After the wet fart that was David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” there was a lot riding on James Gunn’s soft reboot titled “The Suicide Squad.” While there was a lot of pressure on Gunn to deliver, it was no surprise that he did, two fold. This is a man who managed to take a fourth tier superhero team from Marvel Comics and turn them in to beloved superheroes everyone recognizes. With “The Suicide Squad” Gunn gets the ball rolling successfully with a wonderful soft reboot. Now it’s up to DC and Warner to keep the momentum.
In top secret prison Belle Reve, enigmatic politician Amanda Waller is back and assembling yet another Suicide Squad (or Task Force X) to infiltrate Corto Maltese, an island filled with potential enemies of the US. Waller deploys the team to learn more about a potential secret weapon known as “Project Starfish.” Led by Superman villain Boodsport, the team of King Shark, Peacemaker, Polka Dot Man, Harley Quinn, and Ratcatcher 2 enter in to the dangerous jungles and get more than they bargained for when they dig deep in to what “Project Starfish” is and its potential for annihilation.
“The Suicide Squad” was a surprise to just about everyone, even to fans of Gunn who loved both “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. The premise of “Suicide Squad” was so simple to ace but DC and Warner’s interference made it feel nigh impossible. Gunn instills a lot of his sensibilities in “The Suicide Squad” implementing swift violence, dark humor, the strong underdog overtones, and turning the lamest characters in to absolute stars by injecting them with humanity. Who would have thought Gunn would turn goofy characters like Ratcatcher and Polka Dot Man in to characters you want to see more of? “The Suicide Squad” uses every possible resource at its disposal making amazing use of its excellent cast, doling out genuinely laugh out loud comedy, as well as some excellent action set pieces. I hope DC and Warner allow more talented auteurs like James Gunn to prove themselves in future DC/Warner blockbuster projects.
Featured along with the Digital Copy for fans, is an Audio Commentary with Director/Writer James Gunn, who offers up his usual fun and chaos on this track. Fans of his will know what they’re getting in to as the man is never boring. There are nearly twenty minutes of Deleted and Extended Scenes, many were wisely tossed out for pacing. There’s the usual fun ten minutes Gag Reel, as well as Bringing King Shark To Life, a short look at one of the big standout characters in the film and how they brought him from the comics to the screen. Gotta Love The Squad is a talk with Suicide Squad creator John Ostrander and Director/Writer Gunn, both of whom essentially discuss the source material and how it was adapted to the screen. In a sense.
The Way Of The Gunn is an eight-minute featurette in which the cast and crew praise James Gunn. There are various Scene Breakdowns which includes It’s A Suicide Mission, My Gun’s Bigger Than Yours, Harley’s Great Escape, and The Fall Of Jotunheim. Starro – It’s A Freakin’ Kaiju! is an entire featurette devoted to the bizarre, infamous Justice League supervillain/alien that has been in DC Comics since the Golden Age. Here, Gunn discusses bringing the alien being on to the film as the primary antagonist. Finally, there are three fun, mock retro trailers for “The Suicide Squad” that paint the film as a Horror Movie, a War Movie, and a Buddy Cop Movie.