I'M A SUPERHERO! I'M A MOTHERFUCKING SUPERHERO! (The Suicide Squad 2021)

 293.

The Suicide Squad

7/10

The first Suicide Squad movie hit our screens in 2016 and just like every other DCEU movie, there were people out there that hated it. Between some of the casting to the actual story and it was ultimately seen as a flop. This stand-alone sequel hasn't exactly been plain sailing either. Between David Ayer dropping out of writing and directing and bringing in James Gunn, fresh from Disney sacking him because of past tweets, it was safe to say the expectations were raised a little with the involvement of Gunn. A few of the cast were brought through from the first movie with Viola Davis playing Amanda Waller once again, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg and Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn. Quinn was the standout from the first movie, even getting her spin-off movie, which in my opinion wasn't great. The first Suicide Squad was OK for me, nothing to write home about but I'm now one of those with a heightened expectation with James Gunn on board. With the addition of Idris Elba, John Cena, David Dasmalchian and Sly Stallone, the cast was getting packed. There were some surprise additions too as for some reason Pete Davidson joined the cast, more famous at the moment for sleeping around Z-list women and Michael Rooker who has already found success in the MCU movies working with James Gunn. Let's find out if Warner Bros. are finally going to get something right or are once again ready to shoot themselves in the foot. 

We are straight into the action as a team set up by Waller, known as the Suicide Squad approach a beach and are ready to fight. This gang is made up of Harley Quinn, Rick Flagg, Captain Boomerang, Rooker's character, Pete Davidson character and a couple more lesser-known villains but some random actors to say the least. It's utter chaos and everyone is killed apart from Flagg and Harley Quinn, who was given a javelin by a member of the team before they died. That's when the actual title rolls and the movie begins. Although we have lost some characters that we thought were in it for the long run, the timeline flips back a little to find that a second team was created, as a failsafe. This team includes Bloodsport, played by Idris Elba, Peacemaker who is played by Cena, King Shark voiced by Stallone and Ratcatcher 2 played by Daniela Melchoir. The final member is the polka-dot man played by Dastmalchian. The distraction from the other team getting massacred allows this team to move in undetected. They end up meeting with Flagg as a rebel basecamp and agree to help them overthrow the corrupt government whilst also completing their own mission.

In the meantime, Harley Quinn has been caught by the government and is led to meet the dictator, who has fallen in love with her. With a promise of taking over other nations with the help of 'Project Starfish', she takes offence as this may even be a little too much for her. She kills the leader and is once again imprisoned. The remaining team locate the thinking in the Islanders capital. Capturing him, they learn that 'Project Starfish' is literally as it sounds. A giant starfish named Starro was found in space and brought down by astronauts. Now that it has grown to a gigantic size, it will be used to destroy, if it can be controlled. Harley escapes in a very Harley way and we even get the weirdly edited scene which shows her in slow motion firing guns as flowers explode around her. This coincides with plenty of action-packed scenes by her too. She joins the rest of the gang and they head to the bunker which is storing the giant starfish. 

On battling their way inside and planting explosives to take it down, Flagg learns the truth. The US government has been funding these experiments and allowing the residents of the islands to be sacrificed in doing so. They are there to retrieve the evidence as a cover-up and he loses the plot. Unfortunately for him, the Peacemaker is there to make sure the plan goes ahead no matter what and this gives us a face-off between the two. Flagg is killed and this is witnessed by Ratcatcher 2. She's next on his hit list but is stopped as Bloodsport shoots him squarely in the head. 

As the explosives go off, Starro is assisted in his escape and now he's ready to rock. Releasing mini starfish that attach to the public's face, he is able to now control his own army. The team step up, ready to sacrifice themselves so that this giant does not escape. Remember the javelin? Well just as most of the viewers, we guessed it was going to hold a killer blow. Harley drives it through the starfish's eye and Ratcacter 2 orders her rats to eat this villain from the inside. 

The movie ends as Bloodsport holds the evidence needed to free the remaining members of the squad with some blackmail and Waller agrees. The team are airlifted to safety as the Island's government is overthrown by the people. There is a cheeky after-credits as we head to a hospital only to find that Peacemaker survived his wound. He is looked after by Waller's team and thinking about it, it was always going to be the way as the character has his own TV show coming to HBO. 

