Jump to content

  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

The Suicide Squad

Khyber53

By Khyber53,
in Nerdvana

 Share

Recommended Posts

Captroop Grand Master

Captroop

Posted
Posted

I loved it. Best DCEU movie. Best movie to come out streaming since the pandemic. I'm glad DC gave James Gunn the ability to kill off characters and make a movie with an R-Rating. Freaky. fuged up. Hilarious. It's James Gunn playing to his strong suit.

And he writes such a tight script. It's amazing how quickly he plows through Act One and the exposition and gets right into the action without feeling like it's being rushed, or skipping on character development. I don't know how he does it, but it's really impressive.

But what I think is the most impressive is his ability to get the most out of his actors. John Cena had me half convinced he could act. And Storm Reid, wow. Never gave her a thought after that totally forgettable Wrinkle in Time movie, but she totally blew me away in her first scene with Idris Elba. I had to look up the actress because she nails that scene.

And the first 10 minutes is about the funniest thing I've seen in a movie since the X-Force air drop scene in Deadpool 2.

  • Pie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Khyber53 Grand Master

Khyber53

Posted
  • Author
Posted
16 hours ago, Captroop said:

 

And he writes such a tight script. It's amazing how quickly he plows through Act One and the exposition and gets right into the action without feeling like it's being rushed, or skipping on character development. I don't know how he does it, but it's really impressive.

 

16 hours ago, Captroop said:

And the first 10 minutes is about the funniest thing I've seen in a movie since the X-Force air drop scene in Deadpool 2.

A lot of movies can learn from that quick dash through exposition (do we really need to revisit the Batman origins for the umpteenth time, or Spider-man's?) 

And yeah, that first 10 minutes are just jaw-dropping. Literally turns you upside down in what you think the movie is about. Don't want to spoil it for anyone, but wow!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Squirrel Collaborator

Squirrel

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

 

A lot of movies can learn from that quick dash through exposition (do we really need to revisit the Batman origins for the umpteenth time, or Spider-man's?) 

And yeah, that first 10 minutes are just jaw-dropping. Literally turns you upside down in what you think the movie is about. Don't want to spoil it for anyone, but wow!

 

Spiderman is all Sonys doing they don't want his character expanded beyond high school. 

  • Pie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
d-dave Grand Master

d-dave

Posted
Posted

I finally sat down and watched it a week ago.  Man, what a fun fun movie!

I loved how Idris Elba was completely tired of everyone's crap.  Such a wonderful character!  Though I think King Shark stole the show for me.  And Polk-a-Dot man was wonderfully done with such a heartbreaking story.

It was really good James Gunn work.  The lesson that DC should learn is to trust it's directors, and not freakout about it's IP.  Well, they should also learn that having a strong visionary at the helm helps a lot instead of a bunch of pencil pushers.  That helps a lot too.  Oh an light.  Being able to see the actors is good!

  • Pie 1
  • Beer 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Captroop Grand Master

Captroop

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, d-dave said:

It was really good James Gunn work.  The lesson that DC should learn is to trust it's directors, and not freakout about it's IP.  Well, they should also learn that having a strong visionary at the helm helps a lot instead of a bunch of pencil pushers.  That helps a lot too.  Oh an light.  Being able to see the actors is good!

This is such a double edged sword. On the one hand, in principle, I totally agree. I'm kind of stoked about the big studios giving more creative control to these visionary directors. Because I'd love to see a return to 1970s auteurism, when you had maniacs like Martin Scorsese, William Friedkin, and Francis Ford Coppola just doing mountains of blow and having total creative control without studio interference.

BUT on the other hand, probably the biggest example of when studio micromanagement worked and auteurism utterly failed occurred at the exact same time, very recently. You had the Marvel cinematic universe, which was completely planned out and their IP clenched with an iron fist by Marvel Studios, and you had Star Wars, with complete creative control handed over to some very creative filmmakers, and that was probably one of the biggest flops in motion picture history. Sure they made money, but let's put if this way, do you think anyone would buy the Star Wars brand for the $4 Billion Disney bought it for back in 2012 right now? As a Star Wars fanboy, Abrams and company did what I never thought was possible; they made me lose interest in Star Wars.

I think the lesson to be learned from Suicide Squad and James Gunn is this; lower the stakes.

These studios have properties with back catalogs of characters thousands deep that no one gives a poo about. Instead of making ANOTHER Batman movie, dig up Polka Dot Man, dig up Shazam!, dig up Groot, hand the reigns over to a really innovative filmmaker, give them $140M to make a movie, and see if you knock one out of the park. Not everything has to be a Justice League, or an End Game, with all of your most famous characters, and the biggest name actors, and if it makes less than $1 Billion worldwide, you're losing money.

And you know what? If you hit, you've got a whole new cash cow you can milk instead of trying to wring every last cent out of Superman. Guess what, I've got a Groot planter sitting right next to me in my office. How much was the Groot IP worth in 2010?

