all of a sudden, and unexpectedly, i seem to have an interest in watching films once more. for a short while i simply could not be @rsed, look you see. don't think there was an issue or anything wrong, just doing other stuff. but, of late, i have watched a fair few.
perhaps i shall pass comment on a few of them as we go here, but for the sake of the headline (or title) for this blog, it seems to make sense to go with the "most recent", or the one hoisted out there as a blockbuster. which would be, as the title says, The Suicide Squad. which is not Suicide Squad sans the "the" part of the title, as that was a different film. well, similar but different. this one is a sequel, of sorts, and also it is not.
be warned, for it is extremely likely that there are **** SPOILERS AHEAD ****. a lot of this would be down to me not being entirely sure of just what i watched, or knowing much of the background of any or all of it. still, for a quick review, it was relatively entertaining and surprisingly graphic. not graphic as in based on graphic novels or whatever, but graphically violent.
what's the plot? right, well, yes, this could be where the wheels really start to fall off this post, as i don't rightly know. i think, much like the original or first (or earlier) film of a quite similar name, it's a kind of quasi variation on The Dirty Dozen, but with comic book ('graphic novel') characters in it instead. there seems to be a whole bunch of DC comics "expanded universe" villains in prison, right, and they get offered (some) time off of their sentences if they agree to go on what amounts to suicide missions, hence the team name, now that i think.
in this particular edition, or incarnation (variation, perhaps) of such, off a whole bunch of such types that i really don't know or recognize (except Harley Quinn) go off on a "top secret" mission to battle some military regime or other and destroy a building in which there is a massive space alien. oh, yes, more on the latter later.
the start was particularly strange, if not unusual. unless i am missing some elaborate joke or similar, i believe that "subvert expectations" was on the go. first thing i saw was Michael Rooker, and i thought class, he is boss him, this should be good. also, Boomerang, a character from the first one was in it, which was a surprised, as he got twatted to death from what i remember. no matter, smart, said i, as i really liked him. and then both (there was a spoiler warning earlier) got killed off, in the case of at least one of them, again. oh.
mostly, or for the most part, all of this film felt like it was a big massive excuse just to have that quite class Idris Elba fellow run around swearing a lot and twatting people in a most impressive way. neither of those are particularly bad things, as such, but not quite what i was expecting. mindful of how i really was not sure what to expect from it. except something about Sylvester Stallone (that one) playing a talking shark or something. which yes, he did, it turns out, so i heard right.
the biggest surprise for the film, for me, was the little amount of time that Harley Quinn was in it. my basic, rudimentary understanding was that her character was the "star" of the piece, as she almost was with the first and then with the "standalone" Harley Quinn film (what i did not see). no, she's kind of hovering around as a 'central' character, but it seems mostly to be the Idris Elba show.
frankly, i am not sure i could tell you much of anything of the characters. not sure if we, the audience, are supposed to be aware of their origins, etc, or if it simply isn't supposed to matter. i mean, yes, i was watching and saying "that one guy looks a bit like that twat off of the wrestling", and sure enough it was John Cena. also, him what was in Doctor Who was in it, with test tubes or something in his head. the most memorable character is probably the talking shark, in truth.
other films that i have watched? well, Dad suggested Dark Waters, which is based on a true story, and that was very good indeed. looking for something not taxing to watch saw me try Zombieland 2 or whatever it was called. i really liked the first, and this one felt very much like it was all the jokes and gags they cut from that first one jazzed up into a film. further zombie viewing took the form of Army Of The Dead or whatever it was called, i think that, but the name sounds wrong and certainly doesn't seem to reflect the film. it was kind of Aliens meets Dawn of The Dead meets, inexplicably, Ocean's 11, and it kind of worked all right, but nearly three hours of it was too much.
back to The Suicide Squad and my overall observation would be how times have changed. i checked, and double checked, the blu ray box. yes, this only has a "15" certificate. which reflects a distinct change in direction from them at the BBFC. they were right censor happy twats in the 80s, and for a lot of the 90s. and for a lot of the 00s. how this sailed through is a mystery.
illustrating my surprise is the (in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, of course) scene of Harley Quinn getting quite roughly tortured. yes, it's "comic book" and "fantasy" but also rather graphic. my basic understanding was that the BBFC came down particularly harsh on any films showing women or children being tortured or subjected to sustained brutality. it seems that stance is now quite relaxed. perhaps i am getting old, or what have you, but i have no clue if this is for better or worse. for a measure of change, if this is considered "15" material now, it will be interesting to see what further gets tolerated a decade or so on from now.
no, in answer to the main, obvious question. absolutely none (as far as i could see) of the regular, better known DC comics heroes or villains turn up in this. no Batman, no Joker, etc. i seem to recall that Superman got a brief mention, something or other about being shot. effectively, then, for a casual watcher of these comic book super hero things, this was kind of the equivalent of at some point between 71 and 79 The Beatles saying there were going to play together again, but only stuff what Ringo had done. so, one or two highlights, but ultimately an act which would have audiences saying you what?
right, the "big bad" of the film (ostensibly, or in theory). which is a big massive, f*****g stupid looking starfish space alien. here it is, sort of, presented in Commodore 64 mode. for clarity it's the one in the below which is not Idris Elba.
just about the time this big, f*****g stupid looking space alien starfish got free and started wandering around was when i felt i had seen enough of the film. but, yes, i watched it all, and of course, well, guess who wins the "final battle". actually, less than 24 hours after watching it, i cannot recall how, exactly, it got twatted one. but it did.
this film isn't a sequel, prequel, remake, reimaging or anything, then. it's just been turned out for a bit of fun, one suspects, or in the hope that it will make a good deal of cash. somehow Warner Bros are struggling to work out ways to make huge amounts of money off of all things DC, especially compared to Disney with their Marvel stuff. which is weird, as the DC characters are a lot better and considerably more established in the minds of people.
how, exactly, i ended up watching this was that the boys had been to the pictures to see it, really liked it, the blu ray was on special at Tesco, i picked it up for them and figured i might as well have a gander before handing it over. undoubtedly they shall enjoy watching it again; i believe once was quite enough for me, thanks. although yeah, the shark was quite class.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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