This movie was first earmarked as a remake with some of the same cast, which was quickly brushed away as a rumour. Then finding out that it was going to act as a sequel was a little more interesting. Ultimately, because it was the first time this squad was patched together, as shown in the story, it did actually feel like a remake. The last thing we want to do is obviously compare this to the first if it was indeed a sequel. Saying that, the story was a little more 'out there'. It felt adult, but at the same time felt a lot lighter than the first movie. The movie added a lot of characters, a small location but a big villain which was brought together with some fun storytelling and as normal for James Gunn, some decent tunes. A very easy to follow storyline for any age although, with profanities and gore, it is hardly going to be aimed at the real youngsters. Knowing that Peacemaker was having a spin-off was 100% a spoiler for the ending of the movie and the after-credits felt a little wasted because of this. The movie was carried with jokes, sarcasm and there is no better point to start discussing the cast.

 I would be wasting room on speaking about Margot Robbie in length as we know what she brings as Quinn. We've seen it before, it was a success once again, done. The leader in this movie and the character that brought more of a back story would be Bloodsport played by Elba. Just like Will Smith's character in the first, this one has a daughter to think about and gain forgiveness from, which the character arch gives us by the end. A pivotal role to play and being dark but sarcastic clearly suited Elba to a tee. His character in the MCU was highly underused for such a great actor and my call for the next bond, even if it has come 10 years too late. Secondly, we have to talk about Cena. An interesting choice to call up to the DCEU and someone who is starring in a lot more movies these days. Away from the screen, Cena is probably one of the nicest guys in the world for what he does for charity. This does not always bring success but it would be deserved. Following in the steps of Dwayne Johnson who was also a major WWE wrestler, the last movie I saw Cena in before this was the Fast and Furious franchise, but that hardly requires acting. As a villain to the villains, Peacemaker needed to go a step above and from delivering the one-liners, sarcasm and then finally the action scenes, Cena hit the make on each occasion. Honourable mentions for the rest of the team, no matter the type of character they brought, I can't remember disliking one and even the casting I queried, died before I gave a shit. 

After bringing success to the MCU, the pressure was on for Gunn in a highly faltering DCEU. The movie was seen as a flop financially but I think amongst most movie fans, it was enjoyable compared to some of the other instalments to the DCEU and ultimately compared to the first. I was well on board with the Gunn appointment and really hope that he does head back and fore between the MCU and DCEU to work because that would only improve the movies on the later side. Plenty of laughs out loud moments followed in the movie and weirdly characters like King Shark voiced by Stallone added extra comedic moments to fill in the gaps. It'll be even more interesting if this team is now carried on in any way as this is Robbie's third main feature as Quinn and the movie seemed to tie up most loose ends of the squad, with Peacemaker as the exception for obvious reasons. I'm more than happy to view some more as it does feel a little more adult but at the same time, we do need to start seeing some new characters from DC as standalone movies rather than revisiting the trial and tested every time. 

RUN! (A Quiet Place Part II 2021)

 292.

A Quiet Place Part II

7.5/10

John Krasinski has been at work again writing, producing and directing a sequel to his first success in the franchise, A Quiet Place. SPOILER ALERT, if you haven't seen the first one, Krasinski cast himself in there to play alongside his real-life wife, Emily Blunt. At the end of the first, his character sacrificed himself to save their kids and this movie will follow the remaining family member's journey through this post-apocalyptic world, which is ravaged by blind aliens, with a keen sense of hearing. It'll be interesting to see how the movie evolves now that the family have to leave their attacked home and look for shelter in a world they haven't seen in a long while. The movie's trailer already shows the addition of Cillian Murphy to our casting. As a guy who can play any role thrown in his direction, not too much is given away at this point as to the character's main intentions once he runs into the family. After the enjoyment that the first movie brought, I was looking forward to watching this one and seeing if it would be as successful. 

The movie begins with a flashback and a little more explanation of where the aliens came from. Krasinski is back as Lee Abbott as the family are watching their son Marcus play baseball down the local park. In the background, a couple of asteroid-like objects are hurling themselves to Earth. Not long after, total panic hits the small town as the aliens begin their attack. At this time, people have no idea what qualities and strengths they are up against and it isn't long before the slaughter is well and truly done for now. 

The story carries on straight where the first finished. A year after the first attack and our family are leaving the first home. On their travels, Reagan has created a weapon using a portable speaker and her cochlear implant. They hit a snag, setting off a trap, Marcus gets trapped in a bear trap and here comes an alien hearing the screams. It is killed by Reagan and Blunt's character Evelyn as the family make it into a foundry, bumping into an old friend Emmett. Emmett is played by Murphy and he leads them into his underground hideout. I think we are about to see if there are any intentions. He is happy to help for now but the family cannot stay. Emmett has completely shut down after losing his wife and kids and isn't sure what he's doing with himself but knows he doesn't want anyone else around. 

