‘The Suicide Squad’ — James Gunn Steps in to Fix What DC Messed Up
When it comes to portraying a team of outcasts, he’s the guy who does it satisfyingly.
First things first: The Suicide Squad is nothing like the Guardians. And I’m the first person who I need to remind of that disappointing yet necessary fact. I wanted James Gunn’s 2021 movie to be like his two well-loved Marvel opuses — it’s not the film’s fault that it isn’t.
Note: I will try not to make this essay about how the comic book movie genre devolved into a tedious, mediocre, everybody’s-safe-place type of exercise — but I can’t promise anything.
So, David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad was shit — apparently. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t seen it. I don’t watch DCEU movies because I have something called, um, taste. We could argue that the subject of this piece is one of them, which is technically true, but it’s also not. This is a Marvel film financed and produced by DC. I mean, it’s funny, has a good cast, and it was directed by Gunn. Duh?
It’s a re-envisioned version since the first one was such a failure — critically, not financially — that the studio needed Gunn to make a likable alternative about these fuckups. By now, I think we can confidently say this: when it comes to directing a team of outcasts in a mainstream franchise, he is the only guy who does it in a way that pleases most fans.
InThe Suicide Squad, there’s even a pretty coherent plot — which I won’t be able to recount because I already forgot all about it. Come on, it’s been like sixteen hours since I finished it. Don’t expect me to do the impossible.
But, honestly, no one cares about the story here. The Guardians of the Galaxy 1–2 have a vague, ad-hoc plot because Gunn’s aware that all we want to see is action, jokes, and whether Peter and Gamora will hook up in the end. Most of the dynamics in The Suicide Squad work similarly — action, joke, action, character development, joke, more action.
There’s one main difference, though: the characters feel more detached and less personal here. It’s sensible that this project has never been completely Gunn’s child. He was called in after DC messed up the first time around. He came to fix problems — and it feels like that throughout the entire runtime. Although he wrote the script by himself, the characters aren’t as relatable as they could’ve been. The connection and chemistry between them are minimal. We don’t root for them the way we did for Groot, Rocket, or Drax. Besides Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), we never learn much about their trauma and motivation.
I mean, what the hell King Shark (aka Nanaue) is here for other than being a comic relief? He’s a mixture of Hulk and Groot without an emotional component. He’s sometimes funny — that’s his only role, really.
The rest of the cast serve similar purposes. It’s not that the actors don’t do a fine job — although John Cena’s acting qualities are still questionable to me — it’s just that their characters are two-dimensional. They have zero depth. I’m not asking for a complex character study, just some unique trait that makes them stand out. Something that makes them relatable. Evidently, there’s very little of that in these two hours.
I haven’t watched any comic book-related adaptation — apart from this one — since 2019. I had a long break because I was bored with how generic and saturated the genre has become. Yet two years later, I see that nothing has really changed. The Suicide Squad is the absolute proof — even though it was brought together by the guy who’s probably the most suitable for the job. But as I said, I’m trying not to make this about my personal preferences.
Gunn’s version of these anti-heroes is likely as entertaining as possible. He knows how to avoid the traps that most comic book flicks usually fall into. He’s enjoying the freedom making fun of the clichés and classic tropes, which ultimately define the genre. The R rating guarantees he can go above and beyond with the amount of “fucks” and brutal slayings, which we know he excels at. Plus, given the fundamentals of the comic, he can kill off anyone at any time in ridiculously violent ways. And you can bet he will do just that as he pleases.
The material is bonkers enough to let him play with stereotypes, employ fresh visuals, and use this versatile cast to deliver crazy sequences that go overboard on purpose. Harley’s mass-murdering escape showered with CGI flowers, Nanaue’s completely unnecessary yet sweet moment with a group of tiny sea monsters, or Bloodsport and Peacemaker’s rivalry of killing soldiers in the coolest fashion are certainly welcomed highlights. Even I have to admit that those were FUN to watch.
Look, if the superhero movies from the past fifteen years are generally your thing, I’m sure you’ll like this one. It’s got everything fans usually expect from the easy-on-the-brain type of entertainment. And it’s made by a writer-director who knows what he’s doing.
But if you’re anything like me — bored to death with crowd-pleasing mainstream favorites — you won’t find anything new or original in this one. And I say that as a James Gunn advocate — who loves Super, Slither, and the Guardians to death.
But The Suicide Squad only feels to be his brainchild for a brief moment — and when that passes, you’ll remember he was only brought in to fix issues. Now that he did, he can move on to finish the third installment in a franchise that he’s truly a part of.
This week, I also wrote about the latest ‘Fast & Furious’ sequel over on Fanfare, and right before that I praised an underrated JCVD flick from 2018. For more writing, you can always take a look at my profile.