Is the new Suicide Squad movie better than the first installment ? Well that is a pretty low bar.For all practical purposes it is a sequel . The only similarities it bears to Gunn’s other SuperHero films is much like the first Guardians When it comes to the characters the bulk of them were in the fringe so even comic book fans do not have a great deal invested inh how they show up on screen . More people knew who Howard the Duck was than knew who Groot was , now Groot is a household name. Harley, Captain Boomerang, and Flagg were the only hold over aside from Amanda Waller who they have positioned as the Nick Fury of DC. This is Margot’s 3rd outing as Harley Quinn, so she has the character on lock. Everyone else had plenty of wiggle room
DC’s track record with anything non- Batman related is pretty dreadful. Sure the first ⅔ of “Wonder Woman” was pretty good, but the formula of throwing the rest of the effects budget at the end of the movie, shat all over it . This movie worked where “Aqua-man” failed in terms of blending the humor. They had come pretty close in the past thanks to Harley Quinn who has been DC’s attempt at Deadpool. 4th wall breaking anti- heroics heavy on the crazy absurdity which finally works here as the rest of the script gives it something to contrast. There is also a balance with Rat Catcher, who does not compete with Harley to see who can bring the most girl power. It is just organic and works.
King Shark, Peace Maker and Polka Dot man all excel at what they bring to the characters though at times it feels Cena is having to try too hard , when with Polka Dot Man it is more organic. The style ,feel and direction of the movie all work well. Starro was oddly used and handled, I would have preferred to have seen them go up against the Legion of Doom , as there was no personal connection to the bad guy or reason for them to turn around and do something different. Why become heroes? That kind of went against who they are as characters and they should not have felt the need to save the world without a personal investment. Kind of a crucial part of who they are. So this was fun yet, flawed in some vert fundamental ways though given the track record these movies have had it was an improvement for sure, the bar just could not have been any lower.
