Review for The Suicide Squad

Introduction

I have not had the best of experiences with the movies from the DC Universe. There aren’t as many of them as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but given the calibre of the main characters, you might have expected something special from the franchise. But the movies that feature Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have varied from the mediocre to the fair. And when they tried to step outside those characters, things really fell apart, what with the Justice League movie, and the first, original Suicide Squad. It was supposed to be a super-powered Dirty Dozen, but it turned out to be a schmaltzy, predictable mess, where the villains all had hearts of gold, and the only saving grace was the Harley Quinn character, who deserved a better movie. Given all that, you wouldn’t have expected me to have any interest in any more movies from the DC Universe, and certainly no more Suicide Squad.


The thing is that the Wonder Woman movies, fair as they are, are enjoyable in a way that the other films weren’t, and then Zach Snyder went back and gave us the Justice League movie that he originally intended, before a personal tragedy took him away from the film. And his Justice League turned out to be watchable, even a decent movie. Then a few weeks ago, I watched the Harley Quinn movie, Birds of Prey, and it did indeed turn out to be the film that the character deserved. It was entertaining, fun, and even really quite good. So when initially, the idea of James Gunn (director of my two favourite Marvel movies) directing The Suicide Squad piqued my interest, it’s after watching Birds of Prey that The Suicide Squad Blu-ray became a day 1 purchase priority.


There’s been a coup on the island of Corto Maltese. The cruel ruling family has been overthrown by the cruel military. This shouldn’t normally be an issue for the United States of America, but the former ruling family were sympathetic to the US, while the new rulers are decidedly anti-America. The problem is that they are now in control of a secret research facility where some worrying research is being conducted. The Suicide Squad, a conscripted group of super-powered villains are sent in to find and destroy Project Starfish, with the hope of getting a few years knocked off their sentence.

The Disc

The Suicide Squad gets a 1.85:1 widescreen 1080p transfer and you have the choice of Dolby Atmos English, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Italian, and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Portuguese, Spanish, French, English, and English Audio Descriptive with subtitles in all these languages. Note that you actually get two Audio Descriptive tracks here, one with US English, and one with UK English. The image is clear and sharp, colours are rich and consistent, and there are no issues with compression or the like. Detail levels are excellent, and the special effects and action all come across well. The audio is nice and immersive, making the most of the action. The film gets an eclectic soundtrack, which has the same kind of catchiness and quirkiness as the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. The dialogue is clear throughout as well.

Extras

You get one disc in an Amaray style BD case (apparently Amaray cases are no longer produced, which is insane. You can’t get more convenient than the yin-yang clips to hold discs), with an o-card slipcover. The disc boots to a static menu, albeit with an animated side panel showing your extras and options.


On the disc you’ll find the following extras.

Deleted & Extended Scenes (17:27)
Gag Reel (10:23)
Bringing King Shark to Life (5:40)
Gotta Love the Squad (11:37)
The Way of the Gunn (7:50)


Scene Breakdown x4 (25:15)
Starro: It’s a Freakin’ Kaiju (6:17)
War Movie Retro Trailer (3:24)
Horror Movie Retro Trailer (1:23)
Buddy-cop Retro Trailer (1:17)
Commentary with writer director James Gunn

Conclusion

Definite articles make all of the difference! The Suicide Squad is the movie that you wish the first Suicide Squad could have been. I’ll even go as far as saying The Suicide Squad is the best DC Universe movie yet. That isn’t faint praise either, as this film raises the bar so high that it kind of leaves the other DC movies in a huddle in a corner elsewhere. I’ll even say that this film is better than many of the Marvel movies too. It’s no surprise as director/writer James Gunn brings his unique comic book vision to the Suicide Squad franchise, and you can see right from the off that he gets it, truly gets it in a way that David Ayer failed to with his take on the story.


My heart did sink when the film began and it started introducing its main characters. The first Suicide Squad movie began failing early and hard when it introduced Deadshot, and showing him to be a loving father as well, a villain with a heart of gold, undercutting the whole point of the story. And in The Suicide Squad, Bloodsport is introduced early on in prison, being paid a visit by his teenage daughter. But before I could find a desk to bang my head into, the film undercuts my expectations by creating the most dysfunctional father daughter relationship possible without becoming completely unsympathetic. Although even though the two patently can’t stand each other, it’s enough of a relationship for Bloodsport to be blackmailed into leading the Suicide Squad on the mission.

That is this film’s winning strategy. It refuses to live up to expectations, always wrong footing the audience, choosing the left-field plot direction to shock people out of their complacency, and amp up the comedy, all the way to the post-credits sting. I must admit that the first twist is a little signposted though, even if the first Suicide Squad group has Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, and Boomerang (Jai Courtney reprising the role from the first film). But when the majority of the cast that are on the Blu-ray cover aren’t part of this team, you know what to expect, and you won’t be disappointed.


The great thing about the film is that it is wholly character focussed. And the fun comes from the fact that these aren’t the most super super-villains around. Both Bloodsport and Peacemaker are bad ass warrior types with preternatural sharp shooting skills, with Bloodsport backed up by an arsenal of cool gadgetry. Peacemaker wants to be a hero, and comes across as a cut-price Captain America, although his ego is a little too big. Bloodsport on the other hand has an innate cynicism and sarcasm which fails to hide a world-weariness. Ratcatcher 2’s power is charming rats, and in every other respect is a normal teenager. Polka-Dot Man has on the face of it the dumbest power ever, and a serious mother complex. Then there is King Shark, the cutest, most lovable man-eating shark on legs you have ever seen.


Of course there is Harley Quinn, who brings her unique brand of crazy to the mix, which in this film is backed up with her propensity for random violence. The direction really makes the film zing, with the captions heralding each new chapter in the story made part of the scenery. The editing is smart with the way the flashbacks reveal the story, and there are some surreal and beautiful choices made with action that makes it unlike any other film. There’s one bloodbath where all the blood turns into flowers, and you’ll be left gaping at the audacity of it all. Speaking of bloodbaths, this is a film with plenty of blood, guts and gore resulting from its comic book violence. Quite frankly, if it had been released when I was a kid, it would have been a hard 18, but times and social mores change, and horrific CGI maiming is acceptable for the youths these days.


The Suicide Squad is fun. You really do get the feeling that these are the bad guys, compelled to do the right thing with an explosive pellet in their skull, but who are still just as liable to go off track, don’t necessarily like each other, and when it comes to their powers, may not be the first people you’d think off for this mission. The comedy is rich in this film, the characters are all really well thought out and developed. There’s even enough room for a meaningful message regarding US interventionism, yet it does it in a way that that will split your sides, rather than feel like a lecture. The film gets an impeccable transfer on this Blu-ray, and a nice set of extras too.