Marcus in the meantime has become infatuated with 'somewhere beyond the sea' which consistently plays on a radio station. He is adamant that it is a clue from other survivors on where to go. Reagan is the only one who can head out on the mission with her brother's leg injured and her mother looking after a newborn. She figures that she can weaponize the radio tower and help other people protect themselves. After heading out, Emmett soon follows and saves her. She asks him to help complete her mission but due to Emmett not knowing sign language, it is a struggle to start. Back at the foundry, Evelyn has left Marcus with the newborn and heads into town to get medical supplies but Marcus hits a snag as he discovers the corpse of Emmett's dead wife and screams, alerting a couple of aliens. He accidentally locks himself and the baby inside an air-tight furnace. We know have two stories side by side as Marcus and the baby are on a countdown to death and Reagan along with Emmett reach a  dock where they are set upon by feral humans. 

Emmett only has one plan as he makes as much noise as possible, attracting aliens to kill the attackers as he and Reagan quickly board a boat and row to the island. On the island, a group is living as normal as possible. BBQ's, laughter and noise in other forms aren't fearsome for these lot. The leader of the colony cannot do enough to help the newcomers and feed them before hearing their plan. In the morning we do hit a little hiccup as a creature has floated over on another boat, nice and conveniently so that the story doesn't end easily. The leader gets killed but the plan is complete and the radio tower becomes a weapon for everyone who recognises that the aliens react badly to the horrific static through the speakers. Back at the foundry, Evelyn has found Marcus and the baby before they suffocate. Marcus has already found the frequency on the radio, not only letting him and his mother know that Reagan is safe but that they can now use the sound to escape from the alien parading around the foundry. The movie ends quite openly. Reagan leaves her hearing aid at the microphone with the broadcast turned on, hoping that anyone who recognises it, can use it to escape to somewhere safe.

That's where the credits roll. It leaves many questions as to what happens next, how far does this signal carry and has anyone else around the world found a tactic to fight back? I think the story for our family ends here as the safety of the island is what they need to finally settle down. If we do a get third movie in the franchise, I doubt it would act as a straight sequel. Maybe a spin-off set somewhere else in the world at the same time or even later in the timeline with humans fighting back. I want to take a closer look at how these aliens came to Earth in such dramatic circumstances and there are plenty of directions we can head in. Hopefully, they don't change behind the camera too much, so that the success does continue. 

With the father figure of this movie lost in the prequel, it was time for the children to step up as best as possible. Both children evolved to help protect their mother and younger sibling and although Marcus was made to step into his father's shoes, after an early injuring, it was actually Reagan who stole the show. Much like her character Millicent Simmonds was very impressive once again in the movie. As an actress who is deaf in real life, she was asked to become an adult in this movie very quickly. After working with professionals to make sure that her sign language was clean and I can imagine she felt a sense of pressure to be the representation for something we rarely see on the big screen. I do not doubt that the community felt that Millicent was a massive success. Cillian Murphy is the other stand-out addition to the movie. From seeing the trailer I was very unaware of whether his role would be for good or have a more sinister motive. Because Murphy has such a range on his CV,  there's a slight intrigue on what he is going to bring to the big screen in terms of character style. Starting as a shut-off loner, looking to just do the bare minimum as he has lost everyone he loves, the character is quickly reminded there's still good in the world. He becomes our main male lead, unbeknownst to himself and whether he wanted it or not, he was integral to the success of Reagan's mission. As always, a great job done by Murphy with the character arch and quite possibly the standout part of the movie.

I'm always game for a horror movie and more so when it's a monster flick. The idea of this movie was interesting in the first movie and it was always going to be a task to replicate the success of the first movie. I enjoyed it just as much. To keep the same writer and director on board was always going to be a big feature as visions can sometimes be changed as the bosses move ideas about. Krasinski and Blunt have worked very well together here as a personal relationship has seemingly helped but as we possibly move away from the characters we have come to know, and Krasinski is also moving away from behind the camera to a more consultancy role on a rumoured third installation, I just hope things don't go a little too astray. It doesn't need to and the blueprint for enjoyment is already there to work with.