THE SUICIDE SQUAD RATE AND REVIEW THREAD

[Micromind]

Not sure what I went in expecting, but I didn't have too much fun with it. Glad to see everyone else is enjoying it! I do think this a good movie, especially a Suicide Squad movie. I've read a handful of comics, and and think they got the tone right. it just wasn't for me for a number of reasons. I think all the actors did a good job. Really came to like Rat Catcher 2 & Polka Dot Man haha.

Was that John Ostrander in the scene with Bloodsport when he gets injected with the bomb?

Yes it was Ostrander.

 

[shauner111]

Its good but i dont think this is the type of film that i would want to rewatch again. Some parts i liked and others were flat. Im not really a fan with the use of sound tracks in film. People saying that this is the best dceu film, umm yeah nah from me 6/10

One song choice was horrible. I believe it was during a slow-mo group walk shot.

 

[InCali]

I would have given it a 7.5 rating, but went for 7 when forced to pick. There was a lot good about it, but some of the deaths seemed rather unnecessary and without any real knowledge of the characters and I was thinking "Oh well. Whatever". I mean, look, this movies wasn't meant to take itself seriously, but some of Harley's exploits were seriously, seriously over the top. I don't have a problem with it, I just thought that was one area when they could have toned it down. What the hell though......nothing else was toned down so you can't really complain.

Overall, I liked it and got a lot of laughs out of it. I liked most of the characters from the other SS movies a little bit better, but the Stallone and Elba characters were great. And, of course, it's always nice to see Harley.

 

[SomeOldGuy]

Really fun film. Cheesy as all hell but in a good way. 8/10, will watch again.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

The movie itself didn't necessarily blow me away, but I had a great time with it regardless and really that's all I wanted out of it at the end of the day which is definitely something I can't say about the first SS.

I just wish they did more with certain characters because it seemed as if at one point they were setting up King Shark to be The Hulk of this movie, but that moment never really paid off.

The middle section was a bit slow, but I atleast appreciated the character building they were trying to do, although I do think it didn't need to feel as drawn out as it was.

I also would have liked something a bit different when it got to the third act, but they just can't do without somekind of spectacle for these movies for some reason and its kind of apparent that this along with Black Widow just didn't need to go towards that typical CGI filled final battle.

I can understand most people feeling like this is closer to a 7 than a 8 out of 10, but from a sheer entertainment and enjoyment perspective I'd fully give it an 8/10 because for me it delivered.

 

[Prison Mike]

God this movie was pretty boring. Almost fell asleep through it. I just didn’t care for any of the characters and I’m getting tired of Harley being pushed on us. It wasn’t terrible but I just don’t understand the praise it’s getting either. 6/10

 

[Mr.T]

Gunn took parts of the winter soldier story, then applied the guardians cast to the suicide squad team (groot/shark), and made it all happen in a place from Thor. Smart to take elements from Marvel ensures you’re gonna get a decent movie!!!
All kidding aside, it was way better than I expected, considering how I didn’t know what to think of the trailer and all the odd villains they showcased. Gun is really good at tugging at the audience’s heart strings. You really do end up liking his center characters. 7.5/10.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I saw this last night, but I’ve been waiting until I had some time to really go into detail about my thoughts. SPOILERS AHEAD


First off, let me just say that I loved this movie. It’s easily my favorite movie so far this year (yeah, I know it’s slim pickings right now but still) and it is everything David Ayer/WB’s Favorite Trailer Company’s version wasn’t. James Gunn knows how to balance out a big cast of zany characters, thrilling action sequences and enough plot twists and shocking moments to keep the film from feeling too formulaic. His humor is in full effect here and well, if it’s not your thing then I understand that. BUT ALSO YOU MUST JUST HATE FUN. (Jk)

Idris Elba anchors this film admirably; I’m glad to see him finally playing a main character in what will hopefully a good franchise (sorry, Heimdall barely does anything in the Thor movies). His arc felt the most fleshed out in the film because we see him go from a truly broken, scornful man (that screaming match between Bloodsport and his daughter was BRUTAL) to a sympathetic hero and leader. He has some of the most badass fight sequences, but also some of the most vulnerable and tender moments.

