I'm not obsessed with comic book movies, but I grew up reading comic books. So, I truly enjoyed Iron Man, Captain America and the other Marvel Characters being brought to life so well with amazing special effects that truly brought Marvel to life.
But I never got that thrill from DC comics (which I read as much as Marvel as a kid). There is an inherent problem with Superman, which is the basis of Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen. An immortal all powerful being would have a universe to play in...would Earth and it's petty humanity really be worth his time in the long run? And when you put that character into the hands of people who don't understand the comic world, but are just movie makers doing it for a buck... you get Superman's creation story and Lex Luthor over and over. You get the Joker and the Penguin over and over. There is no vision and no love for the characters, they simply pick the surface. This is what makes Man of Steel standout...a spin...He is an alien trying to fit in unnoticed. Snyder got the character. In the same way, Nolan went to Ra's al Ghul and Bane....realizing that following up the Joker with the Riddler and Penguin was just treading in shallow water.
All of which brings me to 2016's Suicide Squad. Let's get Margot Robbie (the Hollywood It girl of that moment) and pair her with (everyone likes) Will Smith. But then...they made a movie with a story, graphics and monsters that seemed to come from Resident Evil. The entire effort seemed to be made by people who just didn't care. Marvel got GOTG to fly...time for us to go a little weird. But when Suicide Squad walked down a set street and shot up the goo-monsters I thought I was watching a movie made in 1985.
Seeing they plucked Gunn to do a mulligan and that shanked tee shot...I was hesitant. Suicide Squad has a problem. The audience doesn't know or care about who these people(?) are. The concept is the Dirty Dozen. You're rotten bastards and we will give you a chance at redemption, only we are really sending you to die. Ha Ha.
In GOTG, Gunn's first movie overcomes that problem...he introduces us to the characters and the entire purpose of the movie is to show us the shared events that turned them from strangers into a family that we rooted for. That remains the biggest flaw of this new movie. Although we've seen an origin story of Harley Quinn in previous DC movies, that can't be said about everyone else. It is somewhat compounded by the film's beginning misdirect...which assumes it is funny or clever to whack a load of crazed Squaders that we don't care about before revealing the true story line. It eats some time, has a few chuckles, but ultimately it has nothing to do with what is going on.
So now, I'm finally with Dead Shot and a couple of others that I don't care about. The biggest drag down now becomes John Cena, who simply can not act. It is not easy to make one consider how well Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista actually deliver their lines, but Cena does it.
So, I'm now 45 minutes into this movie, and the enemy is a bunch of stereotyped 3rd world Hispanic Oppressors guarding a Tower that is the target, and Harley Quinn is their prisoner. I'm sitting here not impressed, and not all that engaged. Gunn is obviously a step-up in special effects and cinematography but I don't know who this girl with the rats is, or care about the polka dot guy. Everything seems jokey and overly attempting to be clever. Idris Alba does the best he can, but I don't see anything special.
But...then the 3rd act begins. Harley Quinn escapes captivity in a bloody, stylish choreographed escape that seems to be out of a page of Gunn's GOTG. And, from that point on, every thing I was waiting for happens. This movie morphs into one stunning visionary visual experience after another. The comedy starts landing, the characters become compelling, the action builds and builds, and the whole thing becomes a crazy beautiful explosion of colorful movie magic.
When it was all over I shook my head and said...'That was awesome'. I enjoyed it, it delivered. I hope Gunn comes back to this one and makes a sequel.
But I never got that thrill from DC comics (which I read as much as Marvel as a kid). There is an inherent problem with Superman, which is the basis of Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen. An immortal all powerful being would have a universe to play in...would Earth and it's petty humanity really be worth his time in the long run? And when you put that character into the hands of people who don't understand the comic world, but are just movie makers doing it for a buck... you get Superman's creation story and Lex Luthor over and over. You get the Joker and the Penguin over and over. There is no vision and no love for the characters, they simply pick the surface. This is what makes Man of Steel standout...a spin...He is an alien trying to fit in unnoticed. Snyder got the character. In the same way, Nolan went to Ra's al Ghul and Bane....realizing that following up the Joker with the Riddler and Penguin was just treading in shallow water.
All of which brings me to 2016's Suicide Squad. Let's get Margot Robbie (the Hollywood It girl of that moment) and pair her with (everyone likes) Will Smith. But then...they made a movie with a story, graphics and monsters that seemed to come from Resident Evil. The entire effort seemed to be made by people who just didn't care. Marvel got GOTG to fly...time for us to go a little weird. But when Suicide Squad walked down a set street and shot up the goo-monsters I thought I was watching a movie made in 1985.
Seeing they plucked Gunn to do a mulligan and that shanked tee shot...I was hesitant. Suicide Squad has a problem. The audience doesn't know or care about who these people(?) are. The concept is the Dirty Dozen. You're rotten bastards and we will give you a chance at redemption, only we are really sending you to die. Ha Ha.
In GOTG, Gunn's first movie overcomes that problem...he introduces us to the characters and the entire purpose of the movie is to show us the shared events that turned them from strangers into a family that we rooted for. That remains the biggest flaw of this new movie. Although we've seen an origin story of Harley Quinn in previous DC movies, that can't be said about everyone else. It is somewhat compounded by the film's beginning misdirect...which assumes it is funny or clever to whack a load of crazed Squaders that we don't care about before revealing the true story line. It eats some time, has a few chuckles, but ultimately it has nothing to do with what is going on.
So now, I'm finally with Dead Shot and a couple of others that I don't care about. The biggest drag down now becomes John Cena, who simply can not act. It is not easy to make one consider how well Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista actually deliver their lines, but Cena does it.
So, I'm now 45 minutes into this movie, and the enemy is a bunch of stereotyped 3rd world Hispanic Oppressors guarding a Tower that is the target, and Harley Quinn is their prisoner. I'm sitting here not impressed, and not all that engaged. Gunn is obviously a step-up in special effects and cinematography but I don't know who this girl with the rats is, or care about the polka dot guy. Everything seems jokey and overly attempting to be clever. Idris Alba does the best he can, but I don't see anything special.
But...then the 3rd act begins. Harley Quinn escapes captivity in a bloody, stylish choreographed escape that seems to be out of a page of Gunn's GOTG. And, from that point on, every thing I was waiting for happens. This movie morphs into one stunning visionary visual experience after another. The comedy starts landing, the characters become compelling, the action builds and builds, and the whole thing becomes a crazy beautiful explosion of colorful movie magic.
When it was all over I shook my head and said...'That was awesome'. I enjoyed it, it delivered. I hope Gunn comes back to this one and makes a sequel.
