Despite best efforts to rival the MCU, the DCEU officially died with the long-awaited release of Zack Snider's intended Justice League vision. Between the numerous cast leaks for the upcoming Flash movie, drama on the set of the upcoming Batman movie, and Ray Fisher drama the franchise desperately needed positive attention and a successful film release. Thus far, every major collaborative movie effort has been met with either a convoluted storyline (Batman versus Superman) filled with underutilized characters (Justice League original) or suffer from both (Suicide Squad). Naturally, hopes weren't too high heading into the opening weekend was the question remains is it worth watching?
Firstly, it is impossible to discuss the movie without discussing the movie's new director James Gunn, who is best known for turning the Guardians of the Galaxy into a successful franchise. Hard to imagine that it was just 2018 when the director was on the brink of cancellation after offensive tweets were unearthed. At the time he was a stark contrast to other public figures, like Harvey Weinstein and Roseanne Bar, who were in the midst of their own cancellations. Cancellation aside, it’s safe to say that James Gunn has managed to salvage his career, and despite initially being fired from Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3 he will be returning to complete the trilogy. Regardless of the film, Gunn films all have his distinctive touch and feel to them and as only the second director to have direct for both Marvel and DC it's clear that Gunn knows how to distinguish between the two types of audiences. Following Shazam, the Suicide Squad sequel has the perfect balance of DC hyperbolism and the realism wanted for DC films. This is by far not a kids' movie but a kid can definitely be as entertained as from watching an animated film.
Following the formula of both a theatrical and HBO Max release the film sees the return of Viola Davis, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, and Jai Courtney, only 4 members of the original cast. Whereas the first film banked on Smith's star power and the possibility of seeing the Joker on screen to get audiences in theaters, this film is laying more into the absurdity that comes with being a movie based on a comic book. While Smith's character is arguably the main protagonist of the first film, the sequel spreads the love between the new ensemble so there's not one individual character journey to be invested in. And although Smith's reasoning for not returning to the franchise was only because of scheduling conflicts, one can't help but appreciate how effortlessly the character is replaced by two characters of the exact skill set. Newcomers to the franchise, Idris Elba and John Cena, are perfect additions and help to break the Hollywood trope of sequels being disappointing in comparison to the predecessor.
As the film's new director Gunn had a lot to make up for when it came to the failings of the first film. Two primary issues were character usage and the overt sexiness of the character Harley Quin, both of which are soundly addressed in the movie. In regards to Harley, much of the negative buzz around the character was the over-sexualization and poor wardrobe choice, something Margot spoke about herself, so Harley's appearance in this film is more subtle than previous. Like all movies, the film isn’t without its own issues but to highlight those would be knit-picking. Overall Gunn has delivered a solid film not just for a comic adaptation but an all-around action movie. But that’s my opinion, what’s yours?
