A few days ago I posted a Polish review of this film, this text is its extended version. --> https://peakd.com/@herosik/bezspoilerowa-recenzja-the-suicide-squad
"The Suicide Squad" ... I can start my review of this film with a few slogans. For example, James Gunn got it when Disney shook himself off and threw him for tweets from a few years ago, for which he has already apologized, because some idiot on the right or left (irrelevant, cancel culture is evil in any form), he reported his tweets. Then WarnerBros called him and invited him with a mountain of money and a vision of total creative freedom. This is the movie that would normally have the chance of making a billion or more, but WarnerBros, specifically AT&T, which then ruled the company (and later abandoned it after, paraphrasing Andrzej Sapkowski, "made a lot of shit, and then they fled "). This is a movie that was therefore a financial failure, according to AT&T's decision, TSS went to hybrid distribution - that is, on the same day it was available on torrents in any quality. True, we are now relatively normal with Covid, at least in Europe, but people are used to sitting at home. Consequently, many people who would normally go to the movies decided to download it. This movie is another proof that the brand and relatively good opinion are important (I can complain about how much I want about Marvel, but the facts are that they have achieved success, people in the world love them like DBZ, "Sailor Moon", "Harry Potter "," The Witcher "at the peak of its popularity). In turn, DC produced a lot of garbage, and the stench behind it - especially "Suicide Squad", which was one of the biggest movie shit in recent years, in my humble opinion stands proudly next to such garbage as "Cats". And okay, the fact is, he made a lot of money, but it was a one-time shot. Something like a beautiful prostitute who tempts us with nice shapes, smiles flirtatiously, speaks a few sentences in a tempting voice, but when we use her services, we see cellulite under sexy clothes, we can see up close that this beauty is mainly due to makeup, and the same skills are of questionable quality. As a result, he also got the title of James Gunn, and it was enough to change the title of the film to "Task Force X" ... Last but not least, this is the final proof that high-budget cinema (excluding series) does not work for streaming. Cinemas are still the lion's share of earnings, and streaming and editing on DVD or Blu Ray is just an addition. The exceptions are Marvel (due to the brand and Premier Access), Netflix that can afford to invest more money once or twice a year to make an ad like "Look, we also have an ambitious cinema, not only series and medium hangover movies "and Amazon - because they have a lot of money and treat it like promotions.
Although James Gunn's latest production has been well-rated and is a better film than many Marvel productions, it has achieved a disastrous bottom line. At the moment, on September 6, the film grossed $ 162 and a half million (on a budget of around 185). It has been assumed that in order for a film to break even (i.e. not lose money), it must earn twice as much - in this case 400-420 million. Poor promotion to blame here, but the main culprits are IMO torrents and memory 1 part each. Well, 1 part - this production can be treated as a continuation due to several of the same actors and characters (Rick Flag, Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang), and at the same time as the so-called "soft-reboot", ie we have a few familiar elements, we do not contradict the previous part, but we also do not refer to them (like "Bumblebee" compared to earlier "Transformers"). Theoretically, both solutions are true in this matter, but as a man with some experience in the field of movies, series, cinematography in general, I recommend treating this movie as a soft-reboot. Contrary to what some people say, there is a significant difference between 1 and 2. Besides, this is quite a new trend, such as ignoring certain parts of the cycle and starting at the point where the movie series had its quality peak. - eg the newest part of "Terminator" ignores everything after two parts, "Halloween" does the same and is a direct continuation of John Carpenter's cult film. I like this idea because you have a clean slate and you can make a continuation after many years, this time better and more thoughtful than what film studios have been creating over the years to earn money on a well-known brand. The fact is, these soft-reboots are the same in this regard, although at least they are trying to give us a good show. With better or worse result.
The plot is not too complicated - there is a secret government agency tasked with carrying out unofficial missions that can never come to light. These are criminals with long-term sentences who are offered a deal - if you take part in the mission and survive, we shorten your sentence by 10-15 years. Quite a fair deal, because both sides benefit from it - the government is sure that the task will be done, and even if it fails, the government washes its hands and sends these real super heroes. Prisoners, on the other hand, have something more interesting to do than sit alone. In order to make sure that they do not escape, an explosive is mounted in their heads (or an explosive collar is put around their necks) - if they try to cheat or escape, they are killed by Amanda Waller's button. Something like this - we send special services to clean up (i.e. murder all witnesses and destroy all evidence), and we say nothing to the media, and if the matter comes to light - we use propaganda, we invite useful idiots to TV so that you can they calmed down some people, we generally lie and pretend that the situation that did not take place at all. As I have written many times before, even though I like comic book characters, I am not a comic book expert. I know the group from this film from the two animated films and the earlier part. I am waiting for the game from Rocksteady and I hope to have as much fun as I did in Part 1 and Part 2 of their Batman trilogy. I like suicide villains for the fact that they give a lot of freedom to the creators and you can do a lot with them and effectively get rid of them. Besides, sometimes interesting alliances result from it, criminals can realize their interests (if they have such a possibility), murder their allies - a nice thing. This is a nice departure from most comic books with superheroes that focus on different morals + above all, they are intended for young children and teenagers, and this group gives the opportunity to show something bloody for an older audience.
