Upon its release back in 2016, Suicide Squad received generally mixed to negative reviews from critics and audiences. Regardless, the film grossed nearly $750 million versus a $175 million budget and was the 10th highest-grossing film of 2016. Warner Bros. wanted to fast-track a sequel with David Ayer set to return to direct given its financial success. However, Ayer left to work on a Gotham City Sirens spin-off, so the studio searched for a new director. Mel Gibson, Jaume Collet-Serra, and Gavin O’Connor were set to direct but left for one reason or another. Around this time, Marvel/Disney had fired James Gunn following some old tweets uncovered by conservative trolls. Seizing the opportunity, Warner Bros. hired Gunn initially for a Superman movie, but he chose a Suicide Squad movie instead. They agreed, and The Suicide Squad hit both theaters and HBO Max in August 2021.
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Synopsis
Intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembles a new team to infiltrate the South American nation of Corto Maltese. There’s Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior). Accompanied by returning members Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), the team must destroy something extraterrestrial. Their mission is to kidnap The Thinker (Peter Capaldi), a scientist working on “Project Starfish,” which involves the extraterrestrial creature. Unfortunately, the mission goes south when most team members get killed, and Flag and Harley get kidnapped. Thankfully, Flag hooked up with some freedom fighters looking to take down the corrupt government and agree to help him. While heroes make their way to Jötunheim, where the government keeps the creature stored, they get more than expected. Will they save the world, and who in this suicide squad will survive?
Review
Unlike the 2016 film, which had potential but was a massive letdown, this one rights all the wrongs. It makes sense James Gunn directed this, given they were trying to emulate Guardians of the Galaxy in the original. Like he did with that film, he manages to take several D-list characters and make them fully three-dimensional. Who would’ve thought a character called “Polkadot Man” would be as memorable as he was? On that note, the entire cast does a phenomenal job, each one getting their moment to shine. Idris Elba is a solid replacement for Will Smith, and his back-and-forths with John Cena are hilarious. Daniela Melchior is surprisingly sweet as Ratcatcher 2 and has some cute moments with the loveable King Shark. Also, this is probably the best Margot Robbie has ever done as Harley Quinn, showing real humanity in her performance. Even Joel Kinnaman is better in this!
Like before, Viola Davis continues to be the best part of the movie, giving a solid and commanding performance. Even the way the film handles its cannon fodder is better than the original, but that’s getting into spoilers. The action is stylish and frenetic, and the editing feels fluid and dynamic rather than the choppy mess from before. If I had any complaints about the film, I’d say the biggest is its villain, The Thinker. Granted, Peter Capaldi does a good job, but he’s not given much to do or is all that interesting. He’s not quite as bland as Ronan the Accuser, but it’s still a blemish on an otherwise fantastic movie. The film goes by quickly at just over two hours but slows down just enough to flesh out the characters. Overall, The Suicide Squad is a massive improvement over its predecessor and works as its own thing.
Buy The Suicide Squad from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3tbjRkV.
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