A bloody action comedy in which James Gunn does everything that critics and audiences love him for.
2023 will definitely go down in history Warner Bros. like a year of bug fixes. First, “Snyderkat” healed the laceration that it left in the hearts of the fans Justice League… And now “Suicide squad” James Gunn must erase from people’s minds the misunderstanding of five years ago – this super task is hinted at by the title of the film. Of course, we are not talking about the postscript “Mission Throughout”, invented by caring localizers, but about the original name – The Suicide Squad. The monumental “The” in this case carries far more weight than any subtitle. Say, this is the version you were waiting for, this is the real “Suicide Squad”, and not a faded imitation. Pretentious, yes, but almost justified.
So, democracy is in danger again. In the small island state of Corto Maltese, a coup took place, and militarists hostile to the United States came to power. And it seems to hell with them, but not everything is so simple – intelligence reports that something extraterrestrial has been concluded in a secret laboratory on the island for many years. And in the hands of embittered radicals, it can become a destructive weapon. So, it’s time for Amanda Waller to gather a team of super-garbage again, which can be spent without regrets or appointed as extreme ones, as soon as something goes wrong. This time at her disposal is a seasoned killer Bloodsport, a fascist patriot nicknamed the Peacemaker, a two-meter walking shark and half a dozen more freaks. And, well, Harley Quinn, of course, where can we go without her? Together they will have to save the world or die trying.
It is well known that Suicide Squad in 2016 was ruined by the intervention of studio paranoids, who tried at the last moment to blind something completely different from the finished film. But since then, the Warners have revised their strategy, since the success “Joker” showed that it is sometimes useful to let authors off the leash. So James Gunn got a complete carte blanche and made exactly the movie that was expected of him: bright, trashy and humorous.
If David Eyre’s film was a desperate attempt to please all focus groups at once, then “Mission Through” feels completely and completely the author’s work. This is a typically Hannian story about eccentrics who are both hindered and helped by their strangeness in life. Some of them are traumatized, mentally or physically, others are simply not born that way. At first, outcasts are united only by circumstances, but then they find support in each other. Doesn’t it look like anything? That’s right – all the same Guardians of the Galaxy, only flavored with decalitres of blood and savory swearing. But, as they say, why fix something that already works properly?
There are at least a couple of scenes in the film that finally justify Harley’s presence in the squad.
For a while, freed from Disney chains, Gann created a show-off movie in a good way. One scene here is shown almost entirely through the reflection in the Peacemaker’s helmet, in another, cartoon flowers fly out of people instead of blood, and in the third, the heroes arrange a slaughter in the pouring rain in slow-mo. And when something wild is not happening on the screen, the characters simply sort things out, which is no less pleasant to watch. James Gunn writes almost Tarantino dialogues in which jokes balance between vulgarity and wit. And the actors read them with undisguised pleasure. Especially Idris Elba and John Cena are an unexpected and explosive comedy duo. But with the examples of Viola Davis and Yuel Kinnaman, it is especially noticeable how much confident direction and a sensible script mean a lot. In Squad 2016, Amanda Waller and Rick Flag were more features than characters. But in “Mission Bash” they, even with all their ordinariness, are not lost even against the background of Harley Quinn and the Shark King. Although the latter still steals every scene with his participation.
As a renowned music lover, James Gunn has pounded the soundtrack to its fullest with excellent and varied music – from Johnny Cash and bouncy punk rock to sultry Spanish romances. Against such a background, John Murphy’s pretentious Hollywood tunes openly cut the ear. They sound in the most dramatic moments and completely erase all irony from the film. However, this is not the composer’s fault. Gann, in principle, is not famous for the subtlety of his work, but in “Mission Hit Through” his attempts to bring the viewer to emotions are generally not covered by anything. Having waited for the right moment, he makes the characters dump their tragic backstories on the companions and the audience, without fail to the sad music. Well, for especially callous spectators, a charming rat Sebastian is in store, who knows how to wave his paw and do other touching things. Well, everyone was moved, quickly!
The Shark King is Groot’s brother. He is just as big, childishly naive and charming.
This is perhaps the most controversial aspect of the film: despite the bloodiness and an abundance of black humor, “Suicide Squad” is a good movie. It speaks of acceptance of oneself and others, of friendship and trust, of prejudice and freedom of choice. This is all great, but not very much in line with the chosen theme. Gunn went a well-trodden path, so instead of a group of unprincipled supervillains who are ready to stab a neighbor in the back at any moment, we are again shown outcasts with hearts of gold and slightly broken moral guidelines. Yes, they kill people, sometimes in extremely cruel ways, but this is all in the heat of battle and for the common good. But what is really there, these so-called villains are ready for exploits and without any coercion, just before they were not given a chance to prove themselves. The moral is clear and woven quite organically, but it makes the film almost toothless. As if James Gunn, possessing creative freedom, was afraid to outgrow and scare away those who know him from Marvel blockbusters, and not from Troma studio’s choicest trash.
Nonetheless, Suicide Squad: Mission Knock Out is a bouncy, inventive, and, despite its few moments, surprisingly cohesive movie. No, this is not a breakthrough and not a revolution in the genre, which was, say, Deadpool, but a strong comedy thriller with colorful characters, good jokes on the verge of a foul and superbly filmed action. Compared to the 2016 studio craft, this is not just a step forward, but a fundamentally different level.
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