The Suicide Squad (2021 film)

 

Based on the DC Comics series, The Suicide Squad is a sequel of sorts to the 2016 film in which a group of anti-heroes and villains team-up to stop a major threat in a small South American island nation in the hopes they get a lighter sentence in their prison time. Written for the screen and directed by James Gunn, the film is a different take on this anti-hero group as they deal with corruption and other issues that forces them to save the world from a threat bigger than themselves. Starring Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Peter Capaldi, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Alice Braga, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, with the voice of Sylvester Stallone, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. The Suicide Squad is an outlandish yet exhilarating film from James Gunn.

The film revolves around a small South American island who had been taken over during a coup where American intelligence officer Amanda Waller sends two groups of anti-heroes to infiltrate the island to destroy a lab known as the Jotunheim and all of its secrets unaware of what it’s hiding. It is a film that explore these band of misfits, criminals, and anti-heroes who are given a chance to reduce whatever prison sentences they have by helping the government destroy this lab created during World War II by the Nazis. Yet, complications arise where one team lead by Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) with his old teammate Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) are ambushed with Flag and Quinn both captured forcing the other team lead by the former mercenary Robert DuBois/Bloodsport (Idris Elba) to finish the mission with his own band of misfits that includes the jingoist killer Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena), a man-eating shark-human hybrid known as Nanaue/King Shark (Steve Agee/voice of Sylvester Stallone), an eccentric man in Abner Krill/Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) who uses polka dots as weapons, and a thief who can summon rats in Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) like her father before her.

James Gunn’s screenplay doesn’t go into anything that had happened in the previous film as it is more about what is happening at the moment with DuBois being reluctant to take part of this government-led task force run by Waller because he admits to not being a good person. Yet, when he learns that his estranged 16-year old daughter Tyla (Storm Reid) might be going to prison because of stealing a TV watch. DuBois accepts the tasks unaware that his old friend Colonel Flag is leading the first task force that got ambushed because one of its soldiers sold them out to the army of Corto Maltese with only Colonel Flag and Quinn surviving. Still, the group that DuBois is leading are an odd bunch as he also has a phobia for rats which makes him uncomfortable in his interactions with Cazo even though she is a kind-hearted person who likes to sleep a lot. The military dictatorship of Corto Maltese are hoping to be taken seriously with this mysterious weapon that is overseen by a scientist Gaius Grieves/the Thinker (Peter Capaldi) who is the man that Waller wants DuBois and others to take and bring them into the Jotunheim to destroy whatever Grieves is working on leading to many revelations for those working for Waller.

Gunn’s direction is definitely stylish as it doesn’t just play into some of the cartoonish elements when it comes to some of the film’s graphic violence but also in the fact that it is an anti-superhero film grounded by compelling characters who are all just a bunch of misfits. Shot largely on location at the Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Duluth, Georgia with flashback shots of Cazo as a child with her father (Taika Waititi) in Portugal and some of the streets of Corto Maltese shot on location in Colon, Panama. Gunn does play into the stakes with the first shot revolving around a criminal in Brian Durlin/Savant (Michael Rooker) playing handball with accurate bounces where he is called upon to take part in a group that is led by Colonel Flag with Quinn, Digger Harkness/Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and other anti-heroes such as an idiotic mercenary in Richard “Dick” Hertz/Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Cory Pitzner/T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion), Gunter Braun/Javelin (Flula Borg), the alien mass-murderer Mongol (Mayling Ng), and a weasel named Weasel (Sean Gunn). The usage of wide and medium shots has Gunn playing to the scope of the group shots as well as the island that is Corto Maltese as it has a grimy look that is colorful but also in decay.

Gunn also play into this air of dysfunction within the group as well as what goes on in Waller’s main base with her own team of people who are troubled by some of her decisions but also how she runs things. Even in Gunn’s usage of the close-ups as it play into the way characters interact with one another such as Cazo telling her story to DuBois while asking him about his phobia for rats. The film does have a structure but also some non-linear narratives in the script that includes the film’s third act where it does play into revelations into what is inside the Jotunheim. It adds not just a conflict about what this band of misfits is fighting against but also question on who they’re forced to work for. Even when the weapon that is unveiled proved to be bigger than anything or anyone has expected. Overall, Gunn crafts an outrageous yet insane film about a bunch of antiheroes who go to a small South American island to kill some people and destroy some old fortress as well as what is inside.

