Tag: Margot Robbie

The Suicide Squad

Post author By Mark
Post date August 13, 2021

What does the director of two of the most popular Marvel films do when the studio fires him? Well if you’re James Gunn you get to work for the competition, with the reboot/sequel to 2016’s dismal Suicide Squad, conveniently and confusingly titled The Suicide Squad. It certainly doesn’t seem like Gunn holds any ill will towards the MCU which has now re-hired him but it’s hard to imagine there wasn’t a little revenge channelled into what amounts to DC’s own version of Guardians of the Galaxy, only better in almost every way. With a surprisingly endearing core cast of outsiders and plenty of gore and crass humour, The Suicide Squad is an endless ride of entertainment, even if it does steer into familiar territory for Gunn.

For those who wisely steered clear of the 2016 original David Ayer directed film, have no fear, you will miss out on absolutely nothing plot-wise, as the concept of the squad – outlaws with bombs implanted in their heads sent on dangerous missions in exchange for reduced sentences – is quickly explained within the opening minutes. From here its all cylinders firing as the returning Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) gathers her team of misfit criminals – the central crew consisting of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), team leader Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Idris Elba’s assassin Bloodsport, John Cena’s peace-loving mercenary Peacemaker, clinically depressed Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), the rodent controlling Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) and King Shark (voiced by the great Sylvester Stallone) – and sends them on their merry way to infiltrate and destroy a defunct Nazi base on the South American island of Corto Maltese which secretly houses a scientific project with world-ending potential.

It’s a deceptively simple plot that Gunn manages to wring every last drop of movie out of, throwing in side-quests and more than a few twists and turns to keep the viewers on their toes. Not the least shocking of these is his commitment to live up to the name of the film. No one is safe and while the central team consists of those previously mentioned, there are many other obscure DC characters assigned to the mission, not all of whom make it out alive. This is explained to you through a brutally bonkers opening scene that sets the irreverent tone Gunn continues to build on perfectly: he might bring in one of your favourite comic characters who otherwise would never have had a chance at a big screen feature, only to blow their heads off a few minutes later.

At this point Gunn has all but trademarked his signature style of film, favouring stories of found families and disparate, conflicting personalities that must be brought together for the greater good and honing it with each retelling. Now, unrestricted by PG ratings and having to tie the story to a larger shared universe, the writer/director has perfected the formula, with a superbly written script that really understands the interplay between these huge, criminally insane personalities. It says a lot that he can take a character like the Polka Dot Man – a guy who literally excretes and shoots multicoloured, corrosive polka dots from his skin – and make him such a deeply sympathetic and dryly hilarious figure. A man who hates himself and has completely resigned his fate to death but who can’t help but find some gleeful joy in being a super-hero. Even a throwaway comment lamenting a largely pointless side-character’s demise does a lot to highlight the depth of the writing – these characters are more than their goofy superhero gimmicks, they’re fully rounded people that you can’t help but root for.

The casting is obviously a huge reason that the writing succeeds in the way it does. Dastmalchian is excellent as Polka Dot Man alongside other standouts in Elba, Cena and Stallone. Elba’s Bloodsport is the most obvious leading man stereotype of the bunch and it’s plain to see that Gunn is having a great time deconstructing that stereotype, giving the character a crippling fear of rats before plonking him on the same team as someone who literally controls all of them. And Elba goes for it, cowering from the rodents and turning his back on the team time and time again in a way that other leading men of the 80’s and 90’s would never do for fear of diminishing their masculinity. When push comes to shove he doles out the expected level of ass-kicking but just knowing that small flaw goes a long way to being able to attach to the character amidst all the chaos.

If Bloodsport is the stoic, quietly calm assassin, then John Cena’s Peacemaker is the complete opposite: a boastful, arrogant mercenary who doesn’t care how many people he has to kill to achieve it. It is easily his best performance to date, still as physically imposing as ever but unintentionally and hilariously self-deprecating in the complete paradox he has devoted his entire being to. The sheer stupidity Gunn has Peacemaker saying at times – delivered with a deathly serious, almost militaristic deadpan – is absolutely hilarious and the constantly bickering, macho rivalry between Peacemaker and Bloodsport ensures that there is always a joke or exasperated sigh to put a smile on your face, even in the middle of a massacre. Then there is King Shark, a giant half-man, half-shark dullard who steals every scene he is in. That’s largely due to the inherent hilarity of him being voiced by Sylvester Stallone, whose line readings sound like even he doesn’t know what is going on (Gunn gets bonus points for having Rocky himself repeatedly say “nom-noms”). He’s more than just another Groot-like animal sidekick however, with a sweet friendship with Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher 2 that hits on an emotional level more than it has any right to.

