The Suicide Squad (2021)

The Suicide Squad Review

By Emily Hubbard

Is this the best superhero movie ever made? James Gunn finds the perfect balance between humour, heart, and gore

5/5 cameras 🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥

- Directed by: James Gunn

- Starring: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Viola Davis (and SO many more)

- Where to find it: In Cinema Now

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 You could be forgiven for thinking that the movie market has been oversaturated with superhero content in 2021, what with the amount of Marvel Disney+ shows, films, and even Amazon Prime’s more adult-targeted superhero content. With even more yet to be released before the year is out. But every so often a film comes along that remoulds a genre and gives it a new lease of life. The Blair Witch Project (1999) did it with the ‘found footage’ genre of horror films, and Jaws (1975) did it for monster blockbusters. With the superhero, or rather super-villain, genre in this case, that film is THE Suicide Squad

 James Gunn’s take on this rag-tag group of ‘heroes’ has the same premise as the previous film (even though it’s not a sequel, more of a ‘reimagining’ instead) that viewers will be familiar with: A group of criminals, headed by Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, serving long prison sentences are forced by the super powerful government official Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to partake in a mission to save the world. This time around the mission involves the group heading to the island of Corto Maltese to destroy something known as ‘project starfish’.

 When I heard that another Suicide Squad movie was being made, I was overcome with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I remember how the 2016 David Ayer film introduced me to characters who have since become my comfort characters in a sense (Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerang if you were wondering) and how I covered my room in movie posters for the film before it was even released. On the other hand, however, despite my initial love for the 2016 film, I soon realised its many flaws and have struggled with my disappointment since. (Although it is worth noting that without ‘Suicide Squad’ we wouldn’t have been blessed with one of cinemas greatest casting decisions: Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn). Naturally, this made me trepidatious for any kind of sequel or reboot. I didn’t want to get my hopes up for them to be let down again.

 Any fears were quashed as soon as I heard the news that James Gunn, director of superhero smash hit Guardians of The Galaxy, had been hired to write and direct the new film and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. This was followed by an even bigger wave when I heard Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman and, Jai Courtney (the best part about the last film) would be reprising their roles. I instantly knew I was going to enjoy whatever fun; ultra-violent ride James Gunn was about to take me on. The end result, however, was even better than I could have imagined.

 As expected, every joke in this film lands. It’s hilarious. It’s also insanely violent, but despite this, the gore (and there’s A LOT of it) doesn’t seem out of place or overused, with Gunn really pushing the limits of the 15 rating the film received in the UK. What I wasn’t expecting was the heart this film has at its core. The film, however funny and outlandish it can be, is drenched in an overwhelming sense of emotion that at one point made me cry whilst simultaneously thinking ‘why am I crying at a film with a talking shark?’

 Every choice made by Gunn is a stroke of genius, with many scenes feeling like they’ve been lifted straight out of a comic book. There were multiple times when watching this film that I turned to my friend with my mouth wide open after being amazed, and downright shocked at a scene that had just played out in front of my eyes.  A stand-out scene for me (mild spoilers I suppose) is a fight scene that takes place in the reflection of a helmet. This directional choice, as simple as it may sound, really shows just how good James Gunn is at making movies that are different from others in its genre.

 The cast list may be long (listen to the tag line ‘don’t get too attached’) and it would be an easy assumption to make that with this many characters, not everyone would have their time to shine. If you have this assumption, The Suicide Squad will prove you wrong. The film is packed to the brim with great performances. It’s no surprise that Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), and Idris Elba (Bloodsport) shine, with Robbie giving her best performance as the truly deranged Harley Quinn to date. But it’s Daniela Melchoir (Ratcatcher 2), John Cena (Peacemaker), and David Dastmalchian (Polka-Dot Man) who truly come into their own here, with Melchoir providing the heart of the film. I’d even go as far as to say that this is Sylvester Stallone’s best role in years (massive props to James Gunn for making me love Stallone’s character King Shark as much as I do).

 It’s clear to see that Warner Brothers ditched their normal shenanigans of meddling with a director’s vision and really let James Gunn do, and kill, whatever he liked when making this movie. Spoiler alert: it works with massive payoff. This may way be the best comic book movie ever made and I truly hope Gunn sticks around to do more DC projects (there’s a Peacemaker TV series out next year). I can’t wait to see this film a dozen more times!