Cinematographer Henry Braham does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it has elements of style with its usage of vibrant colors, heightened lighting for some of the daytime exteriors, and some unique lighting for some of the interior scenes at night. Editors Fred Raskin and Christian Wagner do excellent work with the editing as it does have some style in some slow-motion work for a fight scene involving Quinn and some soldiers in a hallway as well as jump-cuts and other stylish cuts to play into the story. Production designer Beth Mickle, with set decorator Lisa K. Sessions and supervising art director Alan Hook, does amazing work with the look of the buildings of the island as well as the prison where many of the people of the Suicide Squad live in as well as the club that Grieves visits. Costume designer Judianna Makovsky does fantastic work with the costumes as it has different looks for many of the different members of the Suicide Squad including Krill’s polka dot costume, the helmets that DuBois and Smith’s helmets, and the red dress that Quinn would wear upon her dinner with one of the dictators.

The special makeup effects work of Greg Funk, Shane Mahan, Brian Sipe, and Matt Sprunger do incredible work with the look of some of the characters with Krill and the polka dot rashes he has on his face as well as Quinn’s own look. Special effects designers Ethan Carney, Peter Carney, and Bailey Eller, along with visual effects supervisor Kelvin McIlwain, do phenomenal work with the visual effects in the design of Nanaue as well as a big thing that would occur in the film’s climax. Sound designer David Acord does superb work with the sound in some of the sound effects created in some of the weapons the characters create as well as some of the places they go to. The film’s music by John Murphy does wonderful work with the music as it has elements of orchestral bombast to play into the action and suspense along with somber pieces that include a theme for Cazo’s story while the music soundtrack features an array of pieces from Johnny Cash, Pixies, the Decemberists, Kansas, the Fratellis, Ceu, K.Flay, Grandson with Jessie Reyez, Louis Prima, Culture Abuse, and the trio of Drik Barbosa, Gloria Groove, and Karol Conka.

The casting by Yiniva Cardenas and John Papsidera is marvelous as it feature notable small roles and appearances from Lloyd Kaufman as a man at the club, Pom Klementieff in an un-credited performance as a lead dancer in the nightclub, Natalia Safran as the villainous inmate Kaleidoscope, John Leland Gore as the incarcerated villain Double Down, Lynne Ashe as Krill’s mother whom he sees whenever he gets really angry, Sean Gunn in a dual role as the strange animal creature known as Weasel and a convicted villain in Calendar Man, Mikaela Hoover as General Suarez’s secretary Camila, Julio Ruiz as a contact for the Suicide Squad in Milton, Maya Le Clark as the young Cazo, Storm Reid as DuBois’ teenage daughter Tyla who hates her father yet is facing a possible prison sentence, and Taika Waititi as Cazo’s father who is the original Ratcatcher who taught his daughters about the worth of rats. In the roles of Amanda Waller’s team who survey over the whereabouts of the Suicide Squad, the performances of Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Tinashe Kajese as Flo Crawley, and Steve Agee as John Economos are terrific as the trio who question Waller’s intentions and methods as well as discovering what the Suicide Squad had discovered.

Juan Diego Botto and Joaquin Cosio are superb in their respective roles as the villainous dictators Silvio Luna and General Mateo Suarez as two men who want to prove that their island is nothing to laugh at with the former being a romantic that is in love with Harley Quinn while the latter is just a man of power. In the roles of members of the first Suicide Squad group shown early in the film, Mayling Ng as the alien murderess Mongal, Flula Borg as the athletic Gunter Braun/Javelin who uses a javelin as a weapon that Quinn would later use, and Nathan Fillion as Corey Pitzner/T.D.K. who can detach his arms as weapons are fun to watch in what they can do despite being betrayed with Pete Davidson in a fine small role as the idiotic mercenary Dick Hertz/Blackguard while Michael Rooker’s performance as Brian Durlin/Savant and Jai Courtney’s performance as Digger Harkness/Captain Boomerang are a joy to watch with Rooker being the most deadly despite the ambush he had to encounter. Alice Braga is fantastic in her small role as a Corto Maltese rebel leader in Sol Soria who helps out DuBois and his team in overthrowing Luna and General Suarez while also being aware that something worse is happening.

