Film: The Suicide Squad

 

GENRE: Action, Adventure
RATING: R for strong language, brief nudity, strong violence and gore
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 12 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Idris Elba (Hobbs & Shaw, Thor, Pacific Rim. Molly’s Game)
Margot Robbie (Birds of Prey, I, Tonya); John Cena (Blockers)
DIRECTOR: James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2)
WRITER: James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Scooby-Doo)
PLOT: A group of supervillains are chosen to do an off-the-books assignment for a shady government division for reduced jail time.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: Loved the trailer. Gunn’s involvement cinched it.

STORY STUFF: “No one likes a showoff.” “Unless what they are showing off is dope AF.” This line from the movie pretty much sums up what Gunn does with the tatters of the first studio-tampered Suicide Squad. He takes the premise and kicks it up a notch. More than notch though. The characters are a lot more interesting, the humour is fantastic and the plot is far more understandable. Gunn also pulls the rug from under you a couple times with hilarious results. There was a bit of a slow part in the middle but the majority of the film moves at a cracking pace. Well done.

ACTING STUFF: Great stuff all around. Robbie, of course, is enticing as Harley Quinn. She is full of energy, quirk and mayhem. Elba plays the grump well and gets to clash with Cena’s single-minded douchebag. My favourite would have to be David Dastmalchian (Dark Knight) as Polka-Dot Man; his powers and lines are awesome. I also enjoyed the Stallone-voiced King Shark. Great chemistry from the squad. The government and residents of the fictional Carto Maltese were pretty one note though. Also, I’m not a fan of Viola Davis; but that’s usually the case.     

ARTISTIC STUFF: Gunn’s soundtrack is all kinds of awesome with some great tunes to add to the mayhem. The violence is extreme. There’s a reason for the R rating. Lots of blood and guts. It’s not for the squeamish. Also, if you’re not a fan of rats, you may not like certain sequences.  

VERDICT: Four and a half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You’re fine with comic book films with guts, rats and humour.
UPCOMING REVIEW: Free Guy