When the first Suicide Squad movie came out, everyone hated it. The editing was bad and stroke-inducing, the performances were bad, and the music choices were random. But when DC announced that James Gunn, creator of the incredible Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, was making a sequel, I was very hopeful.
The 2016 Suicide Squad movie was not received well by anyone. The movie was cut up, reshot, and stitched together at the behest of the director, David Ayer. Ayer wanted the movie to be a “soulful drama,” but it ended up feeling like a fever dream with dubbed lines, insane performances, and nauseating editing. After multiple flops that were poorly received, Warner Bros. decided that it should stop interfering with the directors and just let them do their jobs. And after Gunn was (temporarily) fired from Marvel, they decided to bring him on.
The studio liked the movie so much that after letting Gunn return to Marvel to make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, they decided to put him in charge of the movies in the DC Universe.
The movie was released in 2021, which means that theaters were generally avoided because of COVID, so I watched this movie at home with my dad. In the just over two hours this movie runs for, it quickly became one of my favorite comic book movies ever. I love just about every aspect of it. Gunn has cemented himself as the master of movies about groups.
This movie is also one of the funniest comic book movies. The banter between the characters was hilarious and so memorable. Idris Elba’s character, Bloodsport’s fear of rats juxtaposed with Ratcatcher 2, the person whose whole thing is controlling rats, is not only very funny, but also serves as a good way to give him something to overcome. It’s very clear that everyone who made this movie had a very fun time during production.
The action is great in this film. The fight scenes are super well done, and the music that accompanies them is great. The score is fun and alive, while the soundtrack brings many of the scenes to life. In particular, in the final battle against Starro the Conqueror, the song from the score not only fits the vibe of the movie, but it also serves as an emotional hook during the quick flashback with Ratcatcher 2 and her dad. It’s a sweet moment that makes me almost cry every time.
There were many reasons that this movie flopped. The fact that it was R-rated made it unable to be watched in theaters by children without adults to take them, the fact that it was released in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time, which diverted people from the theaters, and the abysmal reputation of the first movie. But overall, this movie is amazing and a very fun watch and I can’t wait to see how Gunn handles the new DCU.