DC COMICS’ expendable super villains-turned-black ops return for another mission, this time helmed by director James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), as they infiltrate the island nation of Corto Maltese to destroy any and all trace of a secret experiment called Project Starfish.
We first saw Task Force X on the big screen in David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” (2016) and although it was a box office success, it received highly negative reviews from critics and audiences alike.
However, in this standalone sequel featuring a mix of returning and new characters, the Suicide Squad gets the do-over it deserves, with more of the director’s vision, less studio interference and free of the limitations of a PG-13 rating. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
A graphic and vibrant spectacle of an anti-hero movie and a huge improvement from its predecessor, here are the four things “The Suicide Squad” does right:
The character arcs are well-written
It’s a known fact that they’ve all committed crimes worthy of their lengthy sentences, whether that’s killing 27 children or robbing banks with rats as accomplices. Characters like Polka-Dot Man and Ratcatcher 2 (dubbed by viewers as the heart of the film) prove that they are more than the crimes they’ve done; They are human, with morals and backstories.
The action sequences are much better (and funnier)
With an R rating, the film goes all out with its gore and violence, much to the film’s benefit. There’s less overly dramatic slow-mo scenes and plenty of dynamic and well-choreographed action beats. In her third outing as Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie cements her status as an action star with a fun and quite lengthy fight sequence, which according to Gunn, is the biggest action scene he’s written so far.
The villain isn’t exactly the villain
It’s easy to point the finger at Starro the Conqueror being the antagonist, feeding off of people’s faces and all, but if you think about it, the real evil is the US Government. After all, Starro was just happily floating in space before they took him and experimented on him in hopes of weaponizing his abilities. The twist was a little predictable, but it was still effective in stirring conflict among the team.
The movie doesn’t hold back on the casualties
Before it even came out, many fans were probably already thinking that Harley Quinn, being a DCEU favorite, would live to see another day. But just six minutes in and almost half of the team is already killed off. With some unexpected and shocking deaths (and un-deaths?), the movie makes good on its tagline “Don’t get too attached.”