The Suicide Squad (2021 film) released to positive reviews averaging a 92%, as of this writing, at Rotten Tomatoes. Excited by this reception, I was eager to sit down and watch the movie. To make this short, I was disappointed by it and was left questioning a lot about the director’s choices. However, this article isn’t about why I hated the movie, but the problem I had with Waller’s crew.
When we are first introduced to Waller’s crew, they are all collected around a dead pool on which member will die first. Amanda Waller walks in and everyone races to hide what they were doing. Witnessing this gambling was interesting because it established, to me at least, that these people didn’t care for any member of the Suicide Squad.
This suspicion is further supported when they knowingly set up team 1 to be massacred as a distraction so team 2 could safely reach the shore. In fact, there is a moment when Waller herself shows hesitancy about activating Savant’s chip to kill him. Meanwhile, the guy who holds the key to the squad’s lives is quick to pull it up, and as soon as the annihilation of team 1 has passed, Waller’s staff returns to their secret gambling activities with gusto.
Needless to say, we get the impression that it is not only Waller’s control or pressure on these people that steers them towards inhumane acts. Granted, we see some humanity in Mr. Quickhands, who we later find out is named John, when it comes to the fate of DuBois’ daughter. However, at least two of the other staff members shrug it off. On a side note, the focus of this movie on “but what about the children” is very curious, seeing James Gunn’s past twitter controversies, but that’s a whole other post.
I know someone will try to argue that they don’t care about these convicted criminals, but clearly have a heart when it comes to civilians or, at the very least, “the children”. The thing is, there is never really an indicator of them having any such morality until we see them again at the movie’s climax. The same woman who hits Waller with a golf club, shrugged her shoulders earlier at the idea of a teen going to one of the worst prisons over petty theft. Furthermore, she was the one who called Waller’s attention to Bloodsport going off mission in the first place, knowing damn well what that meant.
I know that there is a limited time films have to work with, and we can’t expect fully fleshed out character arcs every single time. But seeing how Waller’s crew turns out to be instrumental in the happy ending, you’d think there would be at least some attempt to clarify their motivations, or explain how they took a full 180 from the beginning.
Overall, I had more issues with the movie but this one stood out, as it was a sudden change for everyone, Waller included. It seemed out of character for her to take the mutiny of her crew and let them walk away unscathed. In the last movie, Waller murdered her whole crew just to keep a secret. It all felt a little rushed.
Did you watch the movie? What were your thoughts? Am I the only one who was bothered by this? Leave a comment below.
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