“The Suicide Squad” (2021) is the tenth movie in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and a sequel to “Suicide Squad” (2016), but you do not have to do any homework and watch any films before seeing this one. Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembles Belle Reve inmates to go on a mission in Corto Maltese, a South American island nation, which recently had a coup. The inmates are tasked with destroying Project Starfish before it can be used against the US. James Gunn wrote and directed this film, which is probably the one of the best in the DCEU thus proving that Gunn, not the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is primarily responsible for his success in “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017).
Gunn understands that the DCEU films like “The Suicide Squad” can be hilarious, colorful, dark, and meaningful. It is a deeply political and culturally critical movie about the state of the world without ruining the fun. The movie plays with the callousness and dispensability of life sacrificed for the US government’s policies, which are not idealized and can be inhumane. It starts with the normal people who work with Waller placing bets on which inmates live or die, but it also tracks as Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Peacemaker (John Cena) casually compete at cool ways to kill people in a camp who are innocently going through their morning ablutions because they have orders to do so. Sure it was hilarious, but as I watched it, I was bothered that none of these people seemed to be posing a threat to them. Gunn may spatter the screen with blood, but as the movie unfolds, he keeps training us to ask if it is ok to kill people and if so why. Even when it is fine, the impact is felt and not without consequences even when it is a bad guy that bites the dust. It is a question of foreign policy and entertainment.
From the beginning of “The Suicide Squad,” Gunn frames Waller’s operation like The Office. Their intel is shaky. They constantly make mistakes that cost people their lives. The audience surrogates are her control room team who are having fun doing their job but gradually realize the consequences of their screw ups. Just because they are watching the action on screen does not mean that their hands are not as dirty as the inmates.
“The Suicide Squad” takes place in a fallen world where parents die, kids are forced to grow up too fast, mothers abuse their kids, animals and aliens are taken out of their natural habitat to be tortured and killed for being in the wrong place, people fight for ideals by taking actions that oppose them. “I cherish peace with all my heart. I don’t care how many men, woman and children I kill to get it.” The big bad, Starro, is given “Blade Runner” Roy Batty pathos by uttering the beautiful line, “I was happy, floating, staring at the stars.” Gunn makes us feel each death even as we use that death as a punchline. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” Matthew 10:29
Gunn is one of the few filmmakers who can pull off hurting animals without taking me out of the movie because Gunn simultaneously conveys a deep sympathy with the animals and characters even as he tortures them. He is showing us the world as it is without condoning it, but Gunn does try to inject a moderate amount of justice in his film to adhere to the superhero genre so we are left with some hope. Because we are rooting for homicidal bad guys, their idea of justice is going to be deeply flawed. The tension lies in whether when they chose to act for good, if it will result in good. The definition of what is good is distorted. Is it personal, the greater good or American interests? There is a point when all the criminals are about to follow orders because they accomplished the mission, do have explosive implants, but it will allow for chaos and mass destruction to unfold. We definitely do not want that, but how can we expect such flawed people to sacrifice their lives for abstract ideals. The film is about incremental progress in rehabilitating our conscience and caring about lives outside our own even when we are repulsed by that life. The final scene is as close as we get to the Garden of Eden with men and animals living together in harmony without fear of each other. It is beautiful and almost made me cry. “Rats are the lowliest and most despised of all creatures, my love. But if they have purpose, so do we all.” Even the worst human beings have a higher calling and are capable of redemption, reconciliation, and love. “There’s no good in me.” Not true.
I loved how “The Suicide Squad” gave every character a chance to shine. Of course we are here for Elba, who finally gets to be the hot lead that he was always supposed to be, but expect to be blown away by Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone) and Sebastian (Dee Bradley Baker, Jaws and Crisp Ratt). Margot Robbie has a lock on Harley Quinn and delivers her customary, excellent unhinged performance. She finds a way to keep her character likeable but still chilling in one scene of unexpected explosion of warranted yet still shocking violence. Thank you to Gunn for keeping Pete Davidson, Jai Courtney and Nathan Fillion’s appearances brief. Swedish actor, Joel Kinnaman, returned as Colonel Rick Flag and unlike his thankless prior appearance, he plays a pivotal moral core in this film. Davis has a difficult job as the straight woman but kills it in the briefing. Even though viewers are inclined to root for Davis (or is it just me), Davis gives us enough plausible moments to shake our faith in Waller. Also Tinashe Kajese gets kudos for making the most of her screentime for appreciating Elba then playing a pivotal role in a plot twist.
If I must complain about “The Suicide Squad,” it does lag briefly during the transition from the team to catching up with Harley Quinn. While I enjoy Peter Capaldi, I compared him unfavorably with the CW’s The Thinker (Neil Sandilands). I wish that Mayling Ng, whom I enjoyed in Lady Bloodfight, had more screentime though I was completely unattached to her character, Mongal. Otherwise if you are not looking for deeper meaning, Gunn gives us everything: a disaster film, a zombie movie, a comic book movie, an action movie, an alien invasion movie, a kaiju movie. Visually it is colorful like a cartoon which contrasts with the unmitigated gore and violence. Gunn finds clever ways to indicate section divisions in the film and even the way that subtitles are placed on screen is helpful and does not interrupt but enhances the action.
I have one question. Are the xenomorphs from the Alien quadrilogy a part of the DC Comics? I feel as if they have appeared in other movies outside of the quadrilogy, but now I care.
If you do not like violence, don’t watch “The Suicide Squad,” but for the rest of you, run and watch it. Gunn is a master of balancing substance and playfulness while tackling heavy themes without ruining the entertainment value.
