The Suicide Squad: A Shot At Redemption

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad (2021)

Six years after David Ayer took a swing and a miss with Suicide Squad, James Gunn's much anticipated sequel (soft-reboot) has finally hit theaters. Originally making a splash with a poster containing the names of all the cast members including comedian Pete Davidson, wrestler-turned-movie star John Cena, and action star Idris Elba, this movie is everything you could ask for in an R-Rated action movie and more. From the cast, to the writing, to James Gunn's directing, this is an incredible followup to the notorious 2016 flop.

One of the main problems with the original 2016 movie is that nothing really worked. The Suicide Squad is a completely different story. The main cast–Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Idris Elba (Bloodsport), John Cena (Peacemaker), Daniela Melchior (Ratcatcher), David Dastmalchian (Polka-dot Man), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller)– do an incredible job with top-notch material. Daniela Melchior stands out as having one of the most impactful performances. She, along with Idris Elba really elevate the movie with their acting. John Cena is also a surprisingly strong addition to the cast. Cena and Joel Kinnaman in particular have one scene that is on par with the final fight between Iron Man and Captain America in Captain America: Civil War. While it doesn't carry the same weight, it's still quite remarkable. Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn continues here and Robbie nails the part– as does the movie's writing for the character. Robbie's version of the character appeared most recently in Birds of Prey last year alongside Rosie Perez and Ewan McGregor.

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey (2020)

Along with the acting, James Gunn's direction deserves praise. The Guardians of the Galaxy director hit a rough patch when past controversial comments of his made their rounds on the internet, causing Disney to fire (then rehire) him for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III movie. Gunn's instincts are quite impeccable. Rarely missing a beat, the movie flows much better than its predecessor and feels less scrambled. This is partially due to the fact that Warner Brothers gave Gunn a lot more room to do what he wanted. Clearly, Warner Brothers' bet on Gunn paid off. Clearly, Gunn has a knack for taking obscure comic characters and turning them into fan favorites. Similar to how the various characters from the Guardians movies have become household names within the MCU, these characters have a bright future ahead of them, thanks to Gunn.

The Suicide Squad is a hard R. It has intense blood and gore and doesn't hold back one bit. Fortunately, the movie doesn't dip too heavily into toilet humor, or really at all. Despite the graphic nature of the movie, it's fairly heartfelt at its core and manages to make its characters–who are introduced as villains–into characters worth rooting for, especially in the third act. I'm not big on gore, nor any sort of graphic violence, but I thought that the movie (for the most part) handled it fairly well and didn't go too far. The DC movies overall have hit several road bumps recently; the Suicide Squad is not one of them. I enjoyed this movie much more than I'd anticipated.

Rating: 9/10

The Suicide Squad is available to watch for free on HBO Max or in theaters.