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The Suicide Squad – Review | A Bold And Bombastic Bloodbath

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Has it really been five years since since David Ayer’s much derided (yet profitable) film Suicide Squad graced our screens? Maybe it feels less than that because many of us still have a bitter aftertaste left in our mouths after we first consumed it. I may still harbour some resentment toward Ayer’s film, mainly because of just how spectacularly short it measured up to expectations. The marketing for it was phenomenal but what we ended up with was a turgid, studio-meddled monster of a film.

But despite the fact it was universally panned, Suicide Squad was still a hugely profitable film – raking in over 746 million dollars worldwide. And even more bizarrely the DC movie can also brag that it won an Oscar before Marvel did. It won the Academy Award for best hair and makeup in 2017. 

Studios always always ALWAYS follow the money so it didn’t take long for Warner Brothers to give the green light on a sequel. 

But one of the things that makes us human is our ability to learn from our mistakes and WB have done just that. Instead of bringing David Ayer back to helm a followup, WB and DC snatched up one of the golden boys of their biggest competitors; James Gunn. He was unceremoniously sacked from his third volume of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise due to problematic tweets from his past – only to then be hired back a few months later following fan and cast petitions. 

At the time though Marvel’s loss was the DCEU’s gain. Given his crude and hyperactive sensibilities, James Gunn was the perfect candidate to give Suicide Squad a much needed do-over. Besides the swanky new “The” in front of the title, The Suicide Squad is more vibrant, violent and ultimately a much more enjoyable film than its predecessor. But having said that…it wasn’t exactly a tall hurdle for Gunn to leap over now was it?

THE SUICIDE SQUAD (L-r) JOEL KINNAMAN as Colonel Rich Flag, ALICE BRAGA as Sol Soria, DANIELA MELCHIOR as Ratcatcher 2, KING SHARK, IDRIS ELBA as Bloodsport and JOHN CENA as Peacemaker

In this iteration, cold-as-ice Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) once again assembles a team of captured supervillains to do her bidding. The team includes mistress-of-mayhem Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), expert marksman Bloodsport (Idris Elba), burly Peacemaker (John Cena) and a bunch of other misfits from Belle Reve prison. As Task Force X, their mission takes place on Corto Maltese where they must infiltrate a facility known as Jotenheim and destroy all evidence of something known as Project Starfish. If they are successful they will have 10 years removed from their sentence. If not – they die. And yes, Gunn isn’t afraid of killing off characters so try not to get too attached to them.

The 2016 film was disjointed, tonally-uneven and felt like it was held together by a bunch of popular and often mismatched-to-the-scene needle drops. Gunn’s version has more structure. He fuses imaginative action set-pieces with off-colour humour. Hmmm I wonder where he could’ve possibly gotten that from? But trust me, this ain’t not Guardians copycat – the R rating makes sure of that. It feels totally distinct thanks to the gratuitous and bloody violence that’s on display.

You can tell that everybody involved in this movie was having a blast on set. Everyone looks like they showed up to work on a playground – and got paid handsomely to do so. Who wouldn’t be happy? This film is positively radiating glee. From the actors performances, to the spirited visuals, to the seriously impressive CGI and very crisp camerawork in the action sequences. The editing is much cleaner than before and it’s simply more pleasing on the eye.

There’s no denying Gunn is a very capable director of superhero blockbuster movies but frustratingly he does repeat a mistake the Ayer was guilty of; favouring spectacle over character. The script is packed with lewd humour (a rant about a character named Milton had my sides splitting from laughter) but it’s also bloated with far too many characters – many of which don’t get much to do.

Joel Kinnaman returns to play Colonel Rick Flag but somehow feels like a passenger among the ensemble. As a commanding officer he lacks agency and is outshined by reluctant leader-of-the-cons Bloodsport (a terrific Elba) and the machismo Peacekeeper (Cena playing the same thing as always). 

Margot Robbie is as reliable as always as the unpredictable Harley Quinn, providing most of the laughs and the rare moments of emotionality. However it’s never made clear why she’s all of a sudden back in Waller’s custody – last we saw she was off with her Birds of Prey. What happened there? It’s unclear. But the fan favourite character certainly deserved more to do than a tacked-on subplot involving a whirlwind romance with a ridiculously sexy Guatemalan leader.  It all felt a bit unnecessary. 

As for the abundance of new characters, only a handful make an impression. Sylvester Stallone’s King Shark is to The Squad what Groot is for Guardians – a lovable creature with limited speech abilities but is also a lethal fighter. But the MVP is David Dastmachian’s tormented Polka-Dot Man. This is Dastmachian serving a delicious slice of awkward loner misfit whose very easy to sympathise with. His power is exactly as advertised – he fires deadly colourful polka-dots and the world of cinema is better off for having this character now.

But the vast majority of new characters barely get an introduction – let alone any development. There’s lots of familiar famous faces but many of their appearances can be described as a glorified cameo. Why are they here? Mostly to serve as cannon fodder. This is without question the bloodiest and most gruesome film in the DCEU. But the issue is because there’s little-to-no time to get invested in the smorgasbord of players, none of the deaths hit with any weight – regardless of how excessively pulpy their demise might be. 

Getting sliced to death by helicopter blades might be satisfying for a moment but when you leave the cinema you don’t savour the death because you didn’t feel attached to the character. 

Perhaps the most disappointing of all the new additions was Peter Capaldi’s villainous Thinker whose motivation and backstory in Project Starfish are watery at best.

