The Suicide Squad - unnecessary white male director gets second chance

[MonkeyBaby]

Is Pete Davidson in it a lot? I'm curious to see the movie, but I genuinely hate that guy.

 

[Starscreams Cape]

Is Pete Davidson in it a lot? I'm curious to see the movie, but I genuinely hate that guy.

He is, but it is not a substantial role. If that's the only thing stopping you I wouldn't worry.

 

[That Chris Guy]

I enjoyed watching it. Better than the original for certain.

It has its flaws - especially in the final battle - but then again, I consider a galactic supervillain losing to a dancing Gaylord to also be a flaw myself. Interestingly, I think Gunn is more in his element when he is allowed to work with violence - it can be over-the-top, but he directs it well and gives it the impact that it needs.

John Cena is a surprising stand-out whom I expected nothing from at all. His character and dialogue works well and plays to his strengths without making him look embarrassingly awkward like so many actors who crossover from other professions. He's like a pragmatic Captain America.

Idris Elba is great as always. Nice to see him get to be more of a central role than he was in Thor. I didn't hate Will Smith in the original, but Elba made for a good replacement and I don't think any sequel would suffer if it stayed that way.

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is still annoying at times, but has definitely been subdued and is more bearable. The fights with her were good, but formulaic and not what you'd expect from Joker's sidekick. Still better overall.

Spoiler

Gunn did a good job of making them antiheroes as well - they may have done something heroic for the long-term, but a lot of people who didn't have to die did thanks to them. It's daresay refreshing to have capeshit that throws the moral code out the window.

 

[Overly Serious]

Is Pete Davidson in it a lot? I'm curious to see the movie, but I genuinely hate that guy.

I had no idea who that actor was and had to go look him up.

Turns out he was the actor that I really hated.

Good instincts, @MonkeyBaby

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

How's David Dastmalcian?

 

[Oats12345]

So I have now seen this. My thoughts. Anything spoilered is done so because it's actual spoilers.

I enjoyed it well enough. I give it 3/5. It's hardly high art but I got a couple of laughs out of it. The ending is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen committed to celluloid but that's okay! If you're going to do this particular villain (Starro the Conqueror) you pretty much have to embrace it or choose someone else. The director embraced it.

I'm not usually a fan of needless gore but in this case it's pretty much a key part of the aesthetic. John Cena managed to get through the entire movie without sneaking in an apology to China and Idris Elba is frankly above this sort of thing but hey, a paycheck is a paycheck even if you're a backup plan for if Will Smith chooses to come back (which is kind of offensive, racially speaking but whatever). It's vaguely amusing when the villains and others keep referring to "the Americans" when Elba is British, Robbie is Australian, Rat Catcher is Portuguese (both character and actress) and King Shark is, well, possibly technically Hawaiian which might be "American" by dint of occupation, I suppose. I didn't notice anyone least of all Elba changing their accent to an American one but I guess I can put it down to the henchpeople just assuming the squad are American. EDIT: Polka-dot man is American. I'd almost forgotten him. He's good and I like the whole Norman Bates thing he has going on. The viewpoint moments from him were funny (He sees everyone as his mother. At one point you see the whole cast with his mother's face morphed onto them.)

Lets address something of concern to the culture warriors here. It's not a noticeably woke movie nor "a Harley Quinn movie". I ain't budging on that. She gets no more screen time than Elba's character, possibly less. And whilst Birds of Prey (which I never saw) might be criticisable for a thin woman beating up scores of big muscular men, this movie is a movie where people literally shoot bullets out of the air and kill people with absurd trick shots that could only exist in comics. Is there a corridor scene where Harley kills a dozen guys? Sure. Is it out of place or any different to what the other characters are doing? No. She's one of the main characters and very popular. She gets an appropriate amount of screen time and abilities for that.

Rat Catcher. She's great. Astonishingly and heart-breakingly pretty and charming, despite being covered in mud or asleep for half the run-time. She has great chemistry with everyone else on the squad, including the CGI King Shark which is impressive. Is it wrong that I ship these two? (Narrator's voice: "Yes"). King Shark is pretty much like the comics version. He doesn't sing "I'm a Kiiiiiiiing Shark" sadly, but is otherwise fun. She reminds me of a young Lacy Chabert or Mila Jovovitch.

