THE SUICIDE SQUAD REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Following its release in 2016, Suicide Squad received a negative response from critics, with the majority of them saying that, despite its talented cast, they weren’t enough to “save the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing”. It has since been described as one of the worst films in the DC Extended Universe. When I first watched Suicide Squad, I enjoyed it more than most people, however, following a recent rewatch, its flaws were more noticeable. Five years after Suicide Squad’s release, a sequel has been released, however, is The Suicide Squad an improvement over its predecessor? 

The Suicide Squad sees Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) joining a new team of villains, including Robert DuBois/Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena), Nanaue/King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) and Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), who are all sent to the island nation of Corto Maltese to destroy Jotunheim, a Nazi-era prison and laboratory which holds political prisoners and conducted experiments. Gaius Grieves/The Thinker works with the Corto Maltese government as the laboratory's chief scientist, overseeing Project Starfish.

Suicide Squad was written and directed by David Ayer who wrote the script for the 2001 Oscar winning film, Training Day. Because of this, expectations were high for his take on Suicide Squad, unfortunately, it was a disappointment. However, I think the main reason why it didn’t impress was because the studio, Warner Bros., interfered with some of the creative decisions, including forced humour, a PG-13 rating and lack of violence. Following his experience making Suicide Squad, Ayer quit, meaning that its sequel needed a new director to fix some of the original films’ issues and James Gunn was hired. I think that this was a great choice as, because he directed Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel which was released in 2017, Gunn has established as a filmmaker who knows how to make a superhero film that is thoroughly entertaining. Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is an improvement over its predecessor as the visuals are vibrant and imaginative, unapologetically violent, fast-paced and action-packed with hardly a dull moment to be found in its 132 minute runtime and, as a result, is one of the best films in the DCEU.

The Suicide Squad features a star studded cast with Robbie returning as the eccentric Harley Quinn and continues to steal every scene she appears in. Also returning are Viola Davis, who delivers a fierce performance as Amanda Palmer who is in charge of the mission, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, who leads the team. Of the new additions to the cast, the standouts are Elba as Bloodsport, Cena as Peacemaker and Melchior as Ratcatcher 2. After Will Smith’s departure following his appearance as Deadshot in Suicide Squad, it was rumoured that Elba would replace him, however, Gunn wanted him to portray a new character so that Smith could return to Deadshot. This was a great choice as Elba delivers a fierce portrayal of Bloodsport. Another memorable character is Nanaue/King Shark who is voiced by Stallone. Although he’s a man eating fish-human hybrid, Nanaue’s personality is similar to that of Groot from Guardians and isn’t all that bright. One of the weakest aspects of Suicide Squad was its main villain, however, one of the antagonists in The Suicide Squad is The Thinker. Because he’s best known for recently portraying the Twelfth Doctor in the popular sci-fi series, Doctor Who, Capaldi may seem like an odd choice for the role of the villainous Thinker, however, he delivers a perfectly menacing performance.

Those who are squeamish are best off avoiding watching The Suicide Squad as the violence is more severe and gory, with characters being killed off in gruesome ways. However, like the Guardians films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Suicide Squad never takes itself too seriously and is a lot more fun than its predecessor. 

Although The Suicide Squad is a sequel that is an improvement over its predecessor, it’s not without its flaws. The main narrative, which sees villains teaming up on a mission, is predictable. The first half focuses on the team’s journey to their destination. Most of the humour comes from the rivalry between Bloodsport and Peacemaker. An early scene sees the pair trying to outdo the other as they kill of a group of soldiers they believe are keeping Flag captive. A subplot sees Quinn separated from her team and captured by the army and being taken to the President’s palace where she is proposed to by Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto) who is the dictator of Corto Maltese. This is where The Suicide Squad is at its least interesting as it distracts from the main narrative. The Suicide Squad is at its best during the second half as it features exciting action sequences. 

Like most superhero films, especially those in the MCU, The Suicide Squad has a post-credits scene that is worth watching as it links to an upcoming spin-off series that involves one of the main characters.

With The Suicide Squad, director James Gunn has created a sequel that doesn’t disappoint as it’s unapologetically violent, action-packed and the star-studded cast are all on top form. 

8/10