The main thingThe Suicide Squad got right that others superhero movies don’t.
James Gunn clearly understands superheroes, maybe better than any director currently working. It’s clear he has a thorough love and understanding of them. It is clear he is a fan.
His first movie was Guardians of the Galaxy and, in my opinion, you can make a solid argument that it is the MCU’s best overall movie. Marvel seems to agree as the comedic tone of those two movies is something that has become a Marvel staple, much to the chagrin of some fans. Yet Guardains of the Galaxy is a half-measure for James Gunn who came from Troma films, and dark-comedy-horror movies like Slither and Dawn of the Dead. James Gunn is a much darker, humorous, and satirical creator and director than Guardians of the Galaxy was capable of showcasing.
Some would point to the film’s slick cinematography and set/costume design. All of the costumes are faithfully rendered with some minor added accents to make them pop, similar, but superior to the more toyetic costumes in Guardians of the Galaxy.
There’s also the fact that horror, primarily the horror comics of the 1950s like Tales of the Crypt paved the way for books like Tales of Suspense, Amazing Fantasy, and Journey into Mystery that would produce Spider-Man and the Avengers themselves. James Gunn, a horror director, brought those same sensibilities to those characters.
That’s not it either.
You could also point to the style. Comics are very stylized, and so too are many good movies. This movie both felt like a experimental 1980s comic, but also like a middle finger to Martin Scorcese who questioned comics as art. Honestly, while maybe not quite there depending on the competition, I think you could argue The Suicide Squad is best picture nominee material. It really is. It’s almost kind of flawless in that way Oscar movies are. Not one bad scene, or bad performance. Great special effects. Seamless yet experimental pacing and editing. It has all the qualities.
That’s not it either.
This is:
This unremarkable looking man behind Michael Rooker is actually a very remarkable man, John Ostrander, the creator of The Suicide Squad in the comics. The creator. If you’ve ever watched a Marvel movie you’ve probably seen Stan Lee, ironically mostly in movies about characters he had no hand in creating. The movies unintentionally put him as the brand, and everyone else as just pencil pushing employees beneath him. This was also seen in Batman (1989) which credited Bob Kane, and did not include Bill Finger who corrected all of Bob Kane’s terrible designs and ideas. There were 13 original X-Men movies and none featured a cameo by Chris Claremont, or the late Len Wein, or John Byrne. Chris Claremont, who made by far the biggest and most important contributions to the lore wasn’t even invited to the Logan premiere despite him defining the main character and creating the film’s villain.
Finally, James Gunn’s own film Rocket Raccoon was created by Bill Mantlo, a great writer who’s run on Hulk inspired Ang Lee’s film, had been dying in a nursing home at a way too young age, and running out of money. Marvel and Disney, fearing the bad press, paid him.
What proves James Gunn should probably make every superhero movie is that he loves the creators. He loves and respects them and it shows in his work. He doesn’t shy away from the silliness that makes comics great because he respects the creators. Giving John Ostrander, a guy who is probably barely recognized at comic conventions, this big of a moment, however small, is insanely important and shows our favorite characters are more than just the work of one pitch-man.
James Gunn gets it.