So, as I have mentioned before, I am doing some film critic work at The Escapist. Part of that includes long-form video criticism, such as this piece which is now available to watch at The Escapist, editted by the wonderful Matt Laughlin, looking at what makes The Suicide Squad the best blockbuster of the year to date.
Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: escapist, escapist magazine, matt laughlin, squad, suicide squad, the suicide squad | Leave a comment »
I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of The Suicide Squad, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at one of the keys to the film’s success. James Gunn understands how to use Idris Elba as a leading man.
Movie stardom is a fascinating concept. So much of what makes a particular person a movie star is ineffable. It is hard to quantify or gauge. It can also be difficult to harness with intent and purpose. This is particularly true in an era where Hollywood seems to be moving away from movie stars, and films like Jungle Cruise seem to struggle against their leads’ screen personas. However, part of what makes The Suicide Squad so effective is that it understands exactly what makes Idris Elba so compelling as a screen presence, and finds a way to play into that to the movie’s benefit.
You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.
Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: actor, charisma, film, Idris Elba, James Gunn, leading man, Movie, movie star, screen persona, suicide squad, the suicide squad | Leave a comment »
The Escapist have launched a movie podcast, and I was thrilled to join Jack Packard for the twenty-second episode of the year. With the release of The Suicide Squad on streaming and in cinemas, there was only one movie to discuss. The Suicide Squad was one of my favourite films of the year so far, so I was thrilled to geek out about it.
You can listen to back episodes of the podcast here, click the link below or even listen directly.
Filed under: On Second Thought, Podcasts! | Tagged: escapist movie podcast, jack packard, suicide squad, the escapist movie podcast, the suicide squad | Leave a comment »
I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of The Suicide Squad, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at one small-but-clever aspect of James Gunn’s superhero sequel.
The character of Amanda Waller is a pop culture archetype. She is an example of the ruthless intelligence operative who will cross whatever line it takes in pursuit of what she believes to be the greater good. Outside of comic books, one need only look at the character of Jack Bauer. Within the modern superhero landscape, the archetype is embodied by Nick Fury. These characters might be edgy or ambiguous, but they are also undeniably cool. Gunn’s approach to Waller in The Suicide Squad is interesting in large part because it rejects that idea of effortless cool in favour of something a lot blunter and more horrific.
You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.
Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: 9/11, Amanda Waller, in the frame, jack bauer, James Gunn, nick fury, suicide squad, the escapist, the suicide squad, the war on terror, viola davis, war on terror | Leave a comment »
The Suicide Squad is a stunning piece of blockbuster cinema.
There’s an understandable urge to treat The Suicide Squad as something of an outlier, particularly in the modern wave of big superhero blockbusters. After all, this is an R-rated blockbuster about a bunch of super-villains populated largely be characters that few people will recognise, let alone care about, and which exists in something of a strange continuity limbo away from the rest of the shared continuity. It is darkly funny, bitterly bleak, and decidedly uninterested in things like brand synergy. It is a sequel to a maligned film from a director now best known for his work with a rival studio and a rival property.
Squad goals.
Looked at from a certain angle, The Suicide Squad must seem as alien as the monster that rampages through the film’s third act – a space oddity that fell to Earth. However, this just makes it all the more remarkable that writer and director James Gunn has managed to fashion all of this into a thrilling and spectacular piece of blockbuster cinema that understands the appeal and the potential of the superhero genre without forsaking its own distinct perspective and while delivering on everything that a well-made populist blockbuster should.
There are very few superhero movies that are put together like The Suicide Squad. That’s their problem.
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bloodsport, dc comcis, film, Harley Quinn, Movie, non-review review, Peacemaker, power, review, rick flag, starro, starro the conquerer, suicide squad, superheroes, the suicide squad | Leave a comment »
Suicide Squad premiered last week, to incredibly negative reviews and an incredibly impressive box office.
There are a lot of discussions to be had about that, but the most interesting narrative is the story that has developed behind the scenes. If rumours are to be believed, it seems that there is a very intriguing book to be written about the production of Suicide Squad, although the less said about Jared Leto’s bodily fluids the better. Writer and director David Ayer was reportedly given six weeks to write a script featuring almost a dozen major characters, only for the final cut to be given to a company that had cut the film’s viral trailers.