The downside of making three consecutive films in a row with similar plots and character archetypes is that the audience starts to notice the rhythm and crutches that Gunn tends to rely on. Just about every time we build to some kind of profound dramatic or emotional moment we cut to a comedic moment instead, which at this point is less funny and jarring than it is annoying. You know it is coming but sometimes it would feel far more gratifying to actually see these characters hit their big emotional beats rather than cut away and imply that these are already known. The bizarre positive of that is that Gunn builds a strange sense of anticipation in the audience when he gears up for one of these moments. You know that a big tonal shift is coming and the fact that it could be anything from a dick joke to somebody being dismembered keeps things fresh in a way that the Guardians films could never achieve without the shock factor of an R rating.

What could initially be seen as ill fortune has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for James Gunn, who has crafted his most outright enjoyable and sharply written film to date with The Suicide Squad. Taking a left turn where most superhero films would go right ensures that things stay fresh throughout the motley crew’s adventure; whether that be through the sheer insanity of the characters on-screen, the over-the-top gore or the constant stream of NSFW gags. If this is what the man can do with characters like Captain Boomerang and The Detachable Kid (as stupid as it sounds), then give James Gunn the keys to the whole DC kingdom and watch him go.

The Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Alice Braga, Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, Flula Borg & Sylvester Stallone – In cinemas now and streaming on HBO Max in the US.

9/10

Tags Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, DC, Idris Elba, Jai Courtney, James Gunn, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena, Margot Robbie, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, The Suicide Squad, Viola Davis

Movie Reviews

Birds of Prey

Post author By Mark
Post date February 16, 2020

I was not looking forward to Birds of Prey, or to use the obnoxiously-long full title Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). The last film to feature Margot Robbie’s ridiculously over-the-top psychologist turned maniac, 2016’s Suicide Squad, was a major disappointment: a misleading bore of a superhero-team up sold on its use of colour (it had none), pop-culture references (excessive) and endless blasting of pop songs (constant and mind-numbingly loud). Harley Quinn was a standout for most people – although I must admit I find the character extremely annoying and boring – and Warner Bros saw fit to give her another shot. This time around however, the film was being sold as a superhero team-up full of colour, pop-culture references and modern radio friendly tunes…. and that’s exactly what you get: a boring, meandering film of slightly better quality than Suicide Squad but with almost all of the same problems.

The central plot is simple enough. The Joker has had enough of Harley Quinn (he’s not the only one) and has severed his ties with her, leaving the poor psychopath on her own as a bevy of villains look to exact their revenge for the various evildoings she carried out while under the clown prince of crime’s protection. This leads Harley on a journey of self-discovery and preservation as she evades the people she has wronged, particularly the wealthy and well connected crime lord Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), familiar to fans of the Batman franchise as the villain Black Mask. To save her own skin, Harley must retrieve an extremely valuable diamond for Sionis – which just so happens to have been pickpocketed by local Gotham teenager Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) who is oblivious to the significance of her latest steal. As Harley befriends Cain and navigates the dangerous streets of Gotham City, she crosses paths with a number of quirky characters who all have their own motives for going after Cain and their own grievances with Sionis. These include the hard hitting detective-turned-vigilante Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Cain’s neighbour and Sionis’ reluctant associate Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and the recently arrived to Gotham, crossbow-wielding assassin Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

If this sounds like more of a Harley Quinn film than a team-up to you then you’re absolutely right. The supporting cast is woefully underutilised with the exception of McGregor as Sionis, who dials the campiness up to 11 to play the flamboyant, tantrum-prone germaphobe mob boss. His scenes are easily the most hilarious and enjoyable and his odd, are they/aren’t they relationship with his right-hand man Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina) is one of the strangest, and honestly one of the only fully realised relationships of the film. Yet this film belongs to Harley Quinn and if you’re a fan of the character then Robbie’s interpretation is about as close to perfect as you can get, right down to the voice. While her arc in the film is fairly standard and doesn’t really go anywhere unexpected, there’s no doubting the commitment and passion that Robbie has for the role, clearly relishing playing the character as she imbues Quinn with endless energy and sass. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is fine enough in her role as Huntress but she just isn’t given anything to do; with an attempt to establish her backstory and motives coming so late in the game and so fleetingly that it’s hard to really care all that much. The standout besides Robbie here is Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Dinah Lance – who fans of the show Arrow will be familiar with. She brings a nice balance of street-smarts and toughness with genuine kindness and a desire to be good that results in a character the audience can latch onto; she owes Sionis for dragging her off the streets but at the same time doesn’t condone the terrible things that he does and we want her to get out of this situation.

