Fan enthusiasm has been high leading up to the premiere of The Suicide Squad, James "Don't Call It a Reboot" Gunn's band-of-misfit-supervillains homage to the classic 1967 film The Dirty Dozen (among many other influences). This enthusiasm was not unfounded. The DCEU's tenth installment is a fast-paced and blood-soaked adventure that is both hilarious and irreverent. Imagine The Boys on steroids.(Spoilers are below, but there are no major revelations.The Suicide Squad, as I have stated previously, is not a sequel to the 2016 film by David Ayer. Gunn wanted to move the franchise in a different direction and introduce new characters. Viola Davis and Joel Kinnaman are back in 2016 as Col. Rick Flag (the squad's jaded field leader) and Intelligence Officer Amanda Waller (representing the intelligence officer). Steve Agee portrays John Economos as a prison warden and aide for Waller. The titular squad, just like the 2016 film, is made up entirely of criminal supervillains. Flag leads them, and Waller has the power to make sure they succeed. Waller places nanite bombs around their necks to keep them under control and promises to reduce their sentences if they complete their missions.The squad includes Harley Quinn (Margot Robertbie), who is a fan favorite and a mercenary with military experience. He is currently in prison for shooting Superman using a Kryptonite bullet. Gunn claims that he modelled many of the squad characters on different movie genres. Bloodsport channeled the action hero Steve McQueen from the 1960s. He is a rival to Peacemaker (John Cena), another veteran of the military, who is portrayed as a "douchey bro-y Captain America" based on 1970s TV shows like Wonder Woman.Jai Courtney plays Captain Boomerang again. Ratcatcher 2, aka Cleo Cazo, (Daniela Melchior); vigilante hackers Savant (Michael Rooker); Nanaue (Pete Davidson); King Shark (voiced Rooker's Cliffhanger star Sylvester Stallone); Blackguard, (Pete Davidson); Javelin, (Flula borg); Weasel, James' kid brother); TDK, a metahuman whose arms can detank from his suit and mommy issues and polka-dot suits and big-time mommy issues and imply); and his iconic polka-dot-dot-dot-dot-on-to-to-tot-to-time mommy-time mommy issues and polka-dot-dot-to-to-to-time mommy-to-to-to-to-time-to-to-time-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-man-to-to-man-to-to-man-to-to-to-m-to-m-to-m-to-to-m-m-m-issues-to-s-to-to-to-AdvertisementThis is a large ensemble cast. Anyone who has seen The Dirty Dozen will know that many of them will be cannon fodder. Gunn had made similar comments in pre-release interviews. He expressed his delight at the studio's permission for him to use DC Comics archive material to kill off characters as he wished, thus ensuring that the film lives up its name.Director demonstrates that he is willing to do this. The mission begins with the squad's disastrous deployment to a Corto Maltese shore. It is very similar to Saving Private Ryan's opening sequence, but with more (very) dark humor. Let's just say that Belle Reve penitentiary didn't send their best.They manage to regroup and continue their mission to infiltrate Jotunheim, a high-security prison. This was a former Nazi stronghold during WW2. To gain entry to Jotunheim, the squad must abduct Gaius Grieves (aka The Thinker) Flag is fortunate to find an unexpected ally in Sol Soria, (Alice Braga), who leads a group of rebels trying to regain control over their country's government. The current president of the Republic is President Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto), who took over the presidency in the aftermath of a military coup led by Major General Mateo Suarez, Joaquin Cosio).Gunn's willingness and ability to sacrifice characters means that there are real stakes for this team. While some are clearly doomed to perish, there are a few genuine surprises. This is a refreshing departure from superhero movies that have heroes protected by the plot.AdvertisementThe director also works hard to build strong relationships between the remaining squad members. This makes events more memorable as they unfold. Bloodsport and Peacemaker are fierce competitors and engage in lots of testosterone-fueled one up-manship. Flag and Peacemaker, however, have a shared history as "brothers-in-arms" despite their differences. Ratcatcher 2 and Sebastian, her pet rat, serve as the heart of the group. They have formed a relationship with Bloodsport and made friends with King Shark. Cleo, even though Sebastian is a great pet, is certain there are good qualities in the former, even though he hates rats. Flashbacks show Taika Waititi as Cleo’s father, the original Ratcather.For Harley Quinn, it's a twisty narrative that includes a Cinderella story. President Luna falls for Cinderella as a psychopath, crazy, and unpredictable. Given Harley's disgusting taste in men, it ends just as you would expect. Birds of Prey gave the character a bubble-gum sweetness despite her violent outbursts. Robbie shows that there is still some sweetness to Birds of Prey, but she also shows how dangerously unhinged her character can be, switching emotions on a dime, perceiving all of the destruction she causes through a burst full of Technicolor butterflies and flowers.Gunn demonstrated with the PG-13 Guardians of the Galaxy, that he can take an ensemble cast of comic book characters from B- and C-list and still create a wildly entertaining blockbuster packed with action and humor with plenty of humor and a touch of humanity. Gunn brings the same self-awareness to The Suicide Squad. However, the R rating allowed the director to go all out on the blood and gore front. This film is not for the faint-hearted. The humor is darker and more serious, and the final scene features an alien starfish (Starro Conquerer), another comics deep cut. In Gunn's capable hands, it all comes together to give us the group of supervillains-turned-unexpected-heroes that we all wanted to see.The Suicide Squad is currently playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. If you have been fully vaccinated, we recommend that you only watch movies in theaters. HBO Max has already ordered a Peacemaker series straight-to-series. Cena, Agee and Agee will reprise their roles. Gunn was reluctant to reveal whether the series would be set prior or after The Suicide Squad. The series debut is scheduled for January 2022.