Criticisms: The movie is too fucking dark. I came out of the cinema with eyestrain almost from all those night scenes. Also, give Peter Capaldi more to do. I was worried at one point he'd have next to nothing at all but he does get a couple more scenes towards the end. Still a waste of his talents, though.

Subverted expectations: I think some people are expecting this to just be a DC Guardians of the Galaxy. Obviously you can find comparisons if you look for them. You could kind of pigeon hole King Shark as a Groot character if you squint and have a mind too. But equally if you squint he's just Killer Croc from the last movie even more so. And obviously for another parallel with GotG, these are less than moral heroes. But GotG really felt different to me. Which is good because directors often retread the same beats from movie to movie but both plot wise, pacing wise and general tone this is different. The arc of GotG is quite standard, really. Group don't like each other. Come to like each other. Face external foe. In this, there's an external foe from the start. It's a great deal less character driven in terms of plot until right near the end where it matters. Just for a start.

And it's a major improvement on the disaster that was the previous Suicide Squad movie. For me, in a sea of mistakes and bone-headed ideas and lines, the most memorable dumb thing for me in that movie was HQ smashing a window to steal a purse and going "Duh, we're bad guys - it's what we do" in that smug tone. There's nothing comparable in this movie. The characters are actually allowed to be awful rather than heroes with a Hollywood-level of "villain hat" stuck on them for the sake of it. Yes, there are little passes built it in some cases to allow them to not be wholly irredeemable but there's nothing as egregious as having HQ steal a purse to establish to the audience that 'these are really bad people, honest.' Another case in point, the previous movie had that bar scene where they speak about how they're villains but are going to do the right thing. There's similarly a bar scene in this where they bond, but it's so much better and believable.

Final thoughts. I said this wasn't a woke movie. It ain't. But it goes a little bit further than merely not being woke if you want to get into politics. Specifically there's a twist which if I'd had higher expectations of the movie I probably would have seen coming but as it was, I didn't, and it was a nice surprise. I wont give it away but I'll comment on it in a spoiler for those who aren't worried it will clue them in. Lets just say that it has some interesting parallels to Covid-19 and the lab-leak hypothesis. It's a fairly clear political analogue to that as well. Frankly, I'm semi-surprised it got through and attribute that to either TPTB just not caring about some 'dumb action movie' or that the writing and filming was done long enough ago that it wasn't expected to be an issue. But frankly, the timing on this couldn't be much better given what's going on today.

I agree the movie is much better than the first one. Also this movie made me like Harley Quinn again. I thought I wouldn't be able to after Birds of Prey.

I got to say I really love Rat Catcher as a character. I hope the actress's career goes somewhere's. I really enjoyed all the characters in the movie. I agree with you Harley Quinn taking out all the Guards. Isn't too over the type when you remmber that Cena and Elba did a similar thing in a earlier scene. It isn't a Harley Quinn movie.

As someone who hates woke movies this is not one of them. It knows what it is and it takes them facing Starro as well as I thought.
The opening scene was a surprise to me through I am sad that Michael Rooker wasn't in the movie longer than I was hoping for.

Also fun fact the actor who played Weasel in the movie is the same guy who played Kraglin in Guardians of the galaxy vol 2. So kind of cool that him and Michael Rooker were in another superhero movie together again even if a couple of minutes.

I really did enjoy King Shark. Probably helps that he is voiced by Stallone. I do find it funny how one thing King Shark has in common with Groot from GOTG. Is that they are both voice by already establish action stars.

Doesn't take itself seriously and the moments where it tries to be serious is done without going over the top as in the first one.

Casting seems more solid and the characters do seem to have some depth to their personalities rather than the performances being phoned in, probably because there is more engagement by the director.

Wouldn't watch it again, but gave me something to watch while I ate.

Spoiler: Is it just me? or...

Does the "Girl saves the day" scene has become mandatory in movies lately? Even the new Venom 2 trailer shows a black woman "super" screaming, with sound being the symbiotes weakness it doesn't take a scientist to figure out where this is going.

Also, having a mandatory black woman in the cast seems like a neat way to fill out two token requirements for the price of one.