  • Pie 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Khyber53 Grand Master

Khyber53

Posted
  • Author
Posted

True, it's worth a roll of the dice. Sometimes a guy like James Gunn comes around and just starts making hits. He did a great job with Guardians and The Suicide Squad, but he also went into battle with a bunch of nearly forgotten characters, which may have helped him immensely. He won the fanboys, he wasn't made to work with the big guns like Superman or Iron Man, the Hulk or Batman. 

He got to work his vision and create cinema versions of characters most people had never heard of. I'd been reading the Guardians of the Galaxy since back in the day when it was Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Yondu, Martinex and Nikki, but I loved that he ran with the second version of the team then tipped his hat to the originals with the Ravagers. Most folks just got to enjoy a rollicking good time in a sci-fi AND superhero blockbuster series. And it just worked.

And for The Suicide Squad he was somehow able to keep the studios from inserting Jared Leto's terrible version of the Joker into the story (that scenery chewing performance by Leto almost ruined Ayer's Suicide Squad movie for no real effect). Really, Harley Quinn was the only character most folks knew and that was in his favor. He did cast some relatively big names, though, and played them beautifully in the first invasion group for wonderful shock effect. 

Still, Gunn has the advantage of being a good filmmaker who just really needed a vehicle that fit his style. He got it from both franchises. Lest we think it's easy to do, remember that acclaimed directors Ang Lee and Edward Norton both managed to screw up The Hulk because, well, they just didn't fit the material.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • TheSpecialJuan
      Explicating the Panthers' Defensiveness

      By TheSpecialJuan · Posted

      I can't wait to go through this analysis 
    • SmokinwithWilly
      Panthers Sign QB Will Grier

      By SmokinwithWilly · Posted

      What's more likely? An entire competant NFL front office (as many here suggest Morgan runs) has watched Bryce struggle week in and week out to perform at the bare minimum of NFL QBs for 3 years and has decided that's the future of this organization, OR our owner who has proven repeatedly he can't keep his nose out of team decision making has declared Bryce is our QB until he decides otherwise, especially given he's the one that drafted him in the first place? 
    • MHS831
      Explicating the Panthers' Defensiveness

