The Suicide Squad (2021)

The written companion

Draft companion · Awaiting editorial review

The Suicide Squad: When Going Bigger Loses a Viewer

The Suicide Squad gives the group plenty to disagree about. Some of the conversation celebrates the cast, including surprise at how well John Cena fits his role. Matt, meanwhile, finds himself on the other side of the film's deliberately outrageous approach.

The talking shark and giant starfish push the world further than he wants to follow. What others can enjoy as the movie embracing its comic-book possibilities becomes, for him, a reason to disengage. Even his affection for Margot Robbie does not make Harley's place in this story feel necessary to him.

The discussion sharpens when someone challenges his focus on the final creature. Is that really the film's central villain, or is the more meaningful threat the system sending these characters into danger? That question offers a different way to read a spectacle Matt finds excessive.

His preference for the earlier film is especially striking because he did not think that one was good either. This is not a contest between a beloved original and an unwelcome replacement. It is a conversation about which version of this team gives each viewer something to hold onto.

Does the absurdity make these characters more engaging, or harder to care about? Who do you consider the story's real villain?

Watch The Suicide Squad discussion ↗

Draft based on captions. The full discussion contains major spoilers.