The Suicide Squad Review

The Suicide Squad

Director: James Gunn
Cast Headliners: Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Sylvester Stallone, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Peter Capaldi, David Demastachlian, many many amazing more  
Original Release Date : August 6th, 2021 (Theatrical and for-now-free on HBO Max digital certain tiers)


       The Suicide Squad is such an incredibly interesting combination of histories in its mix of the old DCEU, the new DCEU, and even...the Marvel MCU?  The 2016 original was an underwhelming, overly edgy film that notably actually marked the very first major non-Batman / Superman film for DC Comics. It's ambitions to cram a multitude of villains together sounded great on paper but was dragged down by the cheese. The DCEU too has had new installments and sequels which have varied in quality and tone. Lastly , James Gunn within the past few years was temporarily fired by his employer for behind the scenes drama which heavily delayed Guardians of The Galaxy but also gave us the idea for this. We have a win-win for that to deal with later but most importantly this nexus of happenings has created an R-Rated Gunn Dream fans will love. 

While there are a few returning characters from the first movie and a same general concept The Suicide Squad may as well be a reboot (yet also due to some of those could have fit a number 2 on the logo as well). Mysterious government agent Amanda Waller(Violas Davis just as fearsome / morally vile-y gray as ever) offers super-powered villainous criminals a chance to be out of prison as part of the titular Suicide Squad.  Multiple teams are called to the South American (or potentially Caribbean) fictitious island nation of Corto Maltese to stop a violent coup and potentially get involved in other shenanigans along the way. 

It's an understandably large cast spread across not just one but two teams of agents. Clown princess of crime Harley Quinn(Margot Robbie) draws the main connective threads to the past DCEU (especially after her character growth seen in 2020's Birds Of Prey) but for some moderate parts of the film takes a backseat / her own path; Robbie is as entertainingly perfect as ever with sassy lines and stand-out action. Unfortunately for being more of what audiences would want it's contrasted in that the other returners in army colonel leader Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) and even moreso in is-what-he-sounds-like “Captain Boomerang” (Jai Courtney) not doing much at all. 

The amazing thing is that the new characters are so worthy of the legends. As a bit of the new team leader and deutragonist is Robert DuBois / “Bloodsport” (Idris Elba) who's awesome armored exoskeleton / suite of nano-weapons would make Boba Fett and the Mandalorian proud. Elba brings a nice mix of mostly fierceness and funny quips with bits of emotion / some surprising insecurities. He's especially best pitted in banter against the film's equally memorable Christopher Smith / “Peacemaker” (John Cena) being one of the roles of the latter's career with an ironic name and peculiar personality. 

Of course director James Gunn's oddness is great here because it's what he did in Guardians of the Galaxy by helping with the story / script so deeply like all good directors do. Once again he makes weird deep lore characters like the wholesome cute yet deadly hybrid god King Shark (a perfect Sylvester Stallone), rat-using Ratcatcher II(Daniela Melchior who brings some of the other main emotion of the film along with a contender for most-adorable versus King Shark in Sebastian the rat), grotesque awkward energy using Abner Krill / “Polka-Dot Man” (David Dastmalchian), Weasel (Sean Gunn), and more work so digest-ably fun together.  Everyone gets at least one or sometimes much more memorable moments which is a credit (And truly MCU-esque aspect) of this ensemble cast.   Smaller parts in various friends / foes like mercenary allies Savant(Michael Rooker), Blackguard(Pete Davidson), T.D.K (Nathan Fillion), Milton (Julio Ruiz), John (Steve Agee), and many more bring edgy joy.

  It's almost like a dark version of GoTG where every character had the peculiar banter of Drax , Groot , and Mantis at once to zany extremes never thought possible. Unfortunately antagonists such as dictator (Juan Diego Botto), his General ally (Joaquin Cosio), and super-intelligence brain-spiked The Thinker (Peter Capaldi, a couple quips aside)  do not make much impact or trend towards token-generic but the writing lifts all and has plenty of twists, turns, factions ,and more. 

What amazing bloody darkness that is. James Gunn always brings a magical touch to his work and this film is no different. Action sequences are big, bombastic, and CGI shiny (nigh-perfectly) this time with the blood and gore he was never allowed to do at Marvel. When one is laughing very often one will go “ooooh” at the kills achieved or intricate sets made or surreal colorful pieces of art created via motion or clever use of songs or...ahh, it's a Gunn movie through and through.  Original score by composer John Murphy adds to the ambiance as well although when it isn't whimsical it can be generic but once again like some of the other characters it feels like a clever use of satire. 

