The Suicide Squad
By James Davidson
“The Suicide Squad” is director James Gunn’s sequal to 2016’s “Suicide Squad”, based on the DC comic of the same name. Supervillain Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) returns with a new team of antiheros, including Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Peacemaker (John Cena). The group of ne’er do wells has been assembled by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and have had their brains implanted with explosives in order to go on a suicide mission for the government. The film was released on August 6th 2021 and is available in theaters and the HBO Max streaming service.
I thought that the original Suicide Squad was one of DC’s rare hits. While it definitely had room for improvement, it was miles ahead of most of DC’s movie universes movies and was very enjoyable and fun. I was looking forward to the sequel after learning that James Gunn would be directing and that they were adding Idris Elba to the cast. I was delighted to discover that Gunn hit this one out of the park, improving on the original and making this iteration even more enjoyable.
“The Suicide Squad” perfectly blends DC’s usual dark, gritiness with the ridiculous self awareness that this is a comic book movie and not to be taken too seriously. Something that DC films have struggled with historically. While the premise is dark, there is just the right amount of humour blended in to keep the film from getting too heavy. King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone) is a giant, walking, talking shark, who counterbalances super strength and rows of nasty teeth with a wit that is slightly above a rock. King Shark provides tremendous comic relief and all of his jokes are perfectly placed and hilarious.
While the humour lightens the mood, there is plenty of action throughout the movie to keep you on the edge of your seat. All of the action sequences were wonderfully shot and choreographed and were very exciting. There is quite a bit of gore and violence as well as some course language earning this movie an R rating. So, you might want to leave the children at home while going to see this film.
My one qualm about the flick is, Harley Quinn. It might be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like DC tries to shoehorn Margot Robbie’s character into every storyline whether or not she belongs there. While her presence in this film makes a little more sense than in previous movies, I still feel like her storyline didn’t quite flow with the rest of the movie and felt a bit forced to me. It didn’t make the movie unwatchable or unenjoyable, I just think the writers could have done a better job blending her plotline in with the rest of the story.
“The Suicide Squad” is a fantastic, fun, action packed flick that is one of the best films that Warner Brother/DC has put out to date. It exceeds its predecessor, which is no easy task, and perfectly combines a gritty, action packed storyline with witty humour in just the right places. It earns 4 out of 5 stars.
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