6 Lessons That Warner Bros. Must Learn For Suicide Squad 2

The tone of the first film was disturbingly inconsistent. Playful and stylish pop music plays over surprisingly brutal and disturbing scenes. This undermines tension and the development of themes, and is at times even annoying.

Scenes that were supposed to have emotional impact were muted by either bright colours, unnecessary quips or upbeat music. This gave the impression that there were no emotional stakes in the film, as the contrast in tone removed any potential drama.

The music, on the whole, was seen as one of the film’s best qualities in the abstract, with a wide selection of both modern and classic hits, but very few of them matched the tone of the scenes they were played over - one exception being the use of Come Baby Come in Harley’s fight scene with a baseball bat in the elevator. Music can be used effectively for juxtaposition, such as the use of I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday in Black Mirror’s eerie White Christmas episode, however, the contrasts in Suicide Squad seemed unintentional.

Suicide Squad 2 can have a fun soundtrack, but it should be deployed carefully and intentionally, rather than as an afterthought in the fallout from Batman V Superman. Director Gavin O’Connor needs to decide whether Suicide Squad 2 will have a lighter tone or be more serious, and Warner Bros. should respect his decision with minimal interference.