wow! Is this really a DC Comics film adaptation? All kinds of absurd and interesting mouth cannons, bloody fight scenes, a change in the dark style of the DC Cinematic Universe, what kind of movie is "X Task Force: Assemblage"? Enough to make fans change their impression of the DC Cinematic Universe.
In 2016, Warner's DC Cinematic Universe launched Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer. Although the film's word-of-mouth and box office were not as good as expected that year, and only achieved $747 million worldwide, Warner had already decided to develop a sequel plan before the release of "Suicide Squad". David Ayein chose to plan other works and did not continue to direct the sequel. At the time when "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn was fired from Disney for revealing controversial remarks on Twitter, Warner, as a competitor, certainly did not miss the opportunity to invite him to write a script for the sequel "Task Force X: Assemblage" in October 2018. In January 2019, Warner officially signed a directorial agreement with James Gunn and officially started filming in February.
Why did Warner choose the rolling guide without hesitation? He had already proven himself fit for this type of film with Guardians of the Galaxy Part 1 and Part 2, both of which grossed $1.65 billion worldwide and were among the best-known films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Except for a handful of Marvel comic book fans who knew the characters in Guardians of the Galaxy before the movie aired, most people didn't know the green-skinned alien female warrior, a tree, and a raccoon hero combination. However, he successfully made the audience fall in love with this group of alien heroes, so that each character was completely portrayed, becoming one of the few films with directorial characteristics that did not fall into the "Old Marvel Routine".
As a director who has only made B-grade films such as "Torn Man" and "SuperHeroes", the commercial blockbuster debut of the director is the marginal role "Guardians of the Galaxy" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, rather than "Iron Man" and "Captain America" and other works in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which means that Disney executives and "chief helmsman" Kevin Feige have relatively little emphasis on the early stages of the development of this work, and are relatively willing to give him more freedom to create.
The Guardians of the Galaxy under the lens of the rolling guide are not like other Marvel heroes Iron Man and Captain America, who appear with their own hero aura, and even have a full smell of ruffians, these alien heroes also show the bad taste of the rolling guide in the dialogue from time to time, and make some vulgar jokes in Disney movies. However, he let the audience know how these alien heroes gathered together to form a team for adventure, how they grew up on the journey, believed in the team members, and overcame their own demons, proving that these little people can also be heroes who save the world. In a playful and joyful atmosphere, it is still possible to return to the core proposition of superhero movies.
In addition, in addition to taking into account the special effects scenes of super British movies loved by fans, James Gunn can also carry private goods, interspersed with some black humor and super British movie spit from time to time. In addition, he put a lot of effort into the soundtrack and selection of interludes. During the filming of Guardians of the Galaxy 2, the actors wore headphones to listen to the soundtrack and interludes, because these musical elements complemented the visual presentation of the film. The director of the rolling played the characteristics of the film as audiovisual entertainment very well, combining his excellent musical taste with the special effects scenes of the super British film to tell this little character story well.
Therefore, in the commercial box office success, word of mouth, innovation are satisfactory to the rolling direction, Kevin Feige and Disney executives to give creative freedom and space to carry private goods is also beyond reproach. They even gave him participation in the production of "Avengers" Parts 3 and 4 before the Twitter controversy broke out, which was enough to show his trust. Despite the storm, Disney quickly issued a dismissal order, announcing that it had no commercial relationship with him. However, under the influence of many parties, including the star of "Guardians of the Galaxy", Disney announced in March 2019 that James Gunn would return to direct "Guardians of the Galaxy 3". A director who can make Disney "U-turn" its decisions can prove the core position of the rolling director in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The situation of "Suicide Squad" at that time was similar to that of "Guardians of the Galaxy", except for the more successful portrayal of Harley Quinn, a clown played by Margot Robbie, the other achievements did not meet the expectations of fans of this work, and the general public opinion still believed that it was a messy-paced film. Therefore, Warner chose to give 100% creative freedom to the director who has already proved himself at Disney, rewrite the script for a soft reboot, and may be able to regain the audience's confidence in this IP. Judging by the current results, Warner made a quick and accurate decision at that time, and "X Contingent: Assemblage" has also received good reviews from the audience.
