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WARNER

MOVIE INFO

Director:
James Gunn
Cast:
Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena
Writing Credits:
Janwes Gunn

Synopsis:
Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 1.90:1
Audio:
English Dolby Atmos
English Dolby 5.1
English Descriptive Audio
English Descriptive Audio UK
Spanish Dolby 5.1
French Dolby 5.1
Portuguese Dolby 5.1
Italian Dolby 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
Portuguese
French
Italian
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
Spanish
Portuguese
French
Italian

Runtime: 132 min.
Price: $39.99
Release Date: 10/26/2021

Bonus:
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director James Gunn
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• “Bringing King Shark to Life” Featurette
• “Gotta Love the Squad” Featurette
• “The Way of the Gunn” Featurette
• Scene Breakdowns
• “It’s a Freakin’ Kaiju!” Featurette
• 3 Retro Trailers
• Gag Reel
• DVD Copy


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

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-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


The Suicide Squad [Blu-Ray] (2021)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (October 20, 2021)

Five years after 2016’s Suicide Squad introduced movie audiences to its themes and characters, we get a sequel via 2021’s The Suicide Squad - or does this bring a reboot?

The 2021 flick seems like a little of both, honestly. While it doesn’t formally relaunch the series, it also doesn’t provide a clear-cut continuation of the prior flick’s themes.

US intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) again assembles “The Suicide Squad”, a group of incarcerated super-villains who she uses to complete extremely hazardous missions. In this case, she sends them to the South American island of Corto Maltese, a land that recently underwent a military coup.

However, Waller doesn’t care about that. Instead, she wants the Suicide Squad to go to a special lab called “Jötunheim”.

Secrets reside within its walls that American authorities prefer to remain hidden. Waller wants the Squad to extract this information, but the inevitable complications ensue.

In the hands of writer/director David Ayer, the 2016 Squad failed to live up to expectations both in terms of critical/fan reaction and box office. Not only did the first flick receive brutal reviews and lackluster viewer reaction, but also its $746 million worldwide failed to match the studio’s hopes.

On the surface, that sounds absurd. The 2016 Squad cost $175 million, so it clearly turned a good profit.

However, in this era of Marvel movies that would often shoot past $1 billion worldwide, a “mere” $746 million acted as a disappointment. Given the negative critical/fan reaction, this led the studio to take the franchise in another direction for the 2021 film.

This meant two obvious changes, the first of which relates to MPAA rating. Whereas Warner pushed for a teen-friendly “PG-13” in 2016, the 2021 flick went full “R”.

In addition, the 2021 Squad replaced Ayer with James Gunn. Given the success of his two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, this elevated hopes for his Squad.

Which seems a bit ironic since Gunn’s two Guardians movies weren’t more profitable than the 2016 Squad. Because the title characters were obscure in 2013, the first Guardians still felt like a major hit with its $772 million worldwide, but given it cost $170 million, it didn’t do much better than the 2016 Squad.

Since the 2013 Guardians turned into a success, that elevated expectations for 2017’s sequel, and indeed, it came with a higher worldwide gross of $863 million. With a $200 million budget, it also cost more, so I can’t imagine it made much more of a profit than the 2016 Squad did.

With its release during the COVID situation, the 2021 Squad fell well short of those box office numbers. However, we can’t compare COVID-era receipts with those from the “before times”, so we will never know what the 2021 Squad would’ve done without the impact of the pandemic, though it seems clear it would’ve pulled in less money due to its “R” rating.

While Gunn’s Guardians movies weren’t all that much more successful financially than the 2016 Squad, they do enjoy a much stronger reputation, both with critics and fans. That carried over to the 2021 Squad, as its positive reviews and viewer reactions mean it got a much better reception than did its predecessor.

Which it deserves, as it clearly surpasses the 2016 flick. However, the 2021 Squad doesn’t top the prior movie nearly as much as I’d like, which turns it into a disappointment.

We last saw Gunn with 2017’s Guardians entry, and he went through controversy between that time and now. Some old crude-but-tongue-in-cheek Twitter comments came back to haunt Gunn, and these led to him to initially get the boot from the third Guardians installment.

After the Guardians cast revolted, Disney reinstated Gunn as writer/director of the next flick in that series. However, I think the experience left scars on Gunn, as he brings a deep cynicism to Squad that didn’t appear in the two Guardians movies.

