Synopsis

From Google:

The government sends the most dangerous supervillains in the world -- Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Harley Quinn and others -- to the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Armed with high-tech weapons, they trek through the dangerous jungle on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Col. Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave.

Review

I am going to be honest: I did not hate Suicide Squad when I saw it the first time in 2016. There, I said it. That is my truth, and I am owning it… I was 12 years old and didn't know any better. But... With time came taste, and I realized that the first Suicide Squad is sloppy, overstuffed, and overall, just a miss. I realized after seeing The Suicide Squad that I haven't seen the first movie since 2017… but the good news is that with this wholly superior version, you can forget all about it. I mean, this film doesn’t completely neglect the existence of the first film or Birds of Prey – not much time is spent on the exposition regarding the origins of the Squad, as it is in the first film, so in a way, you might have to have seen the first one if you want more context regarding what the Suicide Squad is – but it is not necessary at ALL to have seen them in order to enjoy this film. 

James Gunn's The Suicide Squad is a gory, funny, heartfelt, and gorgeous movie that sets itself apart with its unique character work and visuals. I really, REALLY liked this movie. I had my reservations/doubts (for obvious reasons) but I am so glad to say that they were completely unfounded as this is one of the best films so far this year, one of the best DC films to date, and some of the most fun I’ve had watching a comic book movie in a long time. The R-rating was necessary and I’m SO HAPPY they went for it. I’m glad that James Gunn fought for it because I don’t think that you could make this movie successfully (as evidenced by the 2016 version) without the graphic nature this film has. I’m not completely familiar with the comics, but if I’m not mistaken, one of the hallmarks of the Suicide Squad comics is their graphic, vulgar, and silly nature. I think that was clearly needed and missing from the first film. The film focuses on a group of villains that do despicable and evil things, and to couch that in a PG-13, family friendly film just doesn’t seem right to me. I will say that there are blood and guts EVERYWHERE so if you’re at all squeamish about that, this is not the film for you. After I saw the film, I tweeted that I could tell James Gunn came from a horror background because there were definitely moments when I squirmed, particularly when the film discusses and shows torture and its aftermath and some of the things with Starro were kind of gross.

I also LOVE the character work done here. I think it is some of the best I’ve seen in the span of one CB film. This film has SO MANY CHARACTERS and yet, it still manages to give each one their spotlight and makes you care about everyone. Interestingly enough, the character that had the least to do/least development was Harley Quinn, but I think that’s because she already has her own movie. It did at times feel like she was kind of there obligatorily and it felt a little like a side character, but once she joins the team, she’s in there FULLY. I loved watching the rivalry and interactions between Peacemaker (John Cena) and Bloodsport (Idris Elba). There’s one scene where they try to one-up each other on their kills that is hilarious – this film is very funny throughout, but more on that later. The film explores Polka Dot Man’s mommy issues in a very… interesting way (very funny as well). Ratcatcher 2 is, oddly enough, the heart of the movie. There’s a flashback scene with her father (surprisingly played by Taika Waititi) in the third act that is very affecting. Ratcatcher 2 and Polka Dot Man were my personal favorite characters. All this and other aspects like Bloodsport’s relationship with his daughter, King Shark and his sense of childhood innocence, etc. were very much appreciated. I love that this film was character focused, which I prefer to more plot-focused scripts.

On the note of the script, it’s great. Filled with vulgar humor and some very effective gags, James Gunn has done it again. As is expected, not ALL of the jokes hit, but the majority do. Even outside of the written humor, a lot of the humor/memorable moments comes from just the insanity of what’s occurring on screen. Some of the deaths are so gruesome, you can’t help but to laugh. Also, the visuals in this film are very strong. Images like the Squad marching as a team in the rain or them traversing through the jungles of Corto Maltese with a bright orange sun-glow proved to be very striking and give the film yet another layer of success. One nitpicky thing, however: I thought there were times that the camera movements were too wild and jerky. I got a little dizzy during the opening credits, especially.

There’s a scene about halfway through the film that I think perfectly describes why this film is so successful (and this scene is shown a bit in the trailer so it’s not revealing anything). Harley Quinn, in an effort to escape custody, fights a hallway full of men. Instead of blood splatter, what comes out of the men is flowers. Not only is this a very interesting visual choice, I think its very smart in that it represents the film’s heart underneath it’s incredibly violent exterior. This film knows exactly what it is, but it doesn’t express it in ways that directly tell the audience that. It doesn’t include any meta or self-referential humor, which can be hit-or-miss, but its sheer and unapologetic craziness lets us know that it does not want to be anything other than what it is… and I love that.

The Suicide Squad was excellent. This is definitely one of the best, if not the best, DC movie to date (excluding Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy), and I don’t think it would be far-fetched to say that this is probably one of the best comic book movies I’ve seen, at least in the last 2 years… This is James Gunn’s magnum opus, even more so than Guardians of the Galaxy (which I love). I can tell that he really had fun here and was given a lot of free reign to do whatever he wanted. I do understand that studio intervention was a large reason as to why the first film was not well done, so to see a film that clearly had a singular vision/focus behind it is very refreshing. All in all, I really REALLY liked this, and it is one of my favorite movies of the year so far (probably #2 behind In the Heights). See it in IMAX if you can.