Back in the ancient year of 2016, movie goers across the globe were giddily caught off guard by the wild and wondrous trailer for David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. Marching into the hearts and curious minds of many on the bombastic backbeats of Queen, this film promised a fun, violent, and obscene adventure filled with a colorful cast of deliciously quirky and dark anti-heroes; ones that the audience could both grow to love and possibly cheer on to die. So with a star studded cast taking on the roles of a slew of DC-deepcut favorites and expectations over a mile high, the film was primed for world renowned success. And on August 5, when it finally hit theaters, the masses ran to the theaters only to leave with mixed feelings ranging from “pretty alright” to “atrociously bad.” But all around, no one could deny that the film was nothing less than disappointing, given it’s hype.
Even being a huge and unapologetic DC fanboy myself, I too found the film lacking and at best viewed it as a noble attempt with a lot of potential left on the cutting room floor. I was and still am happy for its existence and appreciative for the characters it brought to life, but no matter how many times I return to it, I always come back to both aweing and sighing at its wasted potential.
But then we come to modern day, to a time where DC’s ragtag gang of vile villains and audacious anti-heroes has a shot at redemption. And with new director, James Gun at the helm, backed by yet another star studded cast, composed of a mixture of new and returning faces, there seemed to be light at the end of this cinematic tunnel. And after seeing it for myself, I’m happy to say that, yes, The Suicide Squad (2021) not only reaches the hype of it’s promised absurdity, but also is a firm reminder that the superhero genre still has more delicious and heartfelt surprises to offer a willing audience. However, with that being said, for as much as I adore the film, I find it curious at how it goes through great lengths to not only be the successful sequel that it is, but also very clearly a soft reboot that seems to want to gently sweep its predecessor under the rug.
This time around the cast is led by the cool and charismatic Idris Elba, playing Bloodsport, a gun for hire with impeccable marksmanship, who is recruited onto Task Force X (The Suicide Squad) to lead a search and destroy mission on behalf of the United State Government. More or less, Bloodsport is acting as a one for one replacement for Deadshot (Will Smith)in the last film, right down to character function, However, surprisingly Bloodsport feels like a substantially fresh character on his own; one that I think many audiences will fall in love with. And this is nothing to take away from Will Smith’s performance in the last film, which was one of the standouts, but with a better director on set and Edris Elba being Edris Elba, this current film able to offer a protagonist with genuine heart, even if in premise, he comes across as a bit samey. But I think that’s the point. I believe that both Warner Brothers and James understood that the original film was a winning formula, that just needed a few fine tweaks and some competent steering. So they called a mulligan and wiped the slate clean so they could repeat many relationships and premises from the first one, without having to deal with the baggage carried over from the first movie. And this is clearly seen in many ways, but most notable, the one for one replacement of characters ala Bloodsport for Deadshot and King Shark for Killer Croc, leaving out many other original characters from the first film with no explanation, and also … SPOILERS in 3 … 2 … 1 … when they kill off almost every remaining original character from the first film that they did include in this movie, say for one. (I’ll let you guess who.)
Now like it or not, this did allow the studio the ability to create a movie that feels like it’s own thing, while also still feeling close to it’s predecessor, which is still a film that many people know and love. In addition, any character that they kept from the original, but eventually killed off, it was done in such a way that you always walked away with a memorable moment for that character. Sometimes hilarious. Sometimes bombastic. Sometimes epic and heartfelt.
Regardless, looking at the two side by side, yes, they are indeed very similar, but one must note the stark difference in quality as well. To put it simply, James Gunn was just far more successful in executing a fun and thrilling adventure, while also progressing his characters in a much smoother paced and more meaningful way. Be that as it may, I must still give credit to David Ayer and the first film for doing a lot of the heavy lifting that James Gunn’s movie didn’t have to bear.
Unlike James Gunn’s film, David Ayer was stuck with the task of establishing the premise, these characters, and much of the iconography of this part of the DC cinematic landscape, which I believe he executed very well. This allowed Gunn to be able to speed run through all that backstory and get straight to the meat and potatoes of the adventure. Now, watching the film, I’m sure people who didn’t see the first one will still fully understand everything in Gunn’s film, but I still think there is something to be said that if for not the partial success of the first film, Gunn’s film might have had a tougher time finding its way into the hearts of audiences as easily as it already has.
In summation, I think James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is far above the benchmark of a successful sequel. It does try to sweep its predecessor a little under the rug for the reasons that I discussed, plus a few others that are apparent in the film, but regardless, its a fun time, one that I think is more than worth seeing in theaters. But while you're at it, maybe check out the first one too. Sure. It has its flaws, but it is an Oscar winning movie, which is more than most comic book movies can say.
Levi Mock (August 30, 2021)
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