The first Suicide Squad movie was something I watched in a theater, clenching my jaw and rolling my eyes. Margot Robbie was clearly a standout, but we all knew there was so much more that she was capable of with a good script and a great director. Cue the 2021 James Gunn version of The Suicide Squad. I’m going to start this review with the caution that Birds of Prey (2020) is one of my favorite comic book movies, and my love for Margot Robbie is extremely biased.
The Suicide Squad starts with some of the most absolute bonkers series of explosions and fight sequences I’ve ever seen in a film. Faces explode. A weasel that eats children is dropped from a plane before anyone realizes he can’t swim. People jump on the bottom of helicopters to bring them down. Armies are blown apart…and this is the first ten minutes. In short, the experience feels like reading The Suicide Squad comics and I am absolutely here for it.
One of the best scenes in the film has an extremely Lord of the Rings “it only counts as one” vibe, as Bloodsport and Peacemaker take elaborate shots in ways that sometimes look like a Rube Goldberg machine of murder. Idris Elba and John Cena are brilliant in this film and so much fun to watch. You can tell Peter Capaldi was having a blast playing Thinker. No one plays Amanda Waller like Viola Davis. Oh, and Taika Waititi randomly showing up in Ratcatcher was bizarrely brilliant. The casting for this movie was fabulous; no weird Jared Leto method acting here. Even super small roles in the movie are absolutely insane and laugh out loud funny.
But y’all, Margot Robbie takes Harley Quinn to new heights. She truly captures the comic book version of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, as well as the stand alone comics in her name. Robbie did her own stunts in most of this movie, making a particular scene in a jail cell even more amazing.
I’m not going to deny it, the film is violent. It’s full of swearing. It features an insane creature similar to a Kaiju. However, The Suicide Squad is possibly the only DC movie other than Birds of Prey or the first Wonder Woman that I want to rewatch on the regular.
The Suicide Squad is in theaters, but is also available on HBO Max if you want to avoid theaters right now.
