical release (barely scratching $150 million). That it also simultaneously was released on HBO Max for a month certainly cut into its domestic box office, and the numbers haven't been revealed for its on-demand release (one gruelling, painful month of waiting after theatrical/Max debut) . But even without COVID I'm curious as to its success. Suicide Squad 2016 was deemed an underperformer and it grossed almost $750million, but it was rated PG-13. R-rated movies rarely have the same blockbuster success as something the teens or pre-teens or the whole family can go to. This latest Suicide Squad's bound to be a cable hit with the 12-16 year old when they finally get bored of playing video games for a couple hours.
Whatever the financial compensation, the film got made...it's here, and it's fantastic. The Peacemaker spin-off was already deep into production before the poor box-office results, so it got made and is getting released in January (when, no doubt, it would have been cancelled had Warner Bros. known sooner the chilly reception The Suicide Squad would get). So it's kind of an added bonus. Perhaps that cult following will grow, quickly, and there will be more Gunn-led Suicide Squad related product in the near future. There's such a deep, rich pantheon of loser supervillains for Gunn to exploit (and explode).
Regardless, I'm quite content to watch this one over and over.
That reminds me that I need to buy the Ultra 4K BluRay for no reason than to just give them money.
ReplyDeleteEven though I bought the digital release, I still want a physical copy just to have. Put it on the xmas list Adj!
DeleteYes, I know it's on the List.
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