The film tells how the US government wants to destroy the Starfish project. It is an object of extraterrestrial origin, which in some ways resembles The Thing and the Alien from the movie "Alien". It is a self-aware creature that takes control of living creatures through its micro-clones. The characters taken over by them become part of the Starro and share their consciousness with it (something like the relationship of the Zerg and their superconsciousness in the form of the StarCraft Overmind). The film debuted at the right moment and is a sensational political commentary. As we can see in the media, terrible things are happening in Afghanistan right now. Ordinary residents and people who have cooperated with the US government (or fighting the Taliban, which means the same thing), flee their home country, because they know what can happen to them when the Taliban take power (shooting the entire family, starting with children, and ending with their parents, this is really an act of grace - I know because I have seen movies of the executions of Arab terrorists). The Americans fled overnight, leaving ashes behind them - as in Vietnam, or when the Kurds were left to the disfavor of the Sultan of Turkey Erdogan. TSS doesn't address any of these situations directly, but we got some common elements. In this film, the US government conducted experiments in one of its subordinate countries - it used their inhabitants, and thus - murdered them, while examining the properties of the alien. When the risk rose too much, America acted selfishly, as in our world - sending people to cover up their interference so they could say, "It's not us, we have clean hands." Plus, it's a good video showing people with their traumas - sort of like GotG, but mature and stronger due to the +18 age rating. The fact, sometimes I say that PG-13 does not really matter, and can even be an advantage, because the creators are forced to combine, which sometimes turns out to be a plus for the film. However, on the other hand, thanks to this, it is possible to show more and more bluntly, as long as it is done by an experienced director who knows how to skillfully use the tools offered to him by the higher age category, not limiting himself only to effective murdering, making a gore-fest or throwing curses, which are replaced in PG-13 films with corresponding synonyms.
As for the characters, we've seen a lot of them in the teasers, and as I said before the premiere, most of them are dying. James Gunn did it really cleverly and wisely - some of the characters we see in the promotional material die in one of the opening scenes. Amanda Waller orchestrated a diversion and sent some of the villains to certain death to get the attention of the soldiers and the main strike group to attack from the other side. Thus, the main characters are: Amanda Waller, Bloodsport, King Shark, Harley Quinn, Peacemaker, Polka Dot Man, Rick Flag and Rat Catcher. Bloodsport and Peacemaker are brutal mercenaries in whose hands anything can become deadly weapons. Basically, they do not differ in anything other than their approach to action. Bloodsport is not a dick, and contrary to what he says, he has some remnants of his conscience, while Peacemaker is a cynical dick who carries out all the commands he gets. As if he had said, if he were to do a felatio to thousands of men at the cost of freedom, he would have done it. Amanda Waller is a woman with giant cojones who is reportedly one of the biggest bastards in the DC universe (and after that movie and the animated version of "Suicide Squad", take your word for it!). King Shark is such a Hulk, only in a version of a shark with a mentality of a child voiced by Sylvester Stallone. I love him, he has a wonderful mentality of a child and he is just learning to live - he finds out who his friends are, who to eat etc. Judging from this movie, I assume Sly must have had a great time recording his dialogue lines, Rocky is perfect for that! Rick Flag is an ordinary commando, with no special skills. I don't need to introduce Harley to anyone. All I can say is that James Gunn wrote the screenplay for this film without knowing her solo film, which may bother some - Harley is still being portrayed as one who has just broken up with the Joker. Polka Dot Man and Rat Catcher are little known characters and I had doubts about them (just like before the premiere of GotG), but James Gunn showed them surprisingly well. Rats can be really dangerous and useful (e.g. when destroying cameras, it is also important that they can chew through everything that was used during medieval torture - I recommend reading about the hot bucket), and PDM shows that appearances are deceptive. Before the premiere, I wondered how they would defeat their main opponent - after all, they don't have someone with the power to destroy him. Okay, they have a King Shark tank, but who will be doing the dealer's damage? And unexpectedly for me it was PDM - a man whose own mother had poisoned with a cosmic virus that acts like a weapon that shoots acid. By the way, this is another successful social commentary, this time by toxic parents who use their children as tools.
All in all, the movie is good. I wouldn't say it's very good, but it definitely stands out above what Marvel has been giving us for many years - repetitive films that are very similar to each other and created according to one, predetermined pattern, like McDonald's burgers. I liked the brutality, the blood, the creative murder of people - not everyone can show it and, as I wrote several times, sometimes it is better to make a film in PG-13, because it forces the creators to take a creative approach to avoid censorship (and sometimes it works out for the better, because the scene is stripped of a brutal envelope, it has a stronger tone). For this, however, you need a talented director who knows how to play with it + knows how to use the potential of the +18 age category. Contrary to appearances, it is not that easy, because most of the creators take the easy way and treat the R category only as an opportunity to show blood, guts and throw a dozen or so profanity into the script. James Gunn, on the other hand, has been making cheap films for years, he has the right imagination, so for him it is such a playground. Just like for us, viewers who like to watch such a festival gore. I rate this movie strong 8/10 and I'm looking forward to the series about Peacemaker. After what I saw in this movie, I have very high expectations!