Nina
I’ve noticed these comic book movies walk the line between campy and corny to serious and action packed. There are often unusual characters and situations that aren’t really believable but we like them anyway because they prove there are Super Heroes in the world looking out for us all!!
In my opinion, Suicide Squad leans more to the campy side with crazy situations and characters. I love trying to figure out the actors that are in costume and makeup. My man Michael Rooker is GREAT! He gets recruited by no-nonsense Viola Davis as Ms. Waller, trying to manage a kindergarden class full of killers with deadly force! When Savant freaks out during his mission, he gets the final treatment from her (his head gets blown off, eeekkk) and YES she has a backup plan in place — did we think she didn’t??
Always in these situations the bad guys outnumber the Team and always have better weapons. In this case our Team comes through! There are gruesome deaths, I mean being eaten by a shark on dry land? Being torn in two while you are standing right next to your fellow henchman? Getting your face shot off while you are half naked? Think about the poor person who has to identify your body.
Overall, it’s a good story and plausible situation, the world is in trouble and our Team is being sent in to wipe out the problem. There is an alien life-form that is being exploited and they are sent in and find that is has grown and is out of control. There is a crazy individual with what growing out of his head called the Thinker, and is the diabolical head of the experiment. Literally, he has things stuck in his head. There are Walking Dead elements and gruesome Alien experiences with starfish attached to your face that add to the gruesomeness of it all and the believability suffers a little bit but you go with it. After all, it is the whole world at risk here! A few towns with folks that have their faces sucked off? Acceptable loss.
Of course, the characters are quirky and lovable, who doesn’t love Idris Elba as Bloodsport, he actually screamed when he saw a rat. I’m still laughing. And John Cena as Peacemaker, seemingly a crime fighter with a heart UNTIL he goes overboard with his zealous defending of the mission. All of these actors add their own flare to the role and make them lovable and you stick with them, warts and all.
Harley Quinn is over the top as always and carries this movie along with a little help from the others, Polka Dot Man and Sleepy Rat Girl (double eekkk) and a Matrix-like fight scene. She’s a little bit brat, a little bit Lara Kroft, and a lot annoying and hey, through all of that she didn’t even rip her dress and her makeup MAGICALLY fixed itself. Flawless.
Task Force X kicking butt and taking names! It was a good movie overall, and they gave a teaser for the next movie. I got the chance to watch this on my own TV – not the same as the theater but the popcorn was better because I made it myself! See it!
Frank
The squad is pulled together again by Amanda Walter (Viola Davis) to head to an island called Corto Maltese where there is revolution and a secret alien captured in a tall tower.
Sounds like over the top and it is. The alien starfish which only shows up late in the film looks like a character from Sponge Bob as it shuffles through the South American Island City.
But before that happens we are again treated to the appealing and zany antics of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) who spreads violence with a smile. Director Gunn mutes the violent scenes with twists like filling a bloody scene that Quinn causes with flowers in place of blood. To change scenes and provide information to the audience Director Gunn uses action from the film as the blackboard for written information. Perhaps the best of these is a blood stained beach that spells out a Warner Brothers Production.
Filled with what is not possible and scenes that should be serious but are not Gunn has us laughing at what we should be appalled at. That is just right for the word of Harley Quinn and here for all of the heroic odd characters. Even Viola Davis as the director of the game we are watching keeps control by threatening to blow up the heads of the participants (the squad) through her state of the art equipment and implants in the upper spinal column of each of the unusual heroes.
Gunn also uses long sound waves from time to give the feeling of vibration to the audience, it’s not necessary but does make things more interesting.
Margot Robbie is worth watching as Harley Quinn along with Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) who shakes up the entire script with her power.
There is appeal in the story and antics of the characters, but it begins to run long after a while as we realize that we have seen this chapter before and we know exactly what will come next.