THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021)
Another year, another reboot. While the exact nature of this film's continuity is fairly tangible, it does start to become annoying when the same-but-different title convention rears its head. Luckily while this is an area deeply lacking in creativity, the rest of the movie makes up for it. For the most part. Although David Ayer's prior film has been buried (at the time of writing) in place of a studio cut, it seems as though directorial voices are back. Zack Snyder got his four-hour spectacle. James Wan and David F. Sandberg got to flex their horror credentials where it was appropriate. And in this case the product is another weird, crass and often disgusting James Gunn movie.
The film speaks for itself in this regard. It's bizarre and outrageous when necessary. There are fountains of blood and sequences that verge on body-horror. It's sometimes disturbing and sometimes sentimental. There are a lot of recurring jokes whether they work or not. Not all aspects of the film feel like they have James Gunn's fingerprints on them. But a lot of the material feels exactly like what a superhero action movie from the makers of Slither and Super should be. The director's brother is here and so is his old pal Michael Rooker. Even elements of his crowd pleasing work at Marvel Studios bleed into this foul mouthed murder-fest, which includes both a humanoid shark and a bipedal weasel.
However, not everything comes across as pure undiluted mayhem. The plot involves various convicts being sent to destroy a science project called 'Project Starfish,' but Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is here too. Which isn't to suggest the performance or the scenes she gets aren't entertaining, but they do sometimes feel extraneous or detached. Which seems to be by design, since her major subplot is removed from the island infiltration early on. Was this the only studio mandate? It's hard to say for sure. It takes up a lot of the running time without forwarding the team's efforts. Fortunately this is a better turn than her earlier solo feature, and this time the action is fun and well staged.
The other assort inmates meanwhile are in the jungles of Corto Maltese, a recurring South American nation in the DC universe. Sort of like a comic book take on Val Verde I guess. After the collapse of the government, mad scientist The Thinker (Peter Capaldi) and his sinister project is in the hands of the new, less friendly, leadership. It's up to the titular squad to stop the project before it can threaten the United States, whether they want to or not. There are plot twists and heel turns along the way, but the story is simple. There are stylistic choices, some which work better than others, but their mission is refreshingly direct. There are no convoluted plans and this particular Task Force X team feels suited to the job at hand.
The cast are all pretty memorable, even if some of them are only in the opening set piece. This first act gag is almost so good it might be the best part of the movie. But without giving away too much the standouts are the mentally disturbed Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) and King Shark, (voiced by Sylvester Stallone) a talking Great White who wants to impress his new friends but also wants to brutally eat them. Bloodsport (Idris Elba) is clearly a stand-in for the absence of Deadshot but his clichéd backstory does offer some dramatic texture to the proceedings. It's also fun to see his disdain for the methods of both Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) and Peacemaker (John Cena).
There are a lot of dumb jokes and there are a lot of deadpan deliveries. Everyone involves is goofy or dramatic, sometimes in equal measures. 'It's just a rash' claims Polka-Dot Man when his companions see the physical problems his powers cause. But it's a movie where people are torn limb from limb by boomerangs, javelins, and rats. Don't expect a deep meditation on the nature of hired killers or science gone awry. Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is at least a provocatively ruthless figure, directing the mission with an iron fist. It's often wacky but it still manages to have bleaker moments. There's also a very twisted sense of humour layered onto all of this, which results in a fairly even tone throughout.
In a way it's because the dregs of society (and the world of comic bad guys) and being forced to fight against ever increasing odds. It feels like these sort of Z-List characters are included here because they were both lower budget for the film production, and for the ARGUS command centre. It's a farcical show of force, despite the effectiveness of certain team abilities. But that's the real stroke of genius, in a film about a suicide mission there are no longer any big stars to worry about leaving alive. Certain contractual obligations are obvious, but the ramshackle nature of the movie means that it feels like story being told by people that are genuinely interested in the material.
As a result it's easy to forgive some distracting music choices, and perhaps one too many backstory flashbacks. Ratcatcher 2 eventually gets some genuinely interesting moments but at times the second act is bogged down by people talking about their family histories. A few conventional clichés slip through during this minor lull in the adventure. But at least someone was interested in adding style and personality to an often washed out looking story, and here it is. An action that that's as harsh and stark looking as it is slimy and gruesome. It won't be for everyone, but sometimes that's better than trying to please a wide audience. It's another James Gunn movie after all.
4/5
BONUS REVIEW
BLACK WIDOW (2021)
On the other hand, this is just another Marvel movie directed by a committee and a CGI animatics crew. Cate Shortland might have a history with dramatic thrillers, but whoever wrote this was desperate to reproduce Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War. There are the same huge location prompts on screen, and there's the mystery assassin from Natasha Romanov's (Scarlett Johansson) past. But they forgot to actually write a compelling story with character. Her history is barely explored beyond the opening sequence, which is the best part of the film. An exciting chase sequence involving spies and children used as weapons. But the rest of it has more in common with tedious filler adventures like Ant-Man 2 or Captain Marvel.
It's a real waste because the meat of the story was all there for the taking. Who was Black Widow and what exactly did they put her through in the sinister Red Room? What really went down in Budapest? Why did she choose to defect to the United States and become a SHIELD operative? We may never know because this is an ill-advised story about brain washing gas without any stakes. These big reveals are given the most basic lip-service. Instead of a gripping thriller or something along the lines of Nikita, it's often a series of dumb one-liners and unconvincing action scenes. They've avoided certain tropes but fallen into others, and the result is just a poorly written revenge tale with a few video-game level set pieces along the way.
The visual effects are often poor, but the characterisation is also just as weak. Florence Pugh is also wasted as Yelena, Natasha's spy family 'sister.' Meanwhile the sinister machinations of their faux parents (David Harbour and Rachel Weisz) are brushed over so they can make a few bad jokes. One loves only himself, and let his spymasters use his 'children' so he could return to life as a superhero. The other is a cold scientist who uses animals to test human brainwashing techniques. But there are no repercussions and barely any confrontations. It's all too eager to return to another boring action scene that lacks the sharp edges of the best Steve Rogers fight sequence. Black Widow herself is just a cartoon character that can taken any punishment, and never a real person. A prequel slash interquel like this was always going to have problems being engaging. But this is the wrong way to go about it.
2/5