Peter Capaldi is excellent as Gaius Grieves/the Thinker as a scientist who has been experimenting with a mysterious being inside this old Nazi lab/fortress where he is also this man that isn’t afraid to talk shit as he brings a lot of humor to his performance. Viola Davis is brilliant as Amanda Waller as an intelligence officer who organizes the missions and watches over the Suicide Squad as well as playing to their fate in concealing her own intentions for the government. Joel Kinnaman is amazing as Colonel Rick Flag as a military leader who lead one task force of the group until an ambush ruined everything where he is later saved in his capture where he reunites with his old friend DuBois where they both make a discovery into what is inside the lab that questions Flag’s own role for the government. David Dastmalchian is hilarious as Abner Krill/Polka Dot Man as an experiment gone wrong who gets polka dot rashes and uses polka dots as weapons where Dastmalchian has a sensitivity to the way he portrays the character but is also someone with an offbeat sense of humor.

Daniela Melchior is incredible as Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2 as a thief who can summon rats like her father before her as she is also someone who is kind to everyone while also being accompanied by her pet rat named Sebastian who takes a liking towards DuBois. Sylvester Stallone is a fucking hoot in his voice performance as Nanaue/King Shark with Steve Agee doing the motion-capture work as this human-shark hybrid who doesn’t say a lot of words yet eats a lot of people while also learning the value of friendship. John Cena is phenomenal as Christopher Smith/Peacemaker as this douchebag version of Captain America with a jingoist attitude who says a lot of funny and profane shit while also being someone who feels like something has to be done in which he causes a lot of conflict with those he’s with including DuBois and Colonel Flag.

Idris Elba is sensational as Robert DuBois/Bloodsport as a mercenary with unique nanotech that allows him to create weapons as he’s a great marksman but also someone who is reluctant to lead since he doesn’t consider himself a man with redeeming qualities where Elba brings a lot of nuances to the character. Finally, there’s Margot Robbie in a tremendous performance as the famed criminal Harley Quinn who helps out Colonel Flag only to be captured where she deals with surviving an ambush and being a crush for one of the dictators where Robbie brings a lot of energy and wit to the character who is crazy but also someone who cares about her friends and the world in general.

The Suicide Squad is a spectacular film from James Gunn. Featuring a great ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, its exploration on a gang of misfits trying to save the world, a fun music soundtrack, and its refusal to take itself seriously. It is a film that isn’t afraid to be profane nor is it willing to play nice in favor of just being a violent film with lots of cartoonish elements that allows itself to be ridiculous and fun. In the end, The Suicide Squad is a tremendous film from James Gunn.

James Gunn Films: (Slither) – (Super (2010 film)) – Guardians of the Galaxy - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - Superman (2025 film) - (The Auteurs #76: James Gunn)

DC Extended Universe: Man of Steel - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Suicide Squad - Wonder Woman - Justice League - Aquaman - Shazam! - Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) - Wonder Woman 1984 - Zack Snyder's Justice League - (Black Adam) – (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) – (The Flash) - (Blue Beetle) - (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom)

© thevoid99 2022

Suicide Squad

Based on the DC comic series by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, Suicide Squad is the story of a group of supervillains who are tasked to stop a major threat to the world in exchange for reduced prison sentences. Written for the screen and directed by David Ayer, the film is an unconventional superhero film of sorts where it is focused on the bad guys who are given the chance to do good while dealing with their own faults as individuals. Starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevingne, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Adam Beach, Karen Fukuhara, Scott Eastwood, Ike Barinholtz, Jim Parrack, and Viola Davis. Suicide Squad is an intriguing but extremely messy film from David Ayer.

