In the face of the Kryptonian invasion, and the recent ‘doomsday incident’, high-ranking government agent Amanda Waller sets in motion a plan to recruit super-villains – the worst of the worst – to serve as expendable soldiers in coming conflicts. A suicide squad. “This is World War Three,” she says. “We were lucky that Superman shared our values. What if the next one doesn’t?”
This film picks up directly following Batman V Superman, continuing the ongoing narrative. We see the background of these super-villains in reasonable detail – given how many characters the film needs to introduce. It was fun seeing a couple of familiar faces in here. Well, familiar masks at least. Before the first of these origin-vignettes was finished, I was already choked with emotion. Deadshot, played by Will Smith stands out as a primary character in this story.
I won’t tell you who, or what, the threat is, but suffice it to say, the squad is needed sooner rather than later.
This movie is all about redemption. It’s about dealing with our past sins. Do they define us? Will they forever enslave us? Can the worst of us still be redeemed? Some of these characters desire redemption more than others. Some of them are actively seeking it. Some may ultimately find it.
The characters with the most interesting arcs in this story, for me, were Deadshot, Diablo and Harley Quinn.
I’d been wondering how characters like Enchantress (a witch) and Zeus (a greek god, who created Wonder Woman) would fit into the more realistic world portrayed in the last two movies. Then I figured out, it isn’t the lack, or presence, of any particular content that makes the DC movies feel so realistic. Man of Steel was the most science fiction take I’ve seen on Superman, but I don’t think you could call it hard science fiction. The thing that gives these stories their realistic feeling, is emotional honesty.
Suicide Squad had a lot more humour in it than the previous two films, but for the most part, it still managed to maintain that emotional honesty. There was really only one moment that the humour pulled me out of the story. Deadshot pointed a gun to the head of a character. That character then cracked a joke. It was funny, for sure, but it didn’t feel like an emotionally honest response. Now maybe joking was just his way of dealing with the stress of that moment, but it kinda broke the illusion for me briefly.
Killer Crock was a much more humorous character than I expected. I found it kinda hard to be terrified of him, in the way that I felt I should. Captain Boomerang brought in a bit of the old Aussie humour. At least, as much of it as the international audience would understand, even if it was was mostly just filling stereotypes.
The joker isn’t a central character to this story, but features more than I expected. Jared Leto brings a chilling interpretation of the character. It’s a new take, but it feels right.
Something I found really interesting after seeing this film, was to compare and contrast Amanda Waller with the members of the squad. What makes her different from them? Is she really any better? Is she, in fact, worse? While some members of the squad deeply regret the heinous things they’ve done in the past, and have tried to implement changes in their life, she is without remorse. Without mercy. Could it be said that the only thing separating Waller from Deadshot, is the question of who signs their cheques?
Unlike the last two DC films, Suicide Squad has a mid-credit sequence at the end. I nearly missed it, having come to the conclusion that DC are not following that particular trope. It is definitely worth watching, so stick around for it.
Having now seen three of the movies, I’m starting to understand how DC are approaching their film universe. It’s a different approach to Marvel. DC have faced a bit of criticism of not introducing the characters to us fully before bringing them together. In fact, when Justice League comes out next year, half of the team won’t have been seen in anything other than cameos. Only two of them will have had their own dedicated solo film. Conventional wisdom might have suggested they follow Marvel’s proven formula. Each character gets their own trilogy, with them coming together on a semi-regular basis for larger story-telling events.
The approach DC seem to be taking is to tell one big story. Each DC film feels like the next chapter in a book. You wouldn’t want to watch these out of order. You probably could, but they’re much more satisfying when viewed as a whole. This is a single narrative, logically following from one to the next. I think both approaches are valid, and I’m really enjoying DC’s fresh new take.
Due to the humour, Suicide Squad will probably have a wider appeal than the last two DC movies, though I doubt DC will even have quite the mass appeal of the Marvel franchise. As they say in self-publishing, every story has its audience, you just need to find them. The fans of the DC Extended Universe may be a smaller subset of movie-goers, but they are very dedicated, and DC seems to be serving them well.
As with the previous two films, Suicide Squad gives you plenty to chew on. There are issues to mentally ponder. The future is very bright for the DC Extended Universe. If they can ignore the critics, and continue to make awesome movies, then we should be in for quite a ride. Bring it on.
You may also like my review of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
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