Bloodsport and Ratcatcher 2 particularly make up a great little team and the bond between them that grows throughout the movie is endearing. I hope to see Daniela Melchior in more films because she’s very warm and charismatic.

Margot Robbie (of course) brought it as Harley Quinn and this might be her best performance in the role yet (though she was excellent in BOP too). The way she disposed of that dictator guy was hilarious and a total surprise. And then watching her kill her way through all those armed guards finally showed why she actually is an asset to the team and not a liability.

I absolutely HATED Amanda Waller in this and that’s a GOOD thing. I couldn’t care less about her in the first movie (when you make a Viola Davis performance fall flat, you’re clearly doing something wrong), but here, she was every bit as loathsome and conniving as Waller should be. Excellent character work by Gunn and the QUEEN Viola.

Joel Kinnaman also does a total 180 with Rick Flag here and it’s great to see. While the first movie couldn’t decide whether it wanted to depict Flag as a true blue hero or an incompetent moron, here he’s a capable leader with a clear moral compass and a sense of loyalty to his friends. If you would have offed Rick “WE GOTTA CUT ‘ER HEART OUT” Flag at the end of the first movie, I wouldn’t have cared. But here, I was SO hoping he would make it out of that fight alive. Which brings me to…

John Cena as Peacemaker. Great performance, and I definitely didn’t see his heel turn coming. That is one of my issues with the movie I’m still trying to work out. It’s not that Peacemaker killing Flag and trying to kill Ratcatcher to preserve dirty US secrets was out of character. It fit perfectly with his twisted moral code. But… damn it, after all the group had been through, it hurt to see him turn on them. It will be interesting to see how/if he tries to redeem himself in his new TV series.

David Dastmalchian also shines as a character I wasn’t expecting to be so sympathetic and human. Seeing the world through Polka-Dot Man’s eyes is straight-up horrifying and you really feel for him. I loved seeing him bond with the rest of the team and when he dies, it’s a truly sad moment.

Huge shoutouts also to Peter Capaldi who was a perfectly evil and sadistic SOB and Steve Agee/Sylvester Stallone for making King Shark such a lovable monster. Agee also does well in his in-person role; it was nice to see that Waller’s team isn’t as ruthless as she is (though they’re not above doing an office dead pool!). Taika Waititi and Storm Reid also shine in their small roles. And Starro was epic as **** and honestly scary. Amazing use of that character.

I also enjoyed the decoy team for their few minutes of screen time. Boomerang in particular has some great lines. I was shocked he went out as soon as he did but that was the point. Also, Nathan Fillion’s TDK was great. I loved how utterly useless his power turned out to be LOL.

A minor nitpick would be the soundtrack. It starts out great with my favorite Johnny Cash song, but after that it’s mostly forgettable and not in the same class as Gunn’s GOTG soundtracks. I was surprised “Dirty Work” wasn’t used since it was featured so prominently in the trailer. It fits the tone of the movie and is easily a better song that many of the ones that were used.

All in all, it’s the second best DCEU film for me; Wonder Woman narrowly edges it out but it’s significantly better than BOP (which was also really good but Gunn definitely has a better handle on action and balancing main characters). It’s miles ahead of the rest of the lot, from the mediocre (MOS, Aquaman, WW84) to the abysmal (Suicide Squad ‘16, BvS and ANY version of Justice League). I hope this makes enough money and/or garners enough HBO Max views that they make a sequel or other spin-offs. More Harley is always a good thing (would love an in-between-quel where we get more of Harley and Flag working together) and I definitely want to see more Bloodsport, Ratcatcher and King Shark.

I’d give it a 9/10. I still think the Guardians films are Gunn’s peak so far but maybe a Suicide Squad trilogy could surpass them if he keeps going.

 

[Holy Slapper]

Just finished watching it. Not as good as I expected, still much better than the first one: 8/10. Unfortunately way too much was spoiled in the trailers, which made so many plot points predictable. Gunn really knows how to make these characters human or humane and make you care for them. I did not like BOP, but I think I liked Harley Quinn more in this. I did not care much about Polka Dot Man. The gore got a little too repetitive at the end, to such a degree that it almost began to take me out of the movie. Not as good as GOTG to me, but still enjoyable.

