Considering what a disappoint 2016’s “Suicide Squad” was, this reboot/sequel or whatever had a lot riding against it. During this time DC snatched “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn after he was fired from Marvel and was allowed to do whatever he wants with this comic book adaptation alongside giving it a well-deserved R-rating to boot. I’m not a huge fan of James Gunn’s R-rated movies (“Slither” and “Super”, but since this movie was made after his successful Marvel franchise, he has now find the right balance that I can actually enjoy. His sick sense of humor with either crass humor or dark humor does not always work with me, but when it does I can be entertained and be surprisingly moved at the same time!
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. The film stars an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, and Pete Davidson.
Unlike the first movie, this adaptation does a much better job of taking advantage of the source material and as the tagline says on the poster, don’t get too attached as were introduced to many lesser known DC Characters that are clearly there to be killed off. The new Suicide Squad consist of Rick Flag, Thinker, Javelin, Weasel, Ratcatcher 2, Blackguard, Savant, Harley Quinn, King Shark, Polka-Dot Man, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, T.D.K., Bloodsport, and Mongal (you can take a guess on which ones end up biting the dust). Bloodsport is basically Deadshot’s replacement as he too is a mercenary who ran into a Justice League Member and has daughter issues, Harley Quinn once again is a highlight thanks to her wild subplot and colorful action scene, King Shark is both lovable and deadly at the same time, Polka-Dot Man is both tragic and hilarious (can’t believe a felt something for such a silly DC Character), Ratcatcher 2 is easily my favorite since she’s the purest member and has an emotional backstory and Peacemaker is a fun douchebage “Captain America” type character whom I look forward to seeing in his own HBO Max series. The main villain ends up being Starro the Conqueror making his cinematic in a bizarre and thrilling climax that is too insane to comprehend.
Overall thanks to the raw talent of the director we got an adaptation that stays true to the source material that is both gleefully violent, hilarious, over the top and surprising heartfelt at the time as well as taking plenty of inspiration from class war movies such as “Apocalypse Now” and “The Dirty Dozen”!
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