The Suicide Squad is definitely more polished than the 2016 outing but it could’ve done with a couple more rewrites. It’s a bombastic action movie; it’s loud, chaotic, stylish and colourful but there’s a lot of empty noise. However, if you’re looking for an excuse to get back to the cinema then I highly recommend seeing this audaciously daft film on the biggest screen possible.

★★★★☆

The Suicide Squad is in cinemas worldwide Friday 30th July and is also available on HBO Max in certain regions. 

FILM RATING
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Action

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | Official Trailer

Arthur must enlist the help of his half-brother Orm in order to protect Atlantis against Black Manta, who has unleashed a devastating weapon in his obsessive quest to avenge his father’s death.

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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom [credit: Warner Bros. / DC]

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Release Date:

December 20,  2023

Director:

James Wan

Cast:

Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

Plot Summary:

Arthur must enlist the help of his half-brother Orm in order to protect Atlantis against Black Manta, who has unleashed a devastating weapon in his obsessive quest to avenge his father’s death.

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Disney +

Marvel Studios’ Loki Season 2 | Official Trailer | Disney +

The second season of the American television series Loki, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name, sees Loki working with Mobius M. Mobius, Hunter B-15, and other members of the Time Variance Authority to navigate the multiverse in order to find Sylvie, Ravonna Renslayer, and Miss Minutes.

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Genre:

Action, Adventure

Release Date:

October 6, 2023

Director:

Disney +

Cast:

Tom Hiddleston, Jonathan Majors, Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson

Plot Summary:

The second season of the American television series Loki, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name, sees Loki working with Mobius M. Mobius, Hunter B-15, and other members of the Time Variance Authority to navigate the multiverse in order to find Sylvie, Ravonna Renslayer, and Miss Minutes.

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Comic Book Movies

Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion Review: Nick Returns With A Fury

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Nick Fury (Marvel)

The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the television series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Overview Of Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion is set in the present-day Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Nick Fury learns of an invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury, joined by Everett Ross, Maria Hill, and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth, races against time to stop an invasion and save humanity.

Brief Summary (Contains Spoilers)

Ben Mendelsohn  as Talos (Marvel)

The series starts off with Talos pursuing Everett Ross for the murder of a CIA agent, who had information about a potential Skrull rebellion. Maria Hill arrives on scene and discovers that Everett is a shapeshifting Skrull and contacts Nick Fury to request assistance. Nick returns to learn that not only has Talos been exiled from the Skrull Council, but Gravik is taking the lead with the rebellion. Fury approaches an old acquaintance by the name of Sonya Falsworth to propose an alliance, but to no avail. In the meantime, Talos reunites with his daughter, G’iah who shares with him the location of a Skrull attack in Russia. The mission to stop the attack not only end in failure, but in the death of one of Fury’s team mates. Fury and Talos is forced to escape to fight another day.

Kingsley Ben-Adir as Gravik (Marvel)

Gravik gains the support of the Skrull Council to lead them in a new war. Fury is blamed for the attack in Russia and the death of one of the team members, and is discharged of his duties. Sonya learns from another rebel that Gravik has a new weapon, a machine that can help enhance their strength with the use of powered DNA. The rebel’s next target is the Royal Navy. Their attempt to launch a missile at another aircraft is however thwarted by collective efforts from Fury, Talos, Sonya and G’iah. G’iah attempts to run away but is confronted by Gravik who shoots her and leaves her for dead.

Emilia Clarke as G’iah (Marvel)

G’iah, however, survives and lives to fight another day. We quickly learn that there is a rebel Skull Imposter posing as one of the Avengers. The rebels turn their focus on the President of the United States, and posing as Russian soldiers almost succeeds in their attempt, however, they leave behind many casualties. The rebel Skrulls tries to convince the United States President to attack one of the Skrull compounds. Gravik is willing to call off the attack in exchange for something from Nick that could potentially tip the scales in the favor of the rebels.

The last episode ends with a short but grand face-off between Fury and Gravik with a special twist…but I will leave this for you as the viewer to experience on the screen.

The summary has been written in such a way as to not spoil too much for the viewer.

Gravik as a Skrull (Marvel)

Final Views

I really enjoyed the suspense and surprises that the series brought with every episode. Even though the series was only 6 episodes long, it kept the suspense alive and it kept the golden thread going that is taking place within the broader MCU. As you may recall, Captain Marvel’s movie end where she flew off to find a new home for the Skrulls and this series continue many years later where some of the Skrulls feel the promise of a new home has been broken. Even the blip is referenced and it keeps the memory alive of a world still affected by Thanos’ snap.

The rating for this series is definitely a 4 out of 5. The story had a feel of a crime drama and spy thriller. The fight scenes were amazing and I personally felt the last episode could have been longer to give us an even longer fight. There are many questions that this television series have going through my head that I won’t list over here to limit spoiling the experience for you as the viewer. I can only hope that some of the questions will be answered in future Marvel Studios productions.

Olivia Colman as Sonya Falsworth (Marvel)

Olivia Colman’s portrayal of Sonya Falsworth was really amazing to watch and I really hope we get to see more of her in future productions. Emelia Clark and Kingsley Ben-Adir brought in a breath of fresh air as G’iah and Gravik respectively. As always, having Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury is epic to say the least, and I encourage keeping both eyes on his performance throughout the MCU.

I highly recommend watching Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), WandaVision (2021), Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) before watching Secret Invasion. These movies provide the detailed backstory to most of the returning characters. These movies and television series are based on the list of recommendations made in Marvel Studios’ Legends as well.

There is no post-credits scene, so no need to wait till the end. The whole series is now available on Disney Plus so make sure to watch. This series is rumored to tie-in with both The Marvels and Armor Wars, upcoming movies in the MCU.

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