From a technical and story point of view, Birds of Prey is a letdown. Decisions have been made to make the film more quick-paced and manic, perhaps to make us see things like Harley Quinn, but these hinder the film more than they make for an enjoyable viewing experience. Large chunks of the film are narrated by Quinn herself as though she is relaying the story in real time to the audience, complete with time jumps backwards and forwards as Harley recovers from a hangover and recollects events. The result is an uneven pacing and a confusing plot that can go from two characters discussing something to an intense, in-your-face action sequence in a matter of minutes with no build-up or storytelling as to why the fight is happening. These action sequences vary in quality from an absolutely spellbinding sequence in a police station to an incredibly mundane final battle as far as super-hero movies go. The action is at its best when director Cathy Yan chooses to be play with the environment more and shoot the scenes in a more stylised fashion with slow motion shots and fast, quick cuts. In contrast to Suicide Squad, this film is colourful – filled with flashes of vibrant greens, blues and reds that really help to establish a visual style even if they don’t always make sense (why would a chemical plant explode in multicoloured fireworks?). Yan has clearly tried to lend her own personal flavour and style to the film and she should be commended. As for the music choices, the less said about that the better, as clearly nobody has learned from the mistakes of Suicide Squad in this regard.

Birds of Prey wasn’t a movie that was begging to be made. Warner Bros took what worked from Suicide Squad and figured they could build a film, potentially a franchise, on the strength of Harley Quinn alone. It’s an interesting experiment, if ultimately a failure. There’s no denying that Margot Robbie plays the character to perfection but the film around her just isn’t interesting enough to warrant much of a response from the audience. While there are flashes of style and some solid action scenes – Cathy Yan has clearly tried to do something different here – it ultimately doesn’t come together as a whole and I wouldn’t be surprised if I forget the film entirely after a few days. Harley Quinn certainly isn’t going anywhere however and it’ll be interesting to see how someone like James Gunn, famous for directing the Guardians of the Galaxy films, handles the character in his upcoming Suicide Squad sequel.

Birds of Prey stars Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco & Chris Messina – in cinemas now.

Tags Birds of Prey, Cathy Yan, Chris Messina, DC, Ella Jay Basco, Ewan McGregor, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez

Movie Reviews

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Post author By Tydus
Post date August 19, 2019

Quentin Tarantino is no stranger to epics. In fact, almost every film he’s made has been epic in one way or another – be it the bloody tale of revenge in Kill Bill or the slow burn whodunnit murder mystery of The Hateful Eight. In crafting this legendary back catalogue, Tarantino has also become no stranger to Hollywood’s bright lights and cutthroat nature. Combining his trademark style with this real-world backdrop, the infamous director’s 9th feature film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood aims to be his grandest tale yet – clocking in at a meaty 160 minutes. Bringing Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt back into the fold with The Wolf of Wall Street star Margot Robbie, the film manages to be one of the director’s most grounded and restrained offerings yet. Make no mistake however, by the time the credits roll, you’ll have no doubt that you’ve just witnessed a Quentin Tarantino creation.

Following the standard of 2009’s Inglorious Bastards, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is a film of fact that’s been given a Tarantino twist of fiction. Another movie loosely based on its subject material, but one that isn’t afraid to play around with key details to create something outrageous and memorable. Billed originally as an epic centred around the Manson Family Murders of the late 60’s, this is instead very much a window into one man’s mid-life crisis. We spend a lot of time following our three lead characters through their daily lives, with the almost three-hour runtime feeling almost gratuitous at times. It’s a very slow burn compared to the director’s earlier films, until it suddenly isn’t. In saying this, Tarantino has made sure that every scene and line fits some purpose in the grander scheme of things. He’s built an entire world here, and it’s a world that regularly feels alive and connected. If a character mentions a particular TV show in passing during conversation, expect to hear about it a few more times or even join the characters as they watch it themselves an hour later. It often feels like every move has a reason, with each character’s decisions and actions making sense to those audiences able to piece the personalities together as the show goes on. While allowing viewers to develop their own understanding of each character in this way is a bold move, it can be tough trying to keep up with all the subtle details buried in so much movie.

Thankfully this lengthy adventure is built on the shoulders of an immensely talented cast, with the film’s plot itself revolving around the struggles, dangers and rewards that come with being a big-time movie star. At the centre of things is Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton, a 60’s TV show cowboy desperately trying to hit the big leagues as his best years seem behind him. DiCaprio cuts a striking image of a fading Hollywood star suffering a mid-life crisis, a character honestly more relatable to audiences than it may seem. He sells the role completely with great emotional range, adding in a heavy accent and a slight stutter to make Rick stand out from the crowd. His scenes shooting a western alongside the late, great Luke Perry and the fantastic young Julia Butters are a total highlight, and prove why DiCaprio is still a household name.

