Using an expression from movies, we shall cut to the chase – 2021’s The Suicide Squad is by far the superior film, in that’s it good, a bar the 2016 film failed to meet. TSS really leans into the madcap over the top nature of the premise and raises the stakes with the bizarre members – including Swedish Olympian Javelin, the mysteriously named TDK (played by the always awesome Nathan Fillion) and the Weasel, who is just a big weasel. The fact that the squad members are very much disposable is also front and centre – a tagline for the film was “Don’t Get Attached” suggesting impending doom for some of the squad. In every measure from acting, cinematography, soundtrack, TSS is better than Suicide Squad.

Harley Quinn and The Rest

If perhaps not the most useful or powerful member of the squad undoubtedly Harley Quinn is the fan favourite and arguably central character of both films. Wisely TSS has had nothing to do with the Joker and is not even really referenced him. The backstory of the relationship between Harley and the Joker is genuinely horrific and it would be impossible to include the Joker and not drag the rest of the film down with it. Harley has more agency in TSS, she isn’t pining for the Joker, makes positive decisions regarding her life (if rather drastic ones) and rescues herself. The most important relationship for Harley in the film is her friendship with Rick Flag and she does talk about her bad taste in men and what she’s trying to do that about. Margot Robbie’s performance builds on previous roles as Harley and is making her into an increasingly complex character.

2016’s Suicide Squad was rightly criticised for introducing characters who did nothing and had no point in being there. TSS neatly sidesteps this problem with a great scene early in the film, and two of the lesser-known characters (completely unknown to me) Ratcatcher II and Polka-Dot Man have some of the most poignant and interesting moments – something its predecessor simply did not have.

Another thing 2016’s Suicide Squad didn’t have – Peacemaker. John Cena’s bizarre “hero” who loves peace and freedom so much he will kill anyone he has to so he can achieve it is certainly memorable. While extremely proficient at killing people he is also quite dim and his ridiculous, contradictory declarations are always funny.

As for the plot – 2016’s Suicide Squad barely seemed to have one and whilst the plot in TSS is ridiculous it makes sense, bringing in American geo-political interests, military coups and superweapons. There is a lot going on in TSS and there are numerous flashbacks and similar devices to set up the plot and this can be a bit jarring but it’s not difficult to follow.

An interesting addition to TSS was seeing more of the team behind the squad. We once again had Amanda Waller, the ruthless government agent more than happy to throw numerous prisoners to certain death, but also what is essentially her tech team. The IT types who manage the satellite feed, the communications, the people who make her nefarious plans possible. Some of these people are very much nerds and they are perhaps the “normal” people amongst giant sharks, impossibly expert sharpshooters and evil scientists. At times we are literally seeing the action from their point of view and they mirror the ethical problems we might have with Amanda Waller’s methods.

So in this titanic battle The Suicide Squad triumphs over Suicide Squad and despite my cynical attitude on certain companies and their willingness to endlessly reboot things it was nice that the Suicide Squad got to fight another day.

Also Read: Suicide Squad: Release The Ayer Cut

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The Lost Forty Minutes

The Ayer Cut comes hot on the heels of the Snyder Cut of Justice League, the DC film originally directed by Zack Snyder who was replaced by Joss Whedon after a family tragedy for Snyder. Fans campaigned for a version they believed was closer to what Snyder had envisioned and were successful. Ayer now wants the same for Suicide Squad. Ayer has said forty minutes of his film was cut by the studio which would surely have an impact on any film. Studios insisting on their own edits of films is nothing new – sci-fi classic Blade Runner had voiceover added that completely changed central parts of the film, leading to a slew of other “cuts” that better represented what director Ridley Scott had in mind.

What was wrong with Suicide Squad?

Suicide Squad was unpopular with both critics and fans (but there are those who champion the film, or at least parts of it) and the film had many problems.

• The Joker – while not a pivotal character in the film Jared Leto’s portrayal still managed to attract a lot of disdain with few people enjoying it. While I didn’t care for it I didn’t judge Leto or Ayer too harshly, following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger’s legendary performances they needed to make a distinctive Joker – it didn’t work but at least they tried.
• The Characters – When you have a large ensemble cast you run the risk of no character having enough time and this certainly felt true of Suicide Squad. The introduction of every character felt rushed and bare bones and I didn’t really care about any of the characters. There were characters like Katana who just seemed to be there – another person to fill out the cast without serving any purpose (despite having an interesting character premise).
• The Villain -I am a firm believer in that the secret of success for many comic book films is the villain. The Dark Knight had Heath Ledger’s Joker, Black Panther had Michael B. Jordan’s Eric Killmonger, after a lacklustre villain in Red Skull having Robert Redford play Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a stroke of genius. Suicide Squad had a witch…or her brother, and her brother? The film was always going to be in a tricky place with a villain as the whole point is they’re the villains but undoubtedly the forgettable villain they had wasn’t good enough.