There really isn't any problem at all with this film and it's everything the fans would want.  Perhaps only sometimes it bends reality a bit too much for an even further tonal whiplash, wastes some lesser-used but potential-packed characters, or has confusing lore connections. Otherwise this is an amazing , hilarious, bloody , feels-inducing thrill ride that's a must see on any screen big or small. Can't wait to see what James Gunn does next no matter what superhero team it's for, or otherwise. 8.8 out of 10 

The Green Knight Review

The Green Knight

Director: David Lowery
Cast Headliners: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Sean Harris, Ralph Ineson, misc others
Original Release Date : July 30th, 2021 (Theatrical Only) 

Does destiny exist? Can we change who we're meant to be and can we ever escape our fates whether victory or doom?  For being thousands of years old Arthurian legend has some surprisingly important lessons for any era. Maybe it's because of these timeless lessons that the tiles of them are still fresh, timeless, and enjoyable in the modern day. The Green Knight is A24 / director David Lowery's attempt of turning the original art into something old yet new and it works for the most part astoundingly. 

No exact era is given other than some time in (a very fantastical-touched) Medieval England where we find our main plot for Sir Gawain (Dev Patel ) living in a castle. Here he serves the legendary King Arthur (Sean Harris) as well as his mysterious Mother (Sarita Choudhury who doesn't say much at all ). That's when he's not seeing a prostitute / lover Essel (Alicia Vikander).  It's a literally drab cycle of debauchery and secularism  until the fearsome, grassy titular demon Green Knight (a fearsome brogued Ralph Ineson) arrives on one Christmas day that begins a metaphysical and gorgeous journey. 

This opening sequence, not too far into the film, is an absolute standout. Flames and air flicker ominously and the audio is impeccable. The movie perhaps slows down or becomes confusing at times so brief moments of action or tension are welcome. It's more of a battle of the soul than of the flesh but there's some light unnerving blood that begins the journey.

What an incredible journey it is. Words cannot easily describe the surreal aesthetic and ambiance of the film. While it often is just mundane forests / mountains / castles everything is shot with such beatiful direction and cinematography from Lowery.  Each shot hums with quality whether near or far or real vs dreaming. It feels like a journey into a page of an illustrated bible or its own dark fever state. The sparseness of encounters with the supernatural (like the Green Knight) make their impact that much more impressive. Stellar music, whether period or modern-esque, by composer Daniel Hart adds to the proceedings as well. 

The acting is stellar for the most part. Patel's Gawain struggles with bravery and adequacy. It's a tenacity not seen since Leonardo DiCaprio in the Revenant as he is in transit to his goals. Emotional feels, some jokes, romance, planning...a solid turn. His scenes with Vikander's Essell are some good romantic moments. Meanwhile Harris' King brings (sometimes too) soft-spoken words of encouragement and wisdom.     More bit parts by Barry Keoghan, Erin Kellyman, and Joel Edgerton are good as well aside the unnamed or less-involved.  The dialogues give things a Greek myth-like quality that varies from humor to spooky. 

While it's achievements in acting and audio-visuals of course should be praised what makes this film so excellent is it's morality and sense of time. So many things have hidden meanings or foreshadowing...this is pure art with many ways to interepret. Cool logo and chapter effects on text offer more literal art as well and hints to what it all means. Time must be seen firsthand but results in one of the most amazing sequences in films in recent memory.  

That's what this film is overall: a lot. It can be an overwhelming avalanche of brain-thinking and metaphor amidst slower periods so don't come in expecting a swashbuckling blockbuster that's easy to understand. However for those willing to ponder deep themes and have their mind / soul filled with wonder it's a great achievement bringing that A24 film one knows and loves . 9 out of 10 

Black Widow Review

Black Widow

Director: Cate Shortland
Cast Headliners: Scarlet Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz,  O-T Fagbenle, Ray Winstone
Original Release Date : July 9th, 2021 (Theatrical and Paid Disney + 29.99 USD or Free October 6th)   

  This review is a bit late to the party, and unusual on this blog in these modern times... apologies. Yet too however the same can be said for the next Marvel MCU movie finally able to watch after so many delays in Black Widow. Scarlet Johansson's original founding Avenger has been in perhaps the most amount of MCU movies aside from Iron Man himself and yet she's never gotten a starring role unlike her male brethren.  It should have been far sooner but at least we now have something mostly worth the time if one knows what it is. 