The film begins with a swift gathering of "Task Force X" members, including Colonel Rick Fryger, Harley Quinn, and Captain Boomerang, who appeared in the previous episode, to fly to a small South American island of Kotomatis on a secret mission for the U.S. government, seemingly a very traditional routine, but soon the plot reverses. The rolling guide began to let the task force members receive lunch boxes, and most of the task force members died in a very tragic way, including the boomerang captain, and the wise man who should have been the leader of the squad chose to escape from the battle, and was ordered to death by the task force supervisor Amanda Waller. In the end, only the Colonel and Harley Quinn survived, revealing that the squad was only cannon fodder that diverted the enemy, with the squad led by the Bloody Movement entering from the other side.
From this opening scene, it can be seen that the director seems to loudly announce to fans, "If you want to see the traditional routine superhero movie, please go to Disney + next door to see "Black Widow", we "X Task Force: Assembly" can not eat this set. He took out his previous housekeeping skills in the field of B-grade films, let each character leave in an extremely bloody and absurd way, let the audience feel full of bad taste, but also because of the revelation that they are just the cannon fodder sent by Ms. Waller to this beach-grabbing battle, and switch to the cold-blooded picture of Ms. Waller sneering and her colleagues betting on who will die first, and can't help but feel irony and sympathy.
Of course, since he can make the audience sympathize with these cannon fodder characters in the opening scene, he has not disappointed the audience in the portrayal of the protagonist group. The "True Protagonist Squad" consists of a mature but world-weary bloody movement, a vigorous Messenger of Peace, a cute Shark King, a heart-warming second-generation mousetrap, and a depressed polka dot man. From Ms. Waller's brief introduction and the speeches of the protagonist members at the "Starfish Project" mission introduction meeting in prison, the audience has vividly impressed each new character and wondered what sparks this squad will stir up.
Since Will Smith, the actor who played "Death Shot" in "Suicide Squad", could not continue to participate in the sequel due to scheduling problems, the task of leading the team was given to the bloody movement played by Idris Elba. Before the release, fans will worry that the bloody movement and death shooting from the team lead ability and superpower are similar, whether it will be purely a replacement role. However, the character layers of the bloody movement can be said to be richer. Because his daughter was blackmailed by Waller, the Bloody Movement was forced to participate in the mission. But in this mission, he not only led the team well against villains such as Staro the Conqueror, but also gradually cured his own demons. One of the interactions with the second generation of rat catchers makes people see that he also seems to have the ability to be a good father.
The second generation of mousetraps is the warm representative of this film, and the tragic experience with his father is one of the few tears in this absurd comedy style film, and it has become the key to defeating Staro in the end. "If rats have targets too, we should too." In the end, the seemingly weakest sister of the Mousetrap team and the rats knocked down Staro together, isn't it the same as the villains created by the Rolling Director? They are villains who even look down on their own families, but in the end they also prove to the world that they are also capable of doing their part for the world.
The Shark King, voiced by the famous action actor Sylvester Stallone, is the cute bearer of the film, and the scene of the big bite will not only not make the audience feel uncomfortable, but will find it very interesting, and James Gunn, after successfully portraying Groot in "Guardians of the Galaxy", once again let the CG character voiced by the tough guy be loved by the audience.
In this film, the most disgusting are Ms. Waller and the Messenger of Peace. For the national interests of the United States, they will stop at nothing to cover up the truth about the Starfish Project. Waller's first reaction when he learned that Staaro had begun attacks on the island was to say, "This is not within our jurisdiction, and Kotomatis has broken off his partnership with the United States." Moreover, for the White House, the fall of the enemy country can also be regarded as promoting the development of the country. The Messenger of Peace, on the other hand, is tasked with completing Waller's assignment, killing his teammates and destroying the data of the Starfish project to avoid so-called "international disputes" from occurring. Through the shaping of these two characters and the setting of the story in a third world country, in this absurd comedy still criticizes the behavior of the "world police" of the United States to bring chaos to the world, especially in contrast to the reality of the United States announcing the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, it is even more ironic.
On the contrary, the less brilliant thing about this film is the clown girl who successfully survived. Although the picture of the clown girl escaping in the middle of the middle section makes the audience feel full of violent aesthetics and the unique charm of the clown girl, her and the villain General Luna's love link is not only full of MV sense, but also a bit contrary to the tight rhythm of the whole movie, and there is no way to bring too much help to the plot of the plot.
In addition, the ending of this film is still a return to some of the old routines of superheroes fighting monsters, perhaps my requirements for rolling direction are too high, or perhaps he did too well in the opening segment. But without hesitation, Task Force X: Assemblage is still a commercial blockbuster with a variety of black humor and gory action scenes, and may be the most daring and brilliant superhero comic book adaptation in recent years.