Granted, some of that stems from the nature of the material. Whereas both the Guardians and the Squad revolve around mismatched bands of misfits, the Guardians lack the villainous tone of the Squad. They might be rogues and mercenaries, but we never really doubt that the Guardians are good, whereas the Squad characters need to fight against their malevolent nature to work to benefit mankind.

As such, I get that Squad will come with an inherently darker, more pessimistic worldview. Nonetheless, Gunn turns this into a tremendously cynical movie, and that attitude grates after a while.

Maybe I over-analyze Gunn to believe that his social media controversies influenced his script for Squad, but I do know that he makes a movie with a largely negative tone. While the flick toys with themes of family and friends, it doesn’t seem to buy into them.

Instead, Squad revels in its own unpleasant worldview. Characters work for the benefit of others in a grudging manner, and the film comes with a bit of a “can’t win, don’t try” attitude.

In theory, this could become refreshing, but Squad just feels cynical for its own sake. The movie doesn’t benefit from its pessimistic feel – indeed, it acts to disenchant the viewer because it becomes so tough to bond with anyone involved.

As noted, the 2021 Squad enjoys the “R” rating the 2016 flick lacked, and in theory, this seems like a good thing. Characters as crazed and homicidal as these seem stifled by the limitations of “PG-13”.

Since the Guardians movies also opted for “PG-13”, this seems to liberate Gunn, as he revels in the opportunity to depict all the violence and gore his warped little mind desires. Unfortunately, he tends to go too far.

To be sure, I don’t object to graphic content when warranted, but in this film, the gross-out material just feels gratuitous. Squad can’t resist the urge to turn every action scene into a disgusting bloodfest, and this harms the overall impact.

It doesn’t help that Squad delivers an awfully disjointed story. At its heart, it provides a simple plot, but Gunn complicates matters too much and fails to tell the tale in a coherent manner.

Squad leaps around an awful lot, and various characters/themes get lost in the sauce too much of the time. Gunn seems so preoccupied with all the violence that he forgets he needs to give us a coherent narrative as well.

We do find a fine cast with Squad, though only a handful of actors return from the first film. The 2016 flick acted as a coming-out party for Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), one that prompted the studio to greenlight 2020’s Birds of Prey.

While Birds did plop Harley into another group of action characters, it made her the focal point, and it did well in that regard. Unfortunately, Robbie seems deflated by her return to being “one of the pack” with Squad, so don’t expect the same kind of vibrant performance she gave in her earlier turns as Harley.

The others do fine, and we get decent chemistry between Idris Elba’s Bloodsport and John Cena’s Peacemaker, two roles with similar powers who butt heads. Nonetheless, none really stand out as memorable.

I don’t want to come down too hard on Squad, as even with its flaws, it manages to offer a reasonably entertaining experience. While the film’s consistent black humor can feel forced and gratuitous, Gunn still lobs enough at us that some of it sticks.

We also get more than enough action to keep us moderately engaged. Again, Gunn creates a flick packed with mayhem, so this means we stay with the story.

Nonetheless, I can’t help but view the 2021 Squad as a definite letdown. It creates a fast-paced tale full of action but it never connects in a deeper or more creative sense.

Maybe Cathy Yan should’ve gotten the gig, as her Birds of Prey creates the same kind of anarchic mix of comedy and action Squad pursues but it does so with greater impact. Hopefully Gunn will rediscover his mojo for the third Guardians, as his Squad falls short of expectations.

Footnote: additional material appears both during and at the conclusion of the end credits.


The Disc Grades: Picture A-/ Audio A-/ Bonus B

The Suicide Squad appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.90:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Shot entirely on digital IMAX cameras, the movie looked great.

Overall sharpness seemed strong. Nary a hint of softness impacted the image, so it remained tight and concise. I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and both edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.

Like every other modern action movie, Squad opted for an orange and teal orientation. Occasionally the image threw out other hues as well, and the Blu-ray depicted them in an appropriate manner.

Blacks showed good depth, and shadows offered appealing clarity and smoothness. In the end, the movie provided pleasing visuals.

In addition, Squad brought us a fine Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the soundscape opened up best when it indulged in its many battle sequences.