There's not too much wrong with the film but one of the odd feelings (aside months / the past year of COVID-related date changes with actually this review possibly being done right on time with the Disney / ScarJo legal case going on) is in its setting. With mind of what occurred in 2019's Avengers: Endgame to Natasha Romanoff / “Black Widow' (Scarlet Johansson) there was no choice but to do a prequel / flashback however the specific setting is of some question. Maybe it's because of the age of everyone involved but rather than give us the much more interesting origin story of how she joined SHIELD in the first place (or a potential post-apocalyptic take between Thano's snap dustings(we could use some content there!) the movie takes place on the MCU timeline sometime between 2016's Captain America 3: Civil War  and 2018's Avengers 3: Infinity War.    This gives us a bit of an exciting little sequence with Natasha on the run from General Ross(William Hurt) and his soldiers but aside some small parts / jokes about the other Avengers or past adventures and poses this is a (mostly) grounded, standalone spy movie unrelated to the larger superhero world. There may be some other intriguing flashbacks mixed into the film as well giving further light to that origin story but it's best seen firsthand (and past the movie's terribly cheesy , early 00's Mission Impossible esque- title credits montage). 

Soon we find that Natasha isn't alone from this Russian spy world. Due to mysterious events happening with Russia's Black Widows (still existing out there as an antagonistic force) Black Widow soon finds herself re-united with long lost allies in fellow widows Yelena (Florence Pugh)  / Melina (Rachel Weisz) as well as the washed-up former Soviet Captain America parody Alexei / “Red Guardian” (David Harbour ironically named after Stranger Things S3 although some of that kind charm comes with him here).  Herein lies one of the best things about the film as any good MCU film; it's humor and heart. While ScarJo gives some pretty good leading charisma / badassery as ever one gets a bit of sense she's been there and done that or tired in the role. Luckily the supporting cast is pretty fantastic.  Pugh's Yelena has that same mix of charm and action aptitude whether friend or foe with an extra dosing of sassiness especially with her “ older sister”.  The “Dad” of the family in Red Guardian has some of the movie's funniest lines as well with Harbour Soviet-tastically cheesing it up when he isn't bashing skulls or being held as a greasy loser prisoner.   Weisz's Melina is a bit more subtle but gives a sense of some hidden motives and dangerous intellect.   Together, once it gets there (a bit generically or slow at times) the family is one for the ages with stellar rapport in dialogue or combat. There's even a bit of emotional feels and dark themes as well but exactly how such should be seen too but one can imagine its a film of “reunions” as described.  Small scene count having Bond Q-esque tech ally Rick Mason (O-T Fagbenle) is not as memorable but sure at time  adds some quips to the quip overload. 

Unfortunately, the generic sense is amplified within the primary antagonistic forces. This is for the most part in the Russian elite forces forces of General Dreykov (Ray Winstone) and Taskmaster(Actor or Actress Not To Be Spoiled). While one often hates Winston's stereotypically evilll Russian take (With ham to perhaps rival Red Guardian) it can feel a bit token although his plan is grossly fearsome in concept. The heavy-armor suit using, fighting-style copying Taskmaster pursues our heroes with a relentless almost Terminator-like force leading to some scary moments or intense action scenes but when and if the mask comes off it can feel a bit half-baked and some comic fans may not like the faceless take compared to the source. 

             I read a great Stan Lee (RIP no cameo yet again same as other material lately post-Endgame) approach / quote he said that in the original comics because Captain America had less-impressive powers than some of his fantastic superhero peers they made sure to up the amount of action that occurred showing how cool he could be with more human abilities. This same logic lies within Black Widow's other greatest strength (not surprisingly as such with mostly all Marvel blockbusters): the action scenes.  Bullets, guns, punches fly across many non-stop chases. The choreography for the many soldiers and widows in the film is impressive and frenetically gritty. Director Cate Shortland (fittingly the first solo female director too) does a mostly good job with the visuals and scenery whether icy Norway / Siberia, urban cities, or less realistic flying military craft. However the Earth setting can feel a bit more mundane than other MCU content of late and some questionable CGI antics occur but this just helps it catch up to that more fantastical fair out there. Sometimes the action veers a bit too much into shaky-cam when that effect isn't adding to its grit. However otherwise the film feels beautifully crisp budgeted especially on the big screen. Some alright music from composer Lorne Balfie adds to things when it's not itself rote too. 

As a whole the goods are good even if some of it has been done before. One wishes the setting and amount of revelations revealed were just a bit more to fan expectations but at least it tries. We really deserved this film years earlier (say soon before or after Avengers 1 or 2?) but at least it's happened at all. Spy / Russian-tastic, strong woman characters, action and heart-packed with just a bit of “MCU-ness” that would be wanted...it's a decent summer blockbuster that ends one era and may even start another for some of its characters bring it on. 7.7 out of 10