Remember when James Gunn was 'temporarily' fired by Marvel Studios and we were all disappointed by the decision? Well, it turns out that was a blessing in disguise when Warner Bros. Booked him for a slot of this movie and months later, he was reemployed by the giant-sized company for GOTG 3 and he just killed two heroes with one stone. 2021's The Suicide Squad is indeed, THE Suicide Squad that we all deserve!
The most outstanding thing about this latest squad is the way they blend and mix in everything into the recipe. It's like you're watching a bunch of genres; comedy, dark comedy, fantasy, action, thriller, drama, superhero, spoof and commentaries; political, social contexts, world revolving issues all together and yet, it tastes très bon! Often enough, movies that try to do everything together fail big time but not this one. This is a cinematic achievement.
James Gunn, who also directed Guardians of the Galaxy, knew that the Marvel/DC films have rehashed their materials multiple times; basic origin, romance, giving up, final battle. Hence, Gunn develops a non-formulaic approach that seems suicidal at first but triumphantly creates something unique and unpredictable. From the get-go, Gunn's vision is unconventional but polished, enough to make the audience feels they have never seen anything like it before.
Talking about unpredictability, it indeed is what it is. You never know what will come next, who will die or survive. There are a few times that Gunn uses the head fake technique to deceive viewers from its sequential but engaging storytelling. Like Deadpool, something unexpected happens at the moment when you least expect it.
The juxtaposition of both the 2016's and 2021's is evidently visible. While 2016 has its moments, almost everyone could agree it was disappointingly bland af. The 2021 entry has a strong direction and far better pacing, let alone twists that are fully captivating. The only couple of things that 2016 did it better were the trailers and the soundtrack.
The Rated-R is straight up hardcore to the face. It's superbly gory, darkly comical and unabashedly funny, all without pulling its punches. This is how DC films should be, not as dour as Zack Snyder's but not as light as Marvel's either.
When it comes to flaws, albeit its powerful opening scene, I feel that they waste many of the potential characters here insofar some of them never even got the chance to show their abilities, skills, talents or superpowers.
I am also not impressed by the intensity of the movie's brightness particularly on the background in some scorching white scenes. It defaces the texture of the film and should dazzle some viewers, left distorting of what could have been an iconic scene like the slo-mo segment.
All in all, 2021's The Suicide Squad makes for a suicidal task with flamboyantly sheer colourful characters that collectively sign up for one thing amidst this pandemic chaos; blasting out loud the volume of fun and violence, subsequently climbing to the top as the best DCEU Film ever made.