      By MHS831 · Posted

      It is time to take a look at the defense.  Without further ado do.... Edge (OLB):  I think we overpaid for Jaelan Phillips, but he is constant pressure with 73 pressures in 2025, ranking 9th in the NFL.  In all, he was the 20th (of 111) rated pass rushing edge in 2025 according to PFF, putting him in the top 20% in the nfl.  With a pair of solid ILBs beside him and if we can get Wharton going, I think the sum of the parts will make him better than he was in Philly.  Furthermore, with second-year pro Princely Umanmielen behind him, I expect him to grow with the tutoring and competition. On the other side, the duo of Nick Scourton and Patrick Jones II is strong, in my view.  Scourton generated 34 total pressures as a pass rusher. That total included 8 sacks, 23 hurries, 3 hits. Against the run, he recorded 28 solo tackles. For a rookie, second round, edge, that is great.  He also forced 1 fumble on the season. Jones was decent in 2025 in just 131 snaps, but he is solid veteran depth.   We seem to lack the elite pass rusher, but this rotational unit will be a big upgrade over last season.  Expect Scourton and Princely to show improvement. While it is unlikely that we add more to edge this draft, you can never have too many pass rushers (well, you can--two sophomores and two veterans is a good mix). Would the Panthers take an edge if one was sitting there? Absolutely. Defensive End:  Derrick Brown is a stud.  I did not notice how dominant he became as a pass rusher.  His PFF pass-rush grade of 72.0 ranked 23rd among 134 qualified interior defensive linemans. His run-defense grade of 66.3 ranked 22nd at the position. He generated 35 total pressures as a pass rusher. That total included 6 sacks, 23 hurries, 6 hits. On the other side:  What the hell?  Tershawn Wharton earned a 40.8 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 127th among 134 qualified interior defensive linemans. His PFF pass-rush grade of 57.0 ranked 95th among 134 qualified interior defensive linemen. His run-defense grade of 34.8 ranked 125th at the position. However, Wharton needs to be situational and we really need a few DEs who can plug and pressure.  LaBryan Ray is an interior defensive lineman for the Carolina Panthers who earned a 45.7 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season.  You cannot tell me that we are not going to add a DE.  In my view, this is a HUGE need that we have not adequately addressed.  There were only 3 DEs in the NFL who played more snaps that Derrick Brown.  We have to give him more blows during the game.  So After Brown, we have 2 other players who need to improve a lot to reach mediocre. Nose Tackle:  Of course, a NT might move out some to help stuff the run at DE opposite Brown, and stats do not always reflect on a NT's actual value.  Bobby Brown III earned a 54.1 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 80th among 134 qualified interior defensive linemen.  His PFF pass-rush grade of 51.1 ranked 126th among 134 qualified interior defensive linemans. His run-defense grade of 57.8 ranked 51st at the position.   Behind him, Cam'Ron Jackson is an  earned a 45.5 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season.   The defensive line is weak, based on 2025 performance rankings in PFF.  After DBrown, they pretty much suck.  These are the guys our ILBs will be counting on. Inside Linebacker:  Devin Lloyd earned a 89.1 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 3rd among 88 qualified linebackers. His PFF coverage grade of 81.1 ranked 3rd among 88 qualified linebackers. His run-defense grade of 83.2 ranked 11th at the position. His pass-rush grade of 82.2 ranked 5th among qualified linebackers.  He's good.  At the moment, beside him is Trevin Wallace  who earned a 55.9 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 57th among 88 qualified linebackers. His PFF coverage grade of 64.5 ranked 25th among 88 qualified linebackers. His run-defense grade of 42.3 ranked 85th at the position. His pass-rush grade of 64.2 ranked 45th among qualified linebackers.  Wallace was best as a coverage LB, and based on my memory, I am not sure he was in the top third, but if PFF says so...however, he was nearly last vs. the run.  We need better to play beside Lloyd.  Bam Morris-Scott earned a 37.6 overall PFF defensive grade. To put that in perspective, I was rated by PFF at 32.3 on my couch.   Cherilus Claudin is the third best ILB on the roster right now. He earned a 59.2 overall PFF defensive grade in just over 200 snaps.  Having lost Rozeboom, the Panthers are very thin behind Lloyd.  Look for a starting-caliber ILB in the draft.  Wallace is not the guy, but he is decent depth. Nickel CB:  Chau Smith-Wade  earned a 57.0 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 79th among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His PFF coverage grade of 57.2 ranked 79th among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His run-defense grade of 55.4 ranked 77th at the position.  For a nickel, he played a lot--garnering over 600 snaps.  Corey Thornton was a pleasant surprise, until he was injured.  However, in just 127 snaps, he was very good, earning a 68.5 overall PFF defensive grade.  I think he can play outside in a pinch, but nickel might be his gig.  I am not sold that Nickel is in good hands, but Thornton is promising.  Smith-Wade is average, and with the experience he has accumulated, we are probably not prioritizing Nickel, but there are some good nickels in the draft. Cornerback:  Michael Jackson should have been in the pro bowl.  He earned a 79.1 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 4th among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His PFF coverage grade of 80.9 ranked 3rd among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His run-defense grade of 67.2 ranked 36th at the position. He recorded 4 interceptions on the season. Jackson broke up 9 passes in coverage. He allowed a 72.9 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks --SOLID!!  Our second-best CB, Jaycee Horn, was in the pro bowl.  He earned a 57.8 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 76th among 114 qualified corner.backs. His PFF coverage grade of 61.6 ranked 61st among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His run-defense grade of 50.5 ranked 87th at the position.  He recorded 5 interceptions on the season.  Our CBs had NINE interceptions in 2025.  It is doubtful they duplicate that figure, but Jackson was our best CB.   We are thin at CB, but the two we put out there are solid.  Nickel, at this time, is "meh," but both are developing and should improve.  A great draft for Nickel.  The Panthers will add a CB somehow. Safety:  For now, Trevon Moehrig is as advertised--above average vs. the run, below average in coverage, making him average. He earned a 64.3 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 50th among 98 qualified safeties. His PFF coverage grade of 55.3 ranked 64th among 98 qualified safeties. His run-defense grade of 73.5 ranked 37th at the position.  Lathan Ransom got some valuable experience in 2025, getting in on 330 plays or so.  He earned a 62.9 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 56th among 98 qualified safeties.  (Average, not bad for a day 3 rookie) His PFF coverage grade of 55.8 ranked 63rd among 98 qualified safeties. His run-defense grade of 85.1 ranked 4th at the position.  A pure strong safety, if you ask me.  Nick Scott  earned a 67.8 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 36th among 98 qualified safeties. His PFF coverage grade of 67.3 ranked 31st among 98 qualified safeties. His run-defense grade of 69.3 ranked 56th at the position.  Expect a draft pick at FS.  Demani Richardson is a safety for the Carolina Panthers who earned a 71.5 overall PFF defensive grade n 29 plays.  Nothing to see here.  Isaiah Simmons is probably more special teams than defensive player.   Overall:  We are thin on defense.  No real depth at CB, S, and DE/NT.  However, we have 5 starters who are pro bowl level players (D. Brown, Lloyd, Jackson, Horn, and Phillips--and I might throw Scourton in on that pile for the sixth potential pro bowler).  We are weak at NT, and if Wharton does not step up, DE.  Funny, I see Edge as our strength (and we really don't have a sack artist) and I love our starting CBs.  Moehrig is making too much to be average.   Expect:  In the draft, I think we have to draft a DT.  Having done this, I am not sure that we go after a S when we have such glaring needs at other positions.  We could upgrade at nickel and give the CB room more depth.  OLB?  Wallace is decent depth, and he could start in a pinch.   DE is our biggest need.  The answer could be on the roster?            
×
×
  • Create New...