 

[MadderMaximus]

Loved it. Watching it again today. A perfect blend of action and comedy. It's ridiculous, knows it, and runs with it without shame. Bummer about what happens in the beginning as previously mentioned. The cast had great chemistry. Didn't expect myself to start crushing on Ratcatcher II. Davis is excellent in everything she does, and this is no different. I'm so glad Idris was finally in a good movie, the curse of Dark Tower is lifted Went with the 9/10.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Loved it. Watching it again today. A perfect blend of action and comedy. It's ridiculous, knows it, and runs with it without shame. Bummer about what happens in the beginning as previously mentioned. The cast had great chemistry. Didn't expect myself to start crushing on Ratcatcher II. Davis is excellent in everything she does, and this is no different. I'm so glad Idris was finally in a good movie, the curse of Dark Tower is lifted Went with the 9/10.

LOL, I wonder if being the one to rig up the explosives and bring down the tower in Suicide Squad was cathartic for Elba after the disaster that was The Dark Tower movie. Such a waste of talent that forever hurt the brand. (Not so) fun fact: Michael Rooker, sporting a long white wig like the one in TSS, was supposed to play Jonas in the Dark Tower TV series that Amazon sadly didn’t pick up. I’m still holding out hope that the pilot leaks online because it sounds like it would have been an interesting take (much better than that **** movie).

 

[routhman]

I thought the violence was grotesque and unnecessarily extreme. I do think the discomfort of the violence took away from the character beats for me. If not for that, the action choreography, concepts, creativity, and execution were very well done.

Gunn also balanced the cast of characters very well and made these loathsome characters more sympathetic in a very effective way (e.g. Polkadot man). Originally, I thought of Polkadot man as a sort of unemotional sociopath, but then as more is revealed about him, you realize that he’s actually a victim of circumstance and probably more sane—more sensitive and with a stronger moral compass—than some of the others (e.g. Peacemaker).

I also thought the story was comic-booky in the best way. It felt very much unabashedly true to the medium, in a way that is rare even among Marvel films. It reminded me of Invincible in its straight-faced embrace of a character like Starro, not even making any real effort to justify the creature’s origin or campy name.

The way that Harley quickly changed from idealizing the Maltesian dictator to shooting him felt like such a true expression of her character—something you could’ve seen in B:TAS but which live-action creatives would typically shy away from. And I love all of that! We need more of that earnestness in comic-book movies, so that we can actually get to the stories instead of spending all our time trying to justify the universe’s and characters’ existence.

All in all, the movie leaves me wondering what’s next for the universe, because I cannot see this type of violence becoming a mainstay in the DCEU. If it does, I’ll gradually tune out. But it’s encouraging how comic-booky it turned out to be, and I hope to see more of that. Embrace the art form!

 

[Kane52630]

At the Movies with Kane and BN
5/5

 

[Doctor Jones]

All around I really enjoyed it. I think Guardians 1 is still Gunn's best script. This had its problems, a few wrinkles, but I had fun and this is probably the second best DCEU film behind Wonder Woman.

I enjoyed all the performance and liked all the characters. A tighter, five person team was the way to go. All are fleshed out and given time to shine. It's hard to pick my favorite character, but it's either Bloodsport or Peacemaker. Though Ratcatcher was the most solid. Even Gunn repaired Rick Flagg for this movie. Polka Dot Man was a delight and how can you not love King Shark? I enjoyed the shear comic book zaniness yet balanced to the point where it didn't feel like a Marvel movie. It had Gunn's distinctness all over it. A mixture of the insane but humane.

Gunn's direction and visual style is at his best. Unlike Guardians 1 this doesn't look like a bland and sterile digital movie like most Marvel movies do. There's a texture and grain to it that you don't get with Marvel most of the time.

I think my biggest issue was that Harley just didn't need to be in this movie. You could have taken her out and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Her scenes with the dictator makes the movie's pace come a halt. I know she uses the javelin to kill Starro, but that could have been King Shark going inside it and eating it and sacrificing himself.

