The Suicide Squad came out. The sequel/reboot was written and directed by James Gunn. There is a lot of hype behind this film, and it's well deserved. The 2016 outing was a failure on multiple fronts. A movie so bad that I wrote a review just for the sake of writing one. David Ayer, the director of the film, has been on record saying that the studio interfered and made a horrible version of the film. I can't argue this because we know this is true. Look at the Justice League. But there will be no director's cut this time around, so I will compare and contrast with what was given. The new movie is so much better. Let me count the ways.
The way the movie was shot is a massive shift. The tone of the first film was all over the place, from the comedic character intros where they look like trading cards.
Then introducing characters for a second time like we had already forgotten. The new one starts at a great spot introducing a new character, and you seeing everything from his perspective. We catch up with familiar faces and new ones. This way, you don't have to have seen the last film to be up to speed. The opening sequence shows how wild this world can get all the way up to our new characters' timely demise.
When it switches to the next one, it's constantly changing perspectives so you can get a complete picture of what's happening and how they see it. By giving the characters time to explain themselves other than lazy exposition, you can actually get attached to them, so when the plot takes place, it resonates with you. Also, by doing it this way, the characters have arcs. Whereas the original doesn't.
The villain was a vast improvement as well. In 2016 we had The Enchantress, Joker, and Enchantress brother whose name I just can't remember. There were so many things wrong with the villains. Enchantress, when did she go rogue exactly? Because between the exposition dumps, her timing doesn't make any sense. On top of that, the blue sky beam always pisses me off. Her brother is forgettable, don't even ask me his name. Now the Joker would have been great if they knew what to do with him and also remove the damn damaged tattoo from his forehead. The Joker was so underutilized in this film you could take him out, and it changes nothing.
In the new one, we have quite the combo. We have The Thinker, played by Peter Capaldi.
(screams in Whovian) and of course, Starro, the giant Kaiju which steals the show when he hits the scene. Last but not least, the biggest villain of all. Amanda Waller is excellently played by Viola Davis, and at the end of the movie, you'll understand why I said this. There is no arc for these characters, but they kill their scenes.
James Gunn as the writer and director of the movie has a genuine love for the IP. he really lets the blood and guts rain in this movie as it should because I can't emphasize this enough. ALL COMIC BOOK MOVIES ARE NOT FOR KIDS!!!! I still can't understand why people thought the last one was kid-friendly. Anyway, Gunn is in his element here. Goyer's film felt like a bad attempt to mimic Gunn's style, or at the very least, the editor tried to. In the first film, the oversaturation of licensed music felt like a cheap version of Guardians of the Galaxy, where Gunn uses music to set a tone or feeling. The latter was typical, boring, and lazy. Music handled the right way in the film helps provide a soul.
Performance-wise the cast was full of stars. Everyone brought their a game, but the top marks have to go to John Cena as Peacekeeper. I've been keeping an eye on his acting career for a while, and he has a niche for comedy. Seriously the guy is funny, look at cockblockers and his scenes in a trainwreck, and he brings that same energy here, but this time he's also menacing. Imagine the comedian from Watchmen but without self-awareness.
My honorable mention goes to King Shark, played by Sylvester Stallone. Yeah, Rocky was a shark. His dialogue wasn't much, but a lot was conveyed through the performance. If you can praise Vin Diesel for Groot, you're gonna have to give Rocky flowers too. There is something loveable about this man-eating shark. I think it's the fact that he really wants friends.
This movie costs 185 million dollars, that's ten more than the other one. Also has a more extensive cast; everything is just soo much better. I'm not gonna say Ayer is not a good director, but maybe he should stick to more grounded films because when it comes to fantasy and sci-fi, his films always leave us divided. But his movie like Fury and End of Watch is excellent, heartbreaking films. James Gunn lets us know what kind of director he is from the start and has been knocking it out of the park ever since. I can't wait to see what goes down for the next guardians. I highly recommend this movie. It's not just a good movie, but perhaps the best DC movie made so far. When you think about it, it's kinda funny he would have never made this film if it wasn't for an internet troll trying to cancel him on Twitter. Life is pretty amusing when you think about it.
The Suicide Squad Final Grade: A
P.S: If you like this review read our review for Black Widow
P.P.S: Watch our Otakon Coverage on our YoutTube channel
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