The Suicide Squad
In comic books, superheroes are remembered for their colorful appearances. Yet in movies, heroes are colored in dull, grey, and pale colors. In this film however, director James Gunn brings the vibrant colors of superhero comics to the movie.
A colorist's delight, The Suicide Squad is packed with never-ending vibrant colors. We see the squad in primary-colored costumes. Compared to frames in other 2010s and 2020s blockbusters, the film has an ineffable quality to the coloring. This ineffable quality doesn't come from oversaturating or overexposing the picture, but through a process that keeps the shots as natural as looking at them in person, only through the eyes and not a screen.
To support the naturally looking frames and beautiful color, Gunn employs a dynamic shooting style that feels visceral and real. The camera always moves and gets really close to, around, and between actors, without distracting or calling attention. Additionally, action scenes aren't always cutting; allowing punches and gunshots to land strongly, not fruitlessly. However, some action doesn't feel impactful, as when things are struck, the sound effect at collision isn't too loud, making the action feel overall less impactful than action from the best action movies, but as awfully fruitless as action in so many 2010s and 2020s blockbusters. The R-rating brings juicy blood spills and splats, making the action more fun as characters can use techniques like stabbing and gunshots, and nothing feels as if it's missing. When guns shoot, pop! splat!, unlike if this film were PG-13 and had no pop! no splat! just nothing.
Embraces its weird comic book concepts in a way that doesn't break the fourth wall, wink at the audience, get undercut by a joke, or dismiss them as dumb, while also avoiding the temptation to make these concepts overly dark, gritty, and realistic. Instead, it fully immerses the strangeness. Reading a description of these concepts, many will just be puzzled and think the concepts are weird. But seeing these concepts in the movie feels right. Not weird, as just wondering what is in the frame in a negative way, but looking at it, it just belongs. Describing things in the movie outside the movie seems repulsive, but feels wonderful.
When meeting the characters, they're presented as heinous and imperfect, rather than most superheroes, who are seen as awesome and godly. They reveal what caused them to be in the position they're in, where they're seen as odd, most of them due to parental issues. The unveiling of the personal issues doesn't feel unnatural and works well. This leads to their final stand feeling heartwarming and heroic. They decide to put their foot down, make the right decision, and save the day using their odd abilities. Just seeing them smile is smileworthy because of the rejection, the sadness, the many stories of their past, letting a smile come out to everyone when they win.