Spoiler

guess you have a point. But the difference is form other recent movies is that I like Rat Catcher mostly because she is an actual likeable character. Honeslty her rats literally eating Starro at the end was actually kind of neat to me.

 

[Ihavetinyweewee]

It was alright. I haven't watched a cape movie in a while. Pacing was good, some of the characters were likeable.

 

[cactus]

Also fun fact the actor who played Weasel in the movie is the same guy who played Kraglin in Guardians of the galaxy vol 2.

That's James Gunn's brother, I think he puts him in all his movies (and Kraglin was in GOTG 1, albeit a way smaller role).

 

[Oats12345]

That's James Gunn's brother, I think he puts him in all his movies (and Kraglin was in GOTG 1, albeit a way smaller role).

Shit I can't belive I didn't put the two together with the last name

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

The movie was very fun, I loathe capeshit movies and thankfully it's not one of them (at least until the last part). The humour is a great mix of comedic timing, brutal gore and great twists/disturbing scenes, with the lolrandom humour (that mainly comes from Harley) not being too annoying. All the characters are likable and I hoped they'd survive till the end (with Peacemaker being undoubtedly the best character).
Also the film isn't woke, which is a nice surprise. It does talk about America doing evil shit to other countries, but considering there's a black woman covering it up (and it's being a part of the comics) it's not grating. The population of the island is ridiculously multi ethnic though.
The worst part of the movie is the last act, which is too long and boring capeshit. With Starro being kind of a pushover that is defeated too easily. Really the film missed a massive comedic opportunity to have Superman (or another superhero), fly in, fuck up Starro and go back instantly, reminding the viewer how the team isn't in the big leagues.

 

[WhatInTheActualFuck]

This movie was really good dumb fun. I actually was shocked that WB managed to make a watchable live action movie.

Also, King Shark stole the show.

 

[Max Doof]

How's David Dastmalcian?

In my personal opinion I wished they delved just a bit more into him compared to the rest. (Him and King Shark probably have the same amount of time in terms of solo moments) but what we got of him was good. He really shines in the final act which is all I’ll say for now about that.

 

[Well Intentioned]

I had no idea who that actor was and had to go look him up.

Turns out he was the actor that I really hated.

Good instincts, @MonkeyBaby

I have never heard of him before and was curious.

Davidson was heavily criticized for mocking Republican congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw's eye patch, which he wears as a result of a wound incurred while serving as a U.S. Navy SEAL in Afghanistan. Davidson compared Crenshaw to "a hitman in a porno movie", and added, "I'm sorry; I know he lost his eye in war, or whatever."

In his 2020 Netflix special Alive from New York, Davidson rescinded the apology previously issued to Crenshaw, implying that it had been issued only because he had been compelled to give it. In the performance, Davidson tells the audience, "I didn't think I did anything wrong. It was like words that were twisted so that a guy could be famous... So I made fun of this guy with an eye patch, and then, like, I kind of got forced to apologize."

His father, Scott Matthew Davidson, was a firefighter and first-responder who died as a result of the September 11 attacks.

Davidson supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and on December 5, 2017, he stated on his Instagram account that he got a tattoo on his leg of Clinton, whom he called his "hero", a "badass", and "one of the strongest people in the universe."

What an obnoxious little shit, and I'm not someone who is all "muh troops" or whatever.

 

[Ita Mori]

This movie spits on the lore just as much as the 2016 film did and has similar problems with it's plot.
If you care little for the comic lore being respected (There is no universe in which what happens between Waller and her staff makes sense, and Rick's character in the final act might as well be a different person), and like Gunn-isms and some Whedon-isms mixed in, you'll like it.

Besides Marvel starting to go kinda woke just now, capeshit hasn't been woke.

Capeshit has peaked and fatigue has started to set in and Hollywood knows it. No better time to become woke and have tards run the show than when your best years are behind you.
Best case scenario: It works and you enjoy a rare hit.
Worst case scenario: It fails but you already made your money and the virtue signalling can be considered the cost of business.

Loved the "Who's Milton" scene, too.