It is not particularly proud moment for film-making, particularly given the emphasis that Warner Brothers had put on their blockbuster slate as “film-maker driven.” Indeed, the laundry list of rumoured deleted scenes has become a convenient stick with which the movie might be beaten. How in the name of goodness could Suicide Squad be so messed up as to portray the fundamentally abusive relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn as loving and affectionate? The answer is that the original cut of the movie was candid about the abuse, but it was cut out.
Although Warner Brothers’ DC movie slate has become an easy target for pundits looking to score cheap shots and drive page-views, the problem is more fundamental than that. In hindsight, with the summer of 2016 coming to the close, it feels like the end of the era. The curtain is drawing down on the short-lived “blockbuster auteur” era of big budget franchise film-making.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman vs. superman, captain america: civil war, Civil War, suicide squad | 34 Comments »
Suicide Squad is a mess.
Like many contemporary blockbusters, it is overplotted and convoluted. For a film with a (relatively) straightforward story and an impressively large ensemble, Suicide Squad twists and turns in a way that makes it impossible to pin down. The film never seems entirely sure when enough is enough, and always seems ready to pile more on top. The film is never entirely sure what the audience should know at a given moment, particularly compared to the characters. Character development is secondary to a series of quick gags and cheap one-liners.
Whacky.
At the same time, there is a certain charm to the film, once it gets past the clunky exposition or the twisty plot or the inevitable myriad of complications that serve to eat up screentime. The core concept of a team of supervillains enlisted to deal with a national crisis is a great story hook, and Suicide Squad featured a collection of intriguing characters brought to life by a fairly great cast. Suicide Squad works best when it lets those characters cut loose, when it cedes the screen to Margot Robbie or Will Smith. There is an energy and verve to it that is contagious.
That energy does not make up for the movie’s shortcomings, but couple with David Ayer’s sense of momentum, it helps to keep the train from coming off the rails for most of the movie’s two-hour runtime.
‘Sup Squad?
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, David Ayer, film, Movie, non-review review, review, suicide squad | 10 Comments »
This September marks the twentieth anniversary of Batman: The Animated Series, and the birth of the shared DC animated universe that would eventually expand to present one of the most comprehensive and thorough explorations of a comic book mythology in any medium. To celebrate, we’re going back into the past and looking at some classic episodes.
I’ll freely concede that I’m not as fond of Bruce Timm’s Justice League and Justice League Unlimited shows as most seem to be. With a larger and more expansive cast, and an impressively epic backdrop, the shows often felt a little too impersonal, when compared to the work that Timm did on Batman: The Animated Series or Superman: The Animated Series. As a result, I tend to favour the smaller and more intimate episodes of those two spin-offs, the ones very clearly focused on the characters rather than on the larger story arcs. I think Task Force X is one instalment that stands among the very best that the animated DC universe has to offer.
X marks the spot…
Filed under: Television | Tagged: batman, batman: the animated series, bruce timm, dc animated universe, dc comics, Dwayne McDuffie, justice league, justice league unlimited, LexCorp, suicide squad | Leave a comment »
In light of the massive DC reboot taking place next month, launching with a Geoff Johns and Jim Lee run on a new Justice League title, I thought I’d take a look back at another attempt to relaunch the Justice League, emerging from the then-recent Crisis on Infinite Earths.
I loved the first collection of Justice League International (even though I don’t think the book was called Justice League International yet). It was the perfect example of fun self-aware superhero comics that didn’t need to wallow in grime and darkness to feel confident in themselves. It was wry and cheeky, but still sincere enough that it never seemed too cynical. And, in fairness to Giffen and deMatteis, they actually told some good stories with nice grasps on the characters involved. This second collection can’t help but feel a little bit lighter, somehow, less significant – too tied up in other things to have enough fun on its own terms. Which is a shame.
Built on a solid foundation...
Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, Black Canary, Captain Atom, comic books, crossovers, dc comics, ed brubaker, J. M. DeMatteis, J.L.I., JLI, jm dematteis, john ostrander, justice league, Justice League International, keith giffen, Martian Manhunter, maxwell lord, millennium, millennium (comics), millennium (dc comics), new gods, richard donner, suicide squad | Leave a comment »
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