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad

Of course, this battle is yet to be resolved on the horizon is the release of The Suicide Squad. How will The Ayer Cut effect this? I doubt it will at all. It seems most people have simply written off Suicide Squad as a mistake, the Ayer Cut is at most a chance to show there was a good film there. The success or failure of The Ayer Cut will not matter and I doubt would have any impact on the already inconsistent DCEU.

Will It Happen?

If the fans get behind the idea it probably will. The Snyder Cut really did show that fans have the power to get alternate cuts released and there’s no reason to give up that power. Whilst in this instance it’s being done under the impetus of the director, it’s important to remember that fans don’t always know best, for years there was a Kickstarter campaign to edit Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, specifically to digitally remove the rat that appears in the final scene. Whether or not you feel this was a bad decision by Scorsese I think you need to essentially trust a director on their decisions.

Before we all start clamouring for new cuts of films we feel could have been improved, remember Star Wars is a prime example of that sometimes it’s just better to leave things alone and that you can never please all of the fans.

Also Read: Flashpoint: The Defining Film of the DCEU

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They should fear me cause I’m Harley f*cking Quinn

It seems that Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) her life isn’t rolling into the right direction. After splitting up with her “J” and taking revenge in the most explosive way possible, she’s now being hunted by everyone she has wronged. One of them is Roman Sionis aka Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). He’s the latest ‘victim’ on her list as she hurt his driver in that typical “Harley Quinn” way. After being captured, Quinn wants to save her skin. She’s being tasked with tracking down a precious diamond that holds the code to the bank account of a rich Mafia family. While claiming to be the “finder of all lost things”, this search may not be as easy as she expected, especially when that diamond has been swallowed by young hustler Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).

That’s not the only problem Quinn has to overcome. The jewel has also caught the attention of Gotham City Police Department Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez). For Montoya, who has been screwed over by her former male colleague, this gem could be getting the promotion she deserves. A bad-ass assassin Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) also has her reasons to retrieve the diamond. There’s also Sionis’ driver Dinah Lance aka Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) wants the diamond. Four women with each their own agenda, one little thief and a large number of men who are after them. Many people but just one diamond. How will this end?

A dream cast

If you would ask us how to describe Robbie (Bombshell, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood) her performance in one word we would say: Superb! She nails Quinn perfectly. Both the looks as well as the emotions. Her expressive and joyful appearance just puts an instant smile on your face and when the sadder. When the strong emotions appear, Robbie’s acting makes sure that you care about Quinn every step of the way, no matter how many horrifying mistakes Quinn made in the past. Basco plays a key role in the film and she does that by putting on a wonderful performance. The connection between Robbie and Basco is just spot-on.

Smollett-Bell (One Last Thing, Hands of Stone) grabs your attention every time she appears as Black Canary, who literally and figuratively has a killer voice. No matter if it’s during the quiet signing scenes or the violent, entertaining and action-packed fight scenes, watching Smollett-Bell is such a treat. While Winstead (The Parts You Lose, Gemini Man) only makes her first appearance during the middle of this movie, she brings such a comedy element as well as immense female power. Perez (The Dead Don’t Die, Active Adults) might not have the rock ‘n roll attitude the rest of the cast has but she’s still very much fun to watch.

Don’t think that the exquisite cast only exists of women. No, there’s also McGregor (Doctor Sleep, Christopher Robin). Whether it’s as the charismatic but short-tempered Sionis or as the secretive and sinister Black Mask, his scenes are just fantastic. Saying that there’s a sensational chemistry between the leads would be such an understatement.

Tremendous talent behind the camera

There’s also the top-notch talent behind the scenes that delivered astonishing work. First up, we want to congratulate the hair and makeup team and costume department. They make from Birds of Prey the most energetic, flashy and eye-catching comic movie you will ever see. Our praise also needs to go to the stunt team and the special effects team. The many on-set stunts and the CGI added afterwards make this film go so smoothly, even though they might be over the top. We also want to thank the people who made and/or chose the music. Every song has a hidden reference and gives Birds of Prey an immense punch.

One hell of a ride

While watching Birds of Prey, it becomes clear that comic book movies are still going to dominate the box office for many years to come. If any of those could be as much fun, entertaining, stunning performed and wonderfully created, then we would be over the moon.

Rating: (4 / 5)

Also Read: Joke’s On You: The History of Batman’s Arch-Nemesis

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