Following some catastrophic events around the world, the film revolves around an intelligence officer who wants to create a task force filled with supervillains to stop any major threat available as they would team up with a military officer to kill an evil witch-goddess known as the Enchantress who has inhabited the body of an archeologist named Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne). It’s a film that has some of worst of the worst that include a hitman, a pyromaniac, a mutant, a bank robber, and a former psychiatrist who later became the girlfriend of the Joker (Jared Leto). They’re given the chance to do good and save the world in exchange for a reduced prison sentence as they reluctantly do the job with Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) leading the team. It’s a concept that has a nice idea but writer/director David Ayer unfortunately doesn’t go all the way with its execution.

While he does manage to establish who are the members of this team known as the Suicide Squad in Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (Will Smith), Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), George “Digger” Harkness/Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Chato Santana/El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Waylon Jones/Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Some of these characters are either underwritten or under-utilized while the script falters very highly as Ayer tried to cram so much into the story but never finds a way to create a balance for everyone involved. Even the stakes in trying to stop the Enchantress and her brother Incubus (Alain Chanonine) doesn’t have much weight or motivation for the Suicide Squad to stop other than death if they don’t do the job. The character of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is a mysterious individual who holds the fate of the entire squad as she is an antihero that is unique as she is one of the most interesting characters in the film.

The story about Harley Quinn’s relationship with the Joker is definitely not given more to be engaged into as it’s really one of several subplots in the film as the character of the Joker is someone who isn’t really used for the main plot other than to try and retrieve Harley back into his life. It’s a storyline that could’ve been fleshed out more but it’s often seen in flashbacks where there is little of the Joker in the main storyline. Another issue in the film revolves another member of the Suicide Squad in Christopher Weiss/Slipknot (Adam Beach) where he’s only in the film for a few minutes and doesn’t really do anything.

Ayer’s direction is where the film really suffers as it not only tries to cram so much into a two-hour film but also do it with some constraints to appeal to a wide audience. While Ayer would create some exciting sequences that does help tell the story and is filled with a lot of action. It tries too hard to be all things where it does have moments that are funny and moments that are exciting but it never finds that balance to bend all type of genres where it is very messy. Though there’s some good compositions that Ayer makes in the medium and wide shots to establish the locations as well as some close-ups. It is all very stylized and sometimes it would be style over substance where Ayer is doing whatever he can to try and make it enthralling. Yet, the emphasis largely on visual effects and wanting to create something big tends to overwhelm the story as it kind of loses of focus on what it wanted to be. Another aspect of the film that is problematic is that underneath all of these storylines, sprawling action scenes, and comedy is that there is a good film somewhere.

It’s obvious that given that this is a studio film that Ayer must have consulted with the executives at Warner Brothers in giving them what they want. Yet, this interference from people who aren’t involved in the process of filmmaking are the last group of people who understand what an audience wants. Sometimes, it’s best to not give them what they want as this film unfortunately tries to do so many things but giving the character of the Joker a small amount of time in the film as well as not providing a backstory for Killer Croc and a volunteer in Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana (Karen Fukuhara) definitely would baffle the audience. The climax is also kind of lacking in something bigger as it ends up being very conventional as it never really has the chance to become something of its own in favor of trying to be like every other superhero film. Overall, Ayer creates a decent but extremely inconsistent and underwhelming film about a group of bad guys teaming up to save the world.

Cinematographer Roman Vasyanov does some nice work with the cinematography with its array of colors and lighting schemes for much of the scenes set at night as well as the usage of desaturated colors for some of the daytime scenes. Editor John Gilroy does some fine work with the editing as it is very stylized where it relies a lot on fast-cuts but does provide enough footage to establish what is going on despite the constraints of what the film would suffer in its final cut. Production designer Oliver Scholl, with set decorators Beauchamp Fontaine and Shane Vieau as well as supervising art directors Brandt Gordon and Brad Ricker, does excellent work with the set design from the prison cells of the members of the Suicide Squad as well as the look of some of the cities and buildings they go into. Costume designer Kate Hawley does superb work with the costumes from the clothes some of the members of the Suicide Squad wear as well as the stylish clothing of Harley Quinn.

