I saw James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad with a bunch of friends the other day.
We all had the same takeaway: none of us regretted watching it, but none of us is in a hurry to watch it again, either.
This wasn’t the James Gunn who directed Guardians Of The Galaxy; this was the James Gunn who directed Slither* and Super. Basically, he was given his head and ran with the ‘edginess’ – extra gore and swearing, which added nothing to the movie. (I found there was a bit too much focus on child-death, but nobody else noticed.)
But, it was still kind of fun.
There were good things, but it was also as unfocused as this review, which killed the pacing (not my observation). There was a ‘man-in-the-chair’ storyline, for example, where we spend the whole time with a particular character. When the (spoiler) sudden yet inevitable rebellion against Amanda Waller, it’s some extra who’s had barely any lines (any?) who leads the rebellion. spoiler ends.
Christian representation: None. there are no Christians in this movie, but thank God for that, since it’s about villains.
It was a lot of deep cuts into DC lore; many characters I’and concepts I’d never even heard of. (Like the Weasel; then I looked him up. I have his first appearance. (I do remember him, but pre-52, he was very different to the movie version.)
Overall, an okay movie, but you can skip it and nothing will be lost.
* Thanks, Greg B.
No, you didn’t get the title right. Sliver is a terrible Sharon Stone/Billy Baldwin movie. SLITHER is the Gunn movie.
Gah!
thanks, I’ll fix that.
(Ironically, I’ve seen that one, but not the one I did get right.)
Friendly contrariness: I do bristle when you say “no Christians here”, whether it’s about this or something else. A voice in my head always finishes your “there are no Christians” line with “that I know of, not that I asked them directly”.
Disclaimer: haven’t seen the film, have no doubt it’s full of swears and kills, there can still be redemptive themes or ideas even when (gasp) villains are involved.
Or am I reading you too seriously? No doubt the film’s not that serious.
P.S. I always thought there was far, far more religious symbolism in The Dark Knight Rises than there was in Man of Steel, which was actually marketed directly to churches with study guides and such.
These are fictional characters. It’s a bit hard to ask them directly – and they have no lives beyond what’s in the writers’ heads. My take is, if it’s not on screen / page, it’s not there.
Put another way: if they’re all *deeply* Christian, but it’s never mentioned once in *this* movie, why should I think *this* movie has representation?
My talk of too much violence and swearing was about the movie trying too hard to be edgy, which I find annoying. You’re right that even the worst of villains can have redemption.
I saw it Monday. It was fine. There were some fun parts but it was too long.
I know it is being called a box office disappointment but I do hope that it is successful enough to get a sequel. It could set up a Justice League vs Suicide Squad film or a Secret Six movie.
‘Too long’? You won’t get any argument from me, or the people I saw it with.