Completing the other half of the headlining duo is Brad Pitt, returning for another Tarantino offering after a ten-year break. Pitt plays Cliff Booth, the stunt double and right hand to Rick during the film. More than just a lowly side act, his character rivals – if not, surpasses – his on-screen counterpart in terms of charisma and style. A character seemingly crafted entirely and lovingly by Tarantino himself, Cliff is a scarred, rugged and aging stunt man who has a healthy fear of nothing and the skills to back it up. Painted as slightly unhinged at times with a questionable history, Booth’s tag-team with faithful pooch Brandy is a central relationship in the film that reaches an epic crescendo before the film’s end.

Rounding out the leading names is Margot Robbie as 60’s starlet Sharon Tate, infamous to those who know the history of the Manson Family Murders that the film is set around. Robbie doesn’t play the typical leading lady that you may be expecting going into the film, instead occupying a secondary role largely removed from that of the two male leads. Tarantino portrays Tate as a naïve, innocent woman at the start of her big Hollywood career, untouched by the politics and bitterness of the industry around her with Robbie dialling up the charm in spades. If the film’s title suggests we’re watching a fairy tale, Tate is without question its princess. This is never more on show than when she’s silently revelling in the joy of watching an audience love her latest movie, gleefully hiding herself in the aisles among the crowd as they laugh along.

Sharing much of Robbie’s screentime is Emile Hirsch, who plays her former lover-turned-friend Jay – and he isn’t the only face you’ll recognise answering the call for Tarantino’s latest project. Randy and his fireball wife Janet (played by Kurt Russell and a hilarious Zoe Bell) inject some great shots of humour when on screen, and Russell keeps us all up to date throughout the film as a narrator with some great lines and sharp delivery. Timothy Olyphant assumes his best Justified cowboy persona for his role, playing a straight-shooting gunslinger opposite DiCaprio in a spaghetti western that is just as great as it sounds. Despite a relatively short time on screen, we also have Al Pacino delivering a return to form as the wise-cracking, well-meaning talent agent that sets his sights on the wayward Dalton. We even see Dakota Fanning deftly assuming one of the most intimidating roles of the film, proving to be in a league of her own after rising to fame as a child actress all those years ago.

Fanning’s not-so-merry ensemble of unsettling Manson family hippies also help to display the cast’s huge commitment to the time period and its vibe. Their outfits, demeanour and speech all help to sell the world the film is being set against. Coupled with the lengthy runtime working to pull you in as much as possible, you’ll almost forget you’re looking at the real world as it (almost) was 50 years ago. A strong example of this world building is within the scattered groups of the Manson family dotted throughout Hollywood. The hippie groups just feel like a brainwashed cult, without ever needing to come right out and say it – plus there’s no mistaking Dalton’s open feelings toward every single one of them. As expected, this total attention to detail carries through to every other piece of Tarantino’s latest grand design. The old movies and shows played during the film are – or may as well have been – all shot during the 60’s. After seeing Leonardo DiCaprio superimposed into classic films so perfectly, you’d swear he was in them all along.

This love carries forward to things like the soundtrack, vehicles and backdrops which are also expertly chosen to completely drown you in 1960’s Hollywood style. Tarantino was always a big fan of spaghetti westerns, and he’s used the film to create a number of elaborate scenes where he essentially builds one right in front of us. This meta-style type of storytelling certainly isn’t new ground for the director, though seeing his experience and incredible level of detail on show is always a wonder to watch. A fine example of this comes in the song choice used to bring us into the final act. We watch as our characters fall into place while the Rolling Stone’s 1966 song “Out of Time” plays alongside, subtlety telling the audience that we’re in the final stages of the grand tale. Always going that extra step, what actually plays is Mick Jagger’s orchestral cover of the song, not released until well into the 70’s – meaning that even the song’s existence in the film is ‘out of time’.

While being a relatively long journey that doesn’t attempt to hold out a guiding hand for those unfamiliar with its plot, the film is still as finely crafted and tightly written as any of Quentin Tarantino’s past works. Certainly slower and more grounded than most of his other offerings, the charismatic trio of DiCaprio, Pitt and Robbie manage to keep you invested all the way through to its wild finale. Shot through the lens of the swinging 60’s, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood spends its time slowly lifting the mask of glitz and glamour from the somewhat grim face of the movie industry – before promptly knocking all its teeth out.

Leonardo DiCaprio star in Columbia Pictures “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino and Luke Perry – In cinemas now.

Tags Brad Pitt, Columbia Pictures, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino