Title: The Suicide Squad.
Rated: R.
Director: James Gunn.
Story: James Gunn.
Release Date: 2021.
Runtime: 132 min.
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Comedy.
Cast: Michael Rooker, Viola Davis, John Ostrander, Joel Kinnaman, Nathan Fillion, Jai Courtney, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, Margot Robbie, Stephen Blackehart, Idris Elba, John Cena, and many more!
Budget: $185,000,000.
Box office: To Be Determined.
My Overall Rating:
Following Disney and Marvel Studios’ decision in 2018 to cut ties with director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) over controversial tweets from his past, he was picked up by Warner Bros. to replace director Gavin O’Connor. Given all the creative freedom needed to bring his anarchic vision of this band of mischief to the big screen, he offers a studio-meddling-free soft reboot of director David Ayer’s Suicide Squad (2016), easily enjoyable without prior knowledge of the previous movies’ story. Set within the DC Extended Universe, the latest movie carries on to introduce a mosaic of new and unknown villains, based on characters from DC Comics, who join forces through unusual circumstances to carry out suicide missions, embracing heroism without much of a choice.
What is The Suicide Squad (2021) about? Sent on a mission by intelligence officer Amanda Waller to a South American island called Corto Maltese, two teams of Task Force X, comprised of Belle Reve inmates, mostly supervillains, are sent on an infiltration mission to destroy a Nazi-era laboratory known as Jötunheim which houses a secret experiment known as “Project Starfish”. Clueless of the nature of their task, they face the recent establishment of an Anti-American regime within the government and look to come out alive to profit from the promised lighter sentence they were offered. Unfortunately for them, their assignment is no walk in the park. Not only is failure rewarded with the detonation of their heads but the risks are never less dramatic than death itself.
If it says anything, this movie is what the original Suicide Squad movie should’ve been. An unabashed and viscerally violent journey where bonds are created along the way to the ultimate destination. With a straightforward and uncomplicated plot as well as a predictable twist, it offers plenty of ambitious and staggering narrative decisions (including numerous deaths). The story at its core is not too different of that seen in the first Suicide Squad but is colourfully executed with heart, soul, and plenty of gore. With no indication whatsoever of any possible chemistry, the crew organically grow into a beautifully violent unit that will inevitably steal the hearts of countless fans. In fact, the story is remarkably carried by a stellar cast, with notable performances by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), and Peacemaker (John Cena).
Filled with authentic heart-warming moments, riddled with entertaining dark humour (sure, at times, jokes do fall on deaf ears), and brimming with visually stunning gore, this high-budget blockbuster is an ambitious yet welcomed step in the right direction. Despite Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn presence, fully established by prior movies, The Suicide Squad also succeeds through its peculiar characters who all ultimately feel expendable within this underground universe of crisis event resolution. As each character is treated with sensitivity, viewers are bound to feel attached to tactful development and their irreversibly broken nature, cheering along, hoping to see them become the heroes they never got to be for others but also for themselves. It is this unforgiving world and ridiculous circumstances that ultimately gives these characters the chance to become something more than their criminal identities.
The movie’s viciously gorgeous aesthetics also play a huge role in turning this movie into an unforgettable journey. With spectacular dynamic camera angles, clever titles screens, and exciting (yet very bloody) macabre sequences, there is something cathartically satisfying to watch the casualty count grow at an exponential rate. Add in the impeccable soundtrack selection filled with avant-garde music that simply fits perfectly with the unique dynamism of this group of misfits, there isn’t a moment throughout the movie that won’t feel like everything is about to beautifully explode and end in blissful chaos. It is in fact in that tendency towards calamity that director James Gunn finds refuge to his ideas and gives fans one of the most exciting movies of the year.
The Suicide Squad (2021) is a deliriously hyperviolent soft reboot sending D-list supervillains into treacherous grounds on a life-threatening mission.
The Suicide Squad (2021) is available on HBO Max and in theaters as of today.
Have you read any Suicide Squad comics?
Have you seen The Suicide Squad (2021)? Will you? What did you think about it?
Share your thoughts with me!
Roars and Echoes 
Fantastic review Lashaan! This is going to be our Saturday night movie this week.
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Thanks, Kim! I am convinced you guys are going to have a blast! 😁
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I’m sure we will! Speaking of awesome movies, have you seen Netflix’s Gunpowder Milkshake?
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Heard it was a female-centric John Wick but never got around to it! That good, huh? 😯
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I think you’ll like it.☺️
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Great review, Lashaan!
This might actually be worth viewing, which would be in itself no mean feat for DCEU! 😛 Gunn managed to get quite a cast for this movie, and Elba is watchable even in total duds like Pacific Rim (not sure about Cena, though ;)) I feel like bloody mayhem is what Gunn does best 😀
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Thanks, Ola! I think you’d appreciate it for its creative freedom, unrestrained by any of the overarching DCEU “mess”. Gunn is also quite known for writing the screenplay for numerous horror movies, most with a comedic overtone too, so this isn’t uncharted territory for him. And you’re right, I too can watch anything with Elba in it, he just needs a good script to make use of his charisma and general acting talents. And I’m with you regarding Cena. In fact, I’m not a huge fan of any of the wrestlers-turned-actors, like Bautista, Cena, and The Rock. But I can tell you that Cena does a good job as Peacemaker here. Batista did well as Drax. Now I’m hoping The Rock can redeem himself with his soon-to-be role as Black Adam cause otherwise, I find his acting skills weak…
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I’ll be watching this one, I’m sure. As for Johnson, I liked his singing in Moana, and that’s about it 🤣 All those wrestlers-turned-actors don’t really act; they look well enough on screen when they can just be themselves and that’s probably the extent of their acting abilities. As long as none of them tries to play Hamlet, I’m okay with it 🤣
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200% with you there hahahahah
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Fantastic review Lashaan! i loved Guardian of the Galaxy but this looks is too weird and chaotic for me. Nice to see Idris Elba and Peter Capaldi in there though.
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If you can imagine a Guardian of the Galaxy for adults, all occurring on Earth, you’d have a decent idea of what The Suicide Squad is. 😛 If you ever dare try it, I hope you have as much fun I did, Nicki! 😀
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I have to watch this when you say it was better than first Suicide Squad. Amazing review, Lashaan!
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In all honesty, it’s way better than Suicide Squad (2016). I hope you get the chance to try it out, Yesha! Thanks for reading. 😀
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Thanks, good to know they did it well this time!
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Way better! 😉 Hope you have a blast with it when you get around to checking it out, my friend. Thanks for reading!
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Not for me
Glad you got such a kick out of it though 😀
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Yeh, you can expect all the ultraviolence of Spawn in this one. 😉
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5 stars? Great! Going on my watch list 🙂
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I imagine it shows 5 stars on the Reader but it’s actually a 4.5 hahah Glad to put it on your watch list though! 😀
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LOL it sure looks like 5 stars to me!!
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My initial thoughts before reading your review were that this likely wouldn’t be for me. I don’t know anything about the characters. I’m not very drawn to the DC universe. I’ve grown weary of all the comics-based superhero/mutant movies. I could keep listing reasons. But after the review you do have me curious. I checked and it’s not yet available for my Netflix DVD queue, but I’ll keep watching and perhaps give this one a try. And maybe I’ll even have a good time watching it. 🙂
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And James Gunn does exactly that. Play around with unknown characters (most of them anyway) who have a troubling history. Besides one mention of Superman, everything else strictly revolves around these villains and it’s impressive what he achieves with this quirky and insane bunch. I would love to see how you’d fare with this latest “standalone” movie. Unfortunately, I doubt it’ll ever go on Netflix though since it’s being streamed on HBO MAX, another streaming service. You’ll probably have to pick up a DVD/Bluray of it in the future or check it out in theaters before it’s taken off it.
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This film would appear to be quite the hit, huh? Interesting what can happen when you have someone like James Gunn calling the shots, huh? Alternatively, the lesson may be that if you have a flawed movie on your hands and want a second crack at it, all you have to do is add “The” to the title. I may have to check this one out myself.
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It’s pretty much an adult iteration of Guardians of the Galaxy and he does a good job juggling so many characters with all that creative freedom he was given. As for the odd title choice. I have no argument there. At least it begins a new trend with the next Batman movie being called “The Batman”. Hope you enjoy this when you get around to it. Thanks for reading!
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I’m thinking to check this out. I’ve yet to see the first one… don’t really care to, but Idris is in this so… Imma check him out. 🙃
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I’m sure you’ll have a blast no matter what then. 😀
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Sounds and looks good. I’ve seen positive reviews from my trusted sources so I probably will see this at some point.
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I hope you have a good time with it when you get around to it. I think this might surprise you in a good way too! 😀
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I’ve heard that this movie is actually good. Sadly it’s not performing too well. Most movies haven’t been doing too well, but it seems like there’s superhero fatigue, combined with a number of people still being afraid to watch movies in theaters (if they’re even allowed to open yet where you are). On that note, Black Widow most likely lost money for Disney, for the first time in MCU history. Combine that with the fact that the first Suicide Squad was a cinematic disaster, and you have a lot going against this one.
I’m sure I’ll see it at some point. After all, I saw the first one despite how bad it was, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to it.
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So much can help explain that though. R-rated. Released simultaneously in theaters AND on HBO MAX (streaming). Pandemic. Casual viewers who just think it’s another flop based solely on Ayer’s Suicide Squad. It definitely deserves more success than what it is currently able to get. The most important is that studios recognize its quality and look to make sequels or build on its appeal.
Black Widow, however, also suffered from some of the similar issues, mostly because of its Disney+ and theaters release but, for me, it was a weaker installment in the MCU though.
I highly recommend this one though. I’m convinced you’ll enjoy it way more than Ayer’s version, which wasn’t COMPLETELY bad too. 😀
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This movie was SO good.
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Absolutely agree! 😀
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Your review is great. I saw the first “Suicide Squad” in 2016 and didn’t mind it. But this might appeal to me more. I’m glad to hear that each moment acts differently, like heartwarming or intense.
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The 2016 movie wasn’t awful and it could’ve been way better, and this 2021 proves it. 😀 Thanks for reading, Sunayna!
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I was one of the few didn’t think the other Suicide Squad was appalling. I didn’t think it was great, but the vitriol it gained was a bit of a mystery to me.
The new one is somewhat better I suppose, but this one floated by without too much offence.
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I didn’t completely hate it but I felt like there was some intrusion in the director’s vision and an issue in how the story was told. Glad to hear you weren’t too disappointed by this new one though. Thanks for reading!
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