I wasn't a fan. It was the biggest example of this film flip-flopping between wanting to have emotional moments and add depth to the characters, and taking everything as a joke where nothing is sacred. If the death of a minor supporting character is going to be used for a gag, you can't expect me to feel anything for the people I never saw or interacted with who were sacrificed as experiments. Does death matter or not? (It shouldn't. The Suicide Squad is still composed of a majority of homicidal psychopaths who see cold murder as a casual daily event).

Spoiler: Ranting about Starro

- What a fucking joke of a JL-tier villain. I thought Marvel dropped the ball with Ultron but DC went and said "hold my beer". They might as well have used Color Kid to confront the Suicide Squad for all the power and dominance Starro displayed.

- His death makes little sense. If explosions and a hale of gunfire from assault weapons did nothing to hurt Starro's eye, I'm supposed to believe Harley Quinn and some rats can destroy it? I know Harley is basically OP in this film and understand her actress' star power grants her insane plot armor, but Jesus, not even Elba or John Cena's characters were this powerful.

- Why are the Suicide Squad even trying to fight Starro? As soon as the starfish alien made the news you know it's a matter of minutes before Superman and/or the Justice League show up. This is not your mess to clean up anymore. Maybe if Bloodsport was the only one who stayed behind and defied Amanda to prove something to himself and his daughter it'd make more sense, but then his character has to die either by Starro's hand or Waller's. This movie tells me multiple times that these guys are some of the most terrible criminals in the DC universe but then keeps showcasing how they have a heart of gold and are quirky more often than evil. The Suicide Squad in the books mostly hate each other and are doing this because Waller has essentially forced them to and it beats rotting in a cell, or because they love killing and violence and care little for what the moral/political compass of their opposition is and any opportunity to murder is too sweet to pass up.

P.S. Joaquin Cosio is fucking badass and this movie failed to showcase it.

 

[Kled]

Movie was incredibly fun and I went in expecting an abortion. Gunn really did well with what he was given and made even Cena's character extremely likable. I'm actually impressed by the good characterization. ESPECIALLY Ratcatcher 2.

Pete Davidson's character getting his face blown off was cathartic to me I'll be real. I can't stand the guy but on the flip side, Polka-Dot man getting killed as well as Flag made me pretty sad. The former went from a shoe in Norman Bateman to someone who actually had some serious parts and felt very sympathetic when you learn his backstory.

Also this movie made me like Harley Quinn again. I thought I wouldn't be able to after Birds of Prey.

Agreed 100%. Harley stood out in a good way with her characterization in this and I'm glad.

It has its flaws - especially in the final battle - but then again, I consider a galactic supervillain losing to a dancing Gaylord to also be a flaw myself. Interestingly, I think Gunn is more in his element when he is allowed to work with violence - it can be over-the-top, but he directs it well and gives it the impact that it needs.

Starro dying is my only issue here when it was shown he could actually talk and communicate with others. The scene with Capaldi's character giving the big plot twist really made his death pointless to me when you could talk to it and realize it was basically lashing out in pain. The death dialogue made it even worse. However, I will also agree 100% that Gunn does far better when he's given glorious ultra violence to work with. The stinger at the end has me curious as well.

 

[Articles and Nudes]

The worst part of the movie is the last act, which is too long and boring capeshit. With Starro being kind of a pushover that is defeated too easily. Really the film missed a massive comedic opportunity to have Superman (or another superhero), fly in, fuck up Starro and go back instantly, reminding the viewer how the team isn't in the big leagues.

This would have been absolutely magnificent and the sort of "subverted expectations" the genre needs. Can put Superman in the ICU, but still needs a gymnast to hit Starro with a mallet...

 

[Titos]

It is pretty unearthly that execs looked at Tromeo and Juliet on his resume and said that this is the guy that should be writing and directing their blockbuster capeshit films.

I mean, they gave LOTR to the guy who made Bad Taste, Dead Alive, and Meet The Feebles. Splatter directors just seem to make pretty good movies when given a decent budget.

 

[Jetpack Himmler]

Is Pete Davidson in it a lot? I'm curious to see the movie, but I genuinely hate that guy.

Spoiler

He literally gets his face blown off in the first five minutes, which I found satisfying.

 

[Drowningman]

I really liked it far more than the first one plus I've been a Peacemaker fan since he became part of the DC Universe in Crisis.

 

[KillThemCrackasBabies]

Fuckin' loved that shit.