THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021)

DC’s new Suicide Squad movie sets the tone from the outset with a bold mission statement; it’s very much out with the old and in with the new on this outing. Director James Gunn has handpicked his characters, to have as much fun with, as humanly or ( inhumanly possible). It’s another mission format of course in the vein of ‘The Dirty Dozen-: (travel to an enemy-infused island on a search-and-destroy mission, and stop a possibly world-ending threat). But the mission is not the point here, as the characters are very much so front and centre. Each given their story backbeats, and flaws, and each given their chance to overcome and shine. Some standouts include King Shark (Voiced by Sly Stallone himself). Also, John Cena, as the Peacemaker, is on good comedic form. In addition, a well-cast Idris Elba, has a natural charisma as an exasperated leader of his Squad cast as Bloodsport. David Dastmalchian as Polka Dot man also adds some watchable character beats. So far so good, but with all these characters and arcs to observe, what doesn’t fare so well are the resulting cast of the major villains, including a wasted Peter Calpadi. In addition, the previous Suicide Squad's highlight Harley Quinn (once again played by Margot Robbie) seems forever stuck character-wise, where we left her. Which in a film where so many of the characters evolve over the course of the film, makes her character feel at odds with the direction of this current ensemble. With so much time given to characters and backstory over plot, the pacing of the film suffers. Yes, the climax does end, like the first outing,in a big CGI showdown, but a more cohesive and novel one in Gunn's hands. Perhaps with so many characters to play with, it would be better suited to mini-series drama that works so well with Amazon's Prime's similar genre series 'The Boys' or 'Invincible'. However, the film does enough so that you'd be happy to venture out with this idiosyncratic crew, given another mission, especially with Gunn at the helm.