Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

​

Movie
Rooting for the bad guy’s is nothing new. There’s a distinct love for anti heroes running through just about all of comics, but very few have gotten as much acclaim as the DC universe’s Suicide Squad (although I have a love of anything Punisher, Lobo or Venom which taints my view of Suicide Squad just a bit). Made up of a miscreant band of misfit villains, they are oversaw by the cruel ARGUS agent, Amanda Waller, and forced to do hit missions for the government in order to earn back a little of their life back (usually by Waller slicing years off their sentence for completing said mission). Couple this with the fact that the DCAU (DC Animated Universe) is trying to push for more R-rated animated films, and I was a bit intrigued. Unfortunately there has been a bit of a mixed bag reception for the other R rated DCAU films. Gotham by Gaslight and Justice League Dark were pretty nifty side stories with said rating, Batman: The Killing Joke was met with some rather controversial success due to changing the story quite a bit. However, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay seemed like the perfect venue for the harder rating. It’s all about the villains, and the villains they use have zero compunction with killing, so why not!? While it’s got some cool things going for it, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay falls firmly in the middle of the DCAU R-rated films, and makes for some solid entertainment despite its episodic (and fatalistic) nature.

Yup, Amanda Waller (Vanessa Williams) is back at it again. This timer her infamous “Suicide Squad” is going to have to earn their keep. After a mission gone bad, She has only her worst villains to send out this time. Headed by Deadshot (Christian Slater), and comprised of Copperhead (Gideon Emery), Harley Quinn (Tara Strong), Captain Boomerang (Liam McIntyre), Killer Frost (Kristen Bauer Van Straten…...E.g., Pam from True Blood) and Bronze Tiger (Billy Brown), the Suicide Squad has one mission. Find a mysterious “card” that has been stolen. Thinking this is just another mission, the Suicide Squad runs into some serious competition when they find out they’re not the only ones after this card. So is Zoom (C. Thomas Howell), as well as Vandal Savage (Jim Pirri), and each of the two super villains (along with their cadre of henchmen) are out to get this card, no matter the cost.

It doesn’t take long for group to figure out what the McGuffin is in this movie. The card happens to be a magical artifact from Dr. Fate, which is a “get out of hell free” medallion. Meaning, whoever possesses the card at the time of their death will bypass going to hell (if they’re unworthy) and grants them immediate access to heaven. For all of these lifelong criminals the chance to bypass their well deserved fate is something that is MORE than tantalizing. It’s something ACTUALLY worth dying for. Meaning, it’s an all out free for all to get this card before someone dies with it on them. Zoom wants it for a mysterious reason, while Vandal Savage wants it for the obvious ones (you can’t live forever), leaving every one of the Suicide Squad hoping they get this card BEFORE getting their head blown off from the vindictive Amanda Waller when they inevitably mess up.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is an interesting little side quest in the DCAU. It doesn’t follow the traditional Justice League or Batman sub stories in the New 52 universe that has been serialized the last few years, and actually is kind of a fatalistic little movie. I won’t say who lives and who dies, but it’s really more of WHO LIVES?, being that 80% of the characters in the film get slaughtered in violent ways at the hands of their fellow villains. You know this is a one off movie when literally half the villains in the DC universe get offed by the end of the hour and twenty six minute run time! As such, it’s a kind of cool little diversion that is basically like watching a game of hot potato, where the card is the potato, and everyone is trying to shoot the people who DON’T have the card in an effort to get to heaven.

It’s a bit disjointed and feels like too much of a one off, but Sam Liu (who has become the defacto director of the DCAU) does a solid job at keeping the film tonally similar to the other films that have been released. That and the animation feels so very similar to the New 52 reboot films with Batman that it almost feels like those heroes could show up at any moment. Voice acting is good, although there is ONE glaring weakness. Christian Slater just doesn’t sound like Deadshot AT ALL. Slater has that sort of nerdy tone to his voice, and it’s really weird to his his voice come out of the tough guy Deadshot’s mouth.




Rating:

Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, sexual content, brief graphic nudity and some drug material




4K Video: Video:

Just like the Blu-ray, the 4K UHD’s picture is crisp and clean, devoid of many problems, and solidly animated. The colors are what you would expect of a DCAU film. Greens and blues and reds all pop nicely, while the darker shades look appropriately grim and dim. Blood is a deep maroon, and Zoom’s yellow suit is vibrant as can be. The thing is, it looks a bit TOO MUCH like the Blu-ray. In fact, there’s hardly any difference at all in the video. There’s less banding (although not devoid, as the DC animated films from Warner seem to have a certain amount baked into the master), and I noticed less black crush, but the detail is pretty soft for a 4K UHD discs. As such, it’s really not any upgrade to the very nice looking Blu-ray. there’s a mild increase in overall clarity, and I noticed less black crush, but still, you could almost mistake either disc for the other if you’re not paying attention and put in the wrong disc.





Audio:

Warner has employed the same 5.1 DTS-HD MA track across both the 4K UHD and the Blu-ray, so no upgrade there. I was actually a little dissapointed that there was no Atmos track, but I really shouldn’t be surprised as NONE of the DCAU films have gotten anything other than a standard 5.1 DTS-HD MA track, whether that be Blu-ray or the handful of 4K UHD titles that have sprung up over the last year. Still, it’s a solid track which follows in the footsteps of many a Warner animated film over the years. Vocals are crisp and clean, while the action is loud and aggressive. Gunshots and fisticuffs sound low and powerful, with deep bass and quite a lot of emphasis in the surround channels. Dynamic range is moderately wide, and everything evenly balanced across all six channels. An overall great track that does well in the repertoire of WB DCAU films.









Extras:

• A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, The Death of Superman: "The Death of Superman" – The Death of Superman is widely considered one of the most popular stories in the Superman canon and the DCU. This sneak peek at the exciting new film discusses the story and its place in pop culture.
• Outback Rogue: Captain Boomerang (Featurette) – Audiences get a deeper look at this unconventional, yet entertaining villain from Down Under and how he's evolved from The Flash universe to the Suicide Squad.
• Nice Shot, Floyd! The Greatest Marksman in the DCU (Featurette) – Floyd Lawton, AKA Deadshot, is one of the most popular antiheroes in the DC pantheon. An excellent marksman and assassin, he often brags that he never misses his shot. Take a closer look at this fascinating character.
• The Power of Plot Devices, MacGuffins and Red Herrings (Featurette) – An insightful examination of the power of a good plot device and the important influence it has over story.
• Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay Commentary – The creative filmmaking team of screenwriter/co-producer Alan Burnett and executive producer James Tucker share their thoughts and stories on the characters, themes and development of Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay.

Final Score: ​

I liked Hell to Pay, but it doesn’t rank up there with my favorite DCAU movies, even with the added violence and gore of the R-rating. It’s fun, bloody, and it does suffer a bit from having a McGuffin (the card) play as the main character the whole time. It’s kind of a weird mixture of Battle Royale and super heroes, making it a unique entry into the universe. Warner’s 4K UHD disc is hard one to recommend OVER the Blu-ray, being that the audio is identical on both discs, AND the 4K upgrade isn’t the wildest one out there (nearly indistinguishable from the 1080p disc). This is one of those situations where I would say “get whichever one’s cheaper” and go from there. Still, a fun watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Christian Slater, Vanessa Williams, Billy Brown
Directed by: Sam Liu
Written by: Alan Burnett, John Ostrander,
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish (Castilian) DD 2.0, Spanish (Latin), French DD 5.1
Subtitles:English SDH, Spanish, French
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: R
Runtime: 86 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: April 10th, 2018

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check this one out.