2016’s Suicide Squad is part of the pre-Wonder Woman DC Extended Universe (DCEU), along with Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, that could not make an enjoyable movie. It was like watching the Detroit Lions make movies. Surprisingly, Suicide Squad still did well at the box office ($746 million worldwide), guaranteeing a sequel.
Five years later, that sequel has arrived in The Suicide Squad with two significant changes. The first is James Gunn, writer and director for all three of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy film, replacing David Ayer, who wrote and directed the first film. The second is casting as the only mainstays from the first film are Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. Idris Elba and John Cena as Bloodsport and Peacemaker, respectively.
Gross be damned, Suicide Squad tortured both critics and audiences so changes were needed, but do the changes made for The Suicide Squad allow it to avoid the sins of its predecessor?
The most fitting way to describe The Suicide Squad is to harken back to legendary R&B group Shalamar and their 1979 hit, “The Second Time Around.” The smooth ad-lib that comes during the first singing of the song’s hook sums it up perfectly – the second time is so much better.
While it’s still the same style of film at its core, an ensemble action-comedy, the newer version is an entirely different experience. The improvement is primarily the product of the previously mentioned Ayer-Gunn swap.
Due to the similarities in genre and characters, Gunn could have redone his Guardians of the Galaxy films and still have a better result than the original Suicide Squad film. Instead, he takes a riskier approach by creating something closer to The Belko Experiment.
Gunn’s script cuts the excess that made Ayer’s film so bad. The longwinded backstories for each member are gone as are the forced Dom Torretoesque motif about family and the contrived attempts at humor. He replaces them with shorter references to the characters’ pasts and darker stake-raising scenes that quickly move the film.
Gunn gets more into his Belko Experiment zone and further away from his Guardians films in the director's seat with the heavy doses of gore and carnage. Body parts splatter and heads are half-blown off as the bodies pile up. It’s a complete bloodbath.
Gunn’s film isn’t all doom and guts because there are plenty of laughs to be had throughout. This time, the jokes are more organic because the characters’ self-awareness of over the top their situations are vs. the force-fed gags and “fun” that sunk Ayer’s version.
While the blame for the first film’s failure doesn’t solely rest on Ayer, the hiring of Gunn for the reboot is an upgrade that matches the likes of Shalamar adding Howard Hewett to replace Gerald Brown as its lead singer before recording their aforementioned breakout single
The acting side of The Suicide Squad is no different from the first one talent-wise. Again, there’s still plenty of star power throughout the cast with Robbie, Davis, and Kinnaman reprising their roles from the first movie and Elba and Cena coming along this time.
Robbie brings the same twisted charm to Harley Quinn that made her a favorite in the 2016 version, but the standouts in this one are Elba and Cena. Both do a fantastic job balancing action hero machismo with comedic timing that keeps them from becoming cliché.
The most noticeable difference with this cast is that they appear to be more relaxed than the previous one. While the cast in the first film seemed conflicted between portraying good or bad people, this group doesn’t have that same struggle as they fully embrace their characters as hyperviolent criminals who think of themselves first. It’s a consciousness that spreads throughout the film.
Saying The Suicide Squad is a marked improvement over Suicide Squad would be the understatement of the year. With writing and directing that embraced who the Suicide Squad is instead of making them into something they aren’t, Gunn created the film that the people wanted and DCEU needed to continue its post-2016 progress.
There’s no need to watch the first film if you haven’t done so already unless you’re a glutton for punishment or you want to compare the two. Additionally, there is nothing remotely for kids in The Suicide Squad so please keep them away.
As for viewing options, the entire film was shot in IMAX so seeing it in that format definitely wouldn’t be a waste of money but watching it at home doesn’t take anything away either.
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