These used the various channels in a vivid, immersive manner that placed the elements in logical spots and meshed together well. The track gave us a strong sense of place and action.

Audio quality also pleased. Speech remained natural and distinctive, while music was full and rich.

Effects came across as accurate and dynamic, with tight low-end. I liked this mix quite a lot.

A mix of extras round out the disc, and we launch with an audio commentary from writer/director James Gunn. He provides a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, music, photography, sets and locations, editing, costumes and connected domains.

A veteran of the format, Gunn delivers a solid commentary. He provides a good look at the film and keeps things brisk and engaging in this useful discussion.

By the way, I love that Gunn used the production as a springboard for crewmembers to rescue strays they found during the shoot. Also, the fact he left the production briefly to be with his dying dog makes him aces in my book.

Eight Deleted and Extended Scenes span a total of 17 minutes, 27 seconds. Most of these deliver fairly insubstantial expansions of existing segments/concepts, so don’t expect much that really seems “new”.

I do think one in which Harley shows how nuts she acts when she gains power should’ve stayed in the final cut, if just because it gives the underused Robbie a bit more screen time. Some of the supporting characters get a bit more screen time too, and I like those moments.

A Gag Reel fills 10 minutes, 23 seconds with the usual goofs and giggles. A few improv bits entertain but most of this seems pretty forgettable.

Some featurettes follow, and Bringing King Shark to Life goes for five minutes, 40 seconds. It brings info from Gunn, special effects supervisor Dan Sudick, visual effects supervisor Kelvin McIlwain, producer Peter Safran and actors Margot Robbie, Sylvester Stallone and Steve Agee.

As expected, “Life” tells us how the film rendered the King Shark character on screen. It becomes a brisk and informative view of the subject.

Gotta Love the Squad lasts 11 minutes, 37 seconds and involves Gunn, Safran, Robbie, producer Charles Roven, comics writer John Ostrander, costume designer Judianna Makovsky, property master Drew Petrotta, and actors Idris Elba, John Cena, Flula Borg, Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, Jai Courtney, Michael Rooker, Mayling Ng, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Joel Kinnaman, and Viola Davis.

“Squad” covers the adaptation of the comics, characters and cast, costumes and props. It becomes another insightful program.

Next comes The Way of the Gunn, a seven-minute, 50-second program with James Gunn, Dastmalchian, Davidson, Safran, Robbie, Sean Gunn, Cena, Roven, Kinnaman, Elba, Fillion, Courtney, Rooker, Davis, Borg, and executive producer Nikolas Korda.

“Way” looks at James Gunn’s impact on the production. Some good notes emerge, though we also get a fair amount of praise for the director.

Four Scene Breakdowns appear. These come for “It’s a Suicide Mission” (6:37), “My Gun’s Bigger Than Yours” (5:44), “Harley’s Great Escape” (7:16) and “The Fall of Jotunheim” (5:38).

Across these, we hear from James Gunn, Kinnaman, Borg, Fillion, Roven, Robbie, Courtney, Sudick, Davidson, Sean Gunn, Ng, Rooker, Elba, Dastmalchian, Cena, Legacy Effects project supervisor Shana Mahan, stunt coordinator/2nd unit director Guy Norris, and production designer Beth Mickle.

We find details about the production elements required for the four scenes in question. Expect a nice array of notes about the various components.

It’s a Freakin’ Kaiju! goes for six minutes, 17 seconds and includes material with James Gunn, Safran, Agee, Robbie, Roven, Mickle, McIlwain, visual effects supervisor Guy Williams, concept artist Shane Baxley and actor Peter Capaldi. They discuss the Starro character in this reasonably good piece.

Finally, we find three retro trailers. These give us promos that reflect “War Movie” (3:24), “Horror Movie” (1:23) and “Buddy Cop” (1:17), meaning that they treat the film as parts of those genres. They act as clever ways to sell the film.

With James Gunn in charge, I hoped The Suicide Squad would offer a gleefully manic and fun mix of action and comedy. While the film embraces the expected anarchic sensibility, it lacks much real creativity and becomes bogged down by gratuitous violence and its own cynical worldview. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and audio along with a good mix of bonus materials. The movie becomes a decent tale but not a great one.

Viewer Film Ratings: 4 Stars Number of Votes: 5
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Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main