Suicide Squad (2021) review

Suicide Squad. Not the shitty one.

Suicide Squad is the newest DC movies, directed from James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and it was released both in cinemas and in HBO's streaming service HBO Max. So, how does it stack up against the other DC movies and more importantly, how better is it from its shitty predecessor.

No connection whatsoever

The movie had made it clear that it wants almos nothing from its predecessor which was released in 2016. And I can understand why. I have not been able to express how much I hate 2016's Suicide Squad so I am going to do it right now. I would rather bleach my eyes than watch that monstrosity ever again. Suicide Squad in 2016 had no plot, cringy acting, an even cringier Joker, the glamourization of a toxic relationship, bland action, boring characters and so much more than I have to dedicate a whole blog just to get my hate out of my system. Anyway, the newer movie is not named "Suicide Squad 2". Instead, it tries to differentiate itself by being called "The Suicide Squad".

Thankfully, some well received characters make their return to this completely different film.

Characters:

Fans were bombarded by a lot of names and characters thrugh the trailers and nobody knew what to expect. I mean Suicide Squad's characters are the heart and soul of the movie.

In my opinion , I felt that it would feel disjointed and a little bit packed with that many characters. However, Gunn really pulled it off.

The first thing we see is the Suicide Squad doing a mission in the nation of Corto Maltese in which we see our new set of characters comprised of Savant, Captain Boomerang, Blackguard, Weazer and other silly characters that no comic book reader would expect to see in a live action setting.

The team is also accompanied from fan favourite Harley Quinn portrayed by Margot Robbie and Rick Flag who were already established from the previous movies.

However, it is revealed that there are two taskforces which one is revealed as the distraction. In this team we see our first look of Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Polka Dot Man and Ratcatcher (2). The characters are a nice addition to the DC's extended universe since they add a much-needed character diversity (not the race kind) and also gives the chance of non-comic book readers to familiarize themselves with C and D grade characters.

Firstly, I gotta say, props to Gunn. In this movie alone he managed to make most of these characters fun, colorfu and with depth. Moreover, he highlights most of their motivations and shows us glimpses of the characters' tragic pasts which lets the viewer acknowledge how human (or shark) they are.

My personal favourite out of the bunch were the three outsiders Polka Dot Man (yes, really), Ratcatcher and King Shark. These new characters really shine as the movie takes its time to move out of the story and give us glances of their soul in some scenes like King Shark dancing with some sea creatures he found. It is also insane how the movie actually made Polka Dott Man a serious character with a disturbing background and an even more disturbing motivaiton ( he really does not care if he dies). His powers also look pretty cool and the R rating really helps ( more on that later).

Idris Elba has been rumored that he would be replacing Will Smith's Deadshot but he was given the role of Bloodsport instead and he absolutely crushed it. This is what happens when you give your actors a script instead of allowing them to act like themselves (cough cough Smith). He is the character given the most attention and it shows. He is the leader of the pack and he has to deal with all the craziness that follows. His acting along with his daughter was outstanding and it gave the movie the seriousness that it needed to escape the silliness (the good kind!). In addition, while all the costumes are very comic accurate, Bloodsport's mask and costume steal the show.

Peter Capaldi's the Thinker was also a nice addition to the cast. The veteran actor showed us a bit of his Scottish charm when he had a whole political rant ready to go.

John Cena also makes a surprisingly good performance as Peacemaker by adding a touch of humor on the character. However, this character plays a bigger role in the political commentary that the movie offers.

Plot: A lack of magic

James Gunn must have noticed how terrible the idea to implement magic in the first Suicide Squad was. I mean how do you even explain battling bullets with magic? No one knows.

This resulted into a much more grounded plot that allowed every character to show their powers with the dick- eh i mean power- contest between Bloodsport and Peacemaker being one of the highlights.

Moreover, as shown from Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn knows how to direct action. And he knows his songs. I mean the combination of action and music is just vintage Gunn. A variety of genres of music accompanies the disfunctional ass kicking team which includes songs from artists such as the Pixies, grandson, the Frattelis and more. Check out the soundtrack if you want, it's pretty awesome.

Anyway, back to the action. The movie is a blockbuster and it is aware of it. There are a lot of explosions, a fucking building goes down and there are a lot and I mean a lot of deaths. Creative deaths, casual deaths, dramatic deaths, I mean you get the picture. And that is helped by one thing. One thing that if DC incorporates, it is going to make them stand out from Marvel and aid them to get the following they deserve. And that is..

The R rating: a necessary step towards the right direction

Comic book movies are afraid of R ratings. They think that it will bottleneck their performance in the box office. However, as shown from movies like Blade,Logan and Deadpool, if the movie has a solid plot, a good structure and is straight up fun, its going to break the box office. I mean everyone loves silly gore. We all miss it from back in the day. And damn if this movie is not afraid to be gory. From explosive bullets to being eaten alive, this movie has it all.

While the majority claims that an R rating is unecessary, I will disagree. When the director is given the opportunity to show more gore in a comic book movie, he is provided with a much bigger variety of choices. And this includes the powers of the characters. I mean Polka Dot Man fucking oblitirates people left and right, making him a badass. I cannot even fathom how it would look in a PG rating.

Additionally with a PG rating we would not be able to see Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn going on a fucking rampage, killing people left and right with her stereotypical psychopathy.

I mean when you compare this scene to the one in Bird's of Prey is like day and night. R ratings work and it shows. I just hope Marvel and DC comprehend it fast enough to allow fans to see the real versions of characters they lover whose brutality is an essential character trait. That includes characters such as Deathstroke, Deadpool , Moon Knight, Taskmaster, Lobo and more.

Overall rating: 8.2/10

The Suicide Squad is an amazing fun, regardless of the fact if the viewer is a comic boon fan or not. It is funny, it is fun and it is action packed (rhyme not intended). If I had to choose the biggest weakness of the movie, I would say the villain. I mean, even with the political subliminal messages, it is still a fucking big Starfish. It is pretty lame. But still, I did not mind it that much because it fit the tone of the movie.

The combination of music, action and the diverse characters is enough to make Suicide Squad one of the strongest movies in the DCEU, surpassing the junk that is Wonder Woman 2 and Aquaman.

Suicide Squad is out now on both HBO Max and Cinemas. Go watch it.