There's some other little script issues I had, but it was mostly of character slightly watering down the concept of Suicide Squad. I did NOT like Waller not doing anything about her staff turning on her. So she just demoted them to a spin off show? What a punishment! Waller would have ****ing killed them. There could have been a nice push and pull between this staff who went from betting against Task Force X to actually risking their lives to help them. I just wish there was more consequence. And Peacemaker should have stayed dead. I just don't like how a death is consequence-less in order to accommodate a spin off. Gunn is better than that. Not to mention it waters down the concept. Maybe Gunn was caught between taking a more redemptive heroic arc with the cynicism of the squad. It mostly works, except for these two elements. If I had it my way, Ratcatcher and or Bloodsport would have been the only people left alive. Though I did think everybody at one point wasn't going to make it so that says something.

But all in all, this is how you do a Suicide Squad movie. I'm glad we can point to one movie where they got it right. 8/10

 

[TallerBallerAm]

I heard it got a relatively low cinemascore of B+? What's that about? I thought audiences would love this movie...I know I did. But it just seems like it has all the parts to have mass appeal for anyone that actually makes it to the theater (I don't think there would be too many confused and upset parents that accidentally took their kids to a gory R-rated film, and be upset as a result)

Anyone know why the cinemascore isn't in the A range?

 

[blackdragon6]

I'd give it a 6.0, I only really enjoyed the third act and nothing else tbh.

 

[Tony Stark]

4/10. This film was awful. Yes there were some good performances. Yes there were some good visuals. Yes there were some very funny bits, but as a film in it's entirety, the film is nothing but a collection of gag and shock moments with no underlying plot, no character development, chalk full of useless characters who are only there to show how ridiculous their powers are and to get killed off. The ending battle was actually fun and entertaining the rest of the film was like watching family guy just to see how many irreverent bits of humor were there only to say to yourself, "it wasn't that funny". I mean what else can you say about a movie, that creates a character that is seemingly Harley's love interest only to kill him off like a couple minutes later, making his role entirely useless.

It's funny that at one time I thought that Marvel by stupidly firing Gunn in a fit of cancel culture, may have been the much needed spark to ignite the DCEU and a film like this, only to have this Frankenstein of a movie produced out of it.

Having said that if they had a film that was solely about King Shark and Weasel, I'd see it, lol. I would surely be better than this movie.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

I liked it. 8/10.

Substantially better than the first. Probably a bit drawn out in some places, couldve stood to be maybe 10-15 minutes shorter to quicken the pace a bit.

I truly felt like James Gunn did wonders with characters like Ratcatcher II, King Shark, Polka Dot Man, and Peacemaker. Bloodsport and Rick Flagg also decently used. But in the end its fun because I never would have cared about them without Gunn's directorial prowess.

I mean, I'm not saying the movie was life changing. But I liked it. And any rated R superhero movie that does well is a win in my book. Harley Quinn is always a treat and deserves to be rated R in as many appearances as possible.

A brief appearance by Will Smith wouldve been fun.

 

[GREEN =w= DAY]

Just got back from the theater and I absolutely LOVED this movie! Just a good balls to wall, over the top action comedy. This film is everything that Ayer’s SS film should have been.

James Gunn took some third rate villains and actually made you root and, in some cases, even care for them

This has easily become my favorite DCEU film

Looking forward to what’s to come and I hope James Gunn sticks around for a looooong time with this franchise

 

[TheGDBatman]

8.5/10

Loveeeeeeeeeed this movie. It was everything I wanted in a Suicide Squad movie and more. While I would like to see some more "well known" villains on the squad, Gunn did a great job making you feel for the D-list characters that populated the team.

The action was top notch and the humour was great.

One part in particular:

Spoiler: Character Death

Weasel's "death". I died laughing. So good.

The plot was pretty straightforward, but it had some nice twists along the way.

Looking forward to watching this one again soon!

 

[Micromind]

I think

Spoiler

Weasel survived ?

BTW, I haven't seen the movie yet. (All theatres are closed here) waiting for them to release it on streaming / vod.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I think

Spoiler

Weasel survived ?

BTW, I haven't seen the movie yet. (All theatres are closed here) waiting for them to release it on streaming / vod.

Well, all I will say is

Spoiler

watch it until the end.

Hope it arrives on streaming for you soon! It’s a great film.

 

[Holy Slapper]

One song choice was horrible. I believe it was during a slow-mo group walk shot.

Way too many of those, by the way.

 

[Green Goblin]

There seems to be some disconnect between what the audience and critics thought of this film.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Way too many of those, by the way.

Weren’t there only two (one at the beginning and one towards the end)?