Hair/makeup designer Alessandro Bertolazzi and creature/effects designer Steve Newburn do brilliant work with the look of some of the characters such as El Diablo, Harley, Killer Croc, and the Joker where they’re given distinctive looks. Visual effects supervisor Jerome Chen does some good work with the visual effects in creating some mystical effects relating to the Enchantress though it does get overwhelming at times as the design of her army is kind of weak. Sound editor Richard King does fantastic work with the sound in creating some sound effects and in some of the broad moments in the action sequences. The film’s score by Steven Price is wonderful as it’s mainly a mixture of orchestral music with some electronics as much of the music that is assembled by music supervisors Gabe Hilfer and Season Kent that features an array of music from the likes of AC/DC, Rick James, Eminem, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lesley Gore, the White Stripes, Black Sabbath, Kanye West, K7, Norman Greenbaum, the Rolling Stones, and the Animals.

The casting by Lindsay Graham and Mary Vernieu is brilliant despite some of the issues involved due to the interference of studio executives as it feature some notable small appearances from Jim Parrack and Common as a couple of the Joker’s henchmen, Alain Chanonine as the Enchantress’ brother Incubus, Ike Barinholtz as a prison guard, Scott Eastwood as Col. Flag’s right-hand man GQ Edwards, David Harbour as a government official, Shailyn Pierre-Dixon as Deadshot’s daughter, Grace Santana as El Diablo’s wife in flashbacks, and Adam Beach in a very wasted performance as Slipknot. Karen Fukuhara is fantastic as Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana as a volunteer who is deadly with a samurai sword as she helps the Suicide Squad while Cara Delevingne is alright as Dr. June Moone in displaying her fears and vulnerability but isn’t very good as the Enchantress who is just this lame villain.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is terrific as Waylon Jones/Killer Croc as a reptilian-like mutant who can do things underwater and kick ass though he is very underutilized and underwritten. Joel Kinnaman is superb as Col. Rick Flag as a Special Forces officer who leads the Suicide Squad into battle while trying to hide the fact that he is personally invested in this mission to stop the Enchantress. Jay Hernandez is excellent as Chato Santana/El Diablo as a pyromaniac who is reluctant to help out as he is afraid of unleashing his powers knowing how bad it can become. Jai Courtney is fun as George “Digger” Harkness/Captain Boomerang as a bank robber with a deadly boomerang who is quite tough but also has some weird fetishes.

Jared Leto’s performance as the Joker is a mixed bag where not only is it a very small role where he’s not given much to do for the story while his performance is funny at times but also over-the-top for the wrong reasons. Viola Davis is brilliant as Amanda Waller as an intelligence officer creating a plan to help the world in the face of a threat as this is a no-nonsense character that is quite ruthless but also very determined to do whatever it takes to save the world. Will Smith is amazing as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot as a hitman/assassin that is good at what he does yet is also complex as he’s got morals despite the fact that he’s a bad guy as Smith brings some charm but also some weight as a man who knows what is at stake. Finally, there’s Margot Robbie in a phenomenal performance as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn as a former psychiatrist who goes insane and falls for the Joker as she is this odd yet insane woman often speaks her mind and does crazy things as it’s the real standout performance in the film.

Suicide Squad is a decent but uneven film from David Ayer. Despite some action sequences, intriguing premise, and a great ensemble cast, it’s a film that suffers from trying to do so much only to bring in so little. In the end, Suicide Squad is just a very disappointing and underwhelming film from David Ayer.

David Ayer Films: (Harsh Times) – (Street Kings) – (End of Watch) – (Sabotage (2014 film)) – (Fury (2014 film)) – (Bright (2017 film)) - (The Tax Collector)

DC Extended Universe: Man of Steel - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Wonder Woman – Justice League - Aquaman - Shazam! - Birds of Prey - Wonder Woman 1984 - Zack Snyder's Justice League - The Suicide Squad (2021 film) - (Black Adam) – (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) – (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) – (The Flash) – (Blue Beetle) – (Batgirl)

© thevoid99 2017