The Suicide Squad

In "The Suicide Squad," the action-packed sequel to "Suicide Squad," the thrill starts right from the beginning. Set in a lush jungle on a mysterious island, the movie immediately captivates the audience with its promising backdrop. The second installment outshines its predecessor in various ways, particularly in the realm of characters.

While Will Smith's performance in the first movie was rather commendable, Idris Elba takes the reins in part 2, displaying his immense talent and becoming the perfect leader for the squad's perilous missions. The addition of Peacemaker brings a refreshing dynamic to the team. Harley Quinn's character undergoes significant development, making her role even more delightful. Unlike the first movie, where some superheroes seemed out of place, each character in "The Suicide Squad" has a well-justified presence, contributing to a greater character arc.

Engagement and entertainment remain consistent throughout the film, with very few dull moments. The writers skillfully follow a classic approach, bringing the story full circle by ending with a scene that harks back to its origins. Among the diverse cast of superheroes, Bloodsport shines as one of the best, while ratcatcher 2 also impresses with her captivating performance.

While the script is engaging overall, there was one instance that seemed implausible even in a lighthearted context. A character's head is chopped off, the peculiar part was that his eyes continued to move. Although this added an element of dark humor, it might have stretched the bounds of believability even within the superhero genre.

In conclusion, "The Suicide Squad" surpasses its predecessor by delivering a gripping and action-packed adventure. With improved character development and a smart balance of humor and action, it keeps the audience entertained. Director James Gunn masterfully crafts a superhero spectacle that fans and newcomers alike thoroughly enjoy.

The smartest move DC ever made was to quit concerning themselves with cinematic world building and focus on making (mostly) standalone films that were simply entertaining...and didn't require a master's degree in Snydernomics to appreciate.

Their second smartest move was nabbing James Gunn for The Suicide Squad, and not just because the first film was terrible. Material like this needs Gunn's flair for irreverence, clever dialogue and, most importantly, instilling characters with engaging personalities. He may not have created Suicide Squad, but this adaptation has his stamp all over it.

And for the first time since his directorial debut, Slither, Gunn is unbound by the restrictions of a PG-13 rating, something else the material really needed. Hence, the film is vivid, violent and vulgar, yet at the same time, seldom feels pandering or gratuitous. Punctuated by gobs of gags and hilarious dialogue, the movie earns its dismemberments and f-bombs along the way. In fact, the whole thing plays very much like Guardians of the Galaxy without a filter.

And like Guardians, it's ultimately the characters that matter. Ironically, the one we're most familiar with - Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) - is the least interesting, perhaps because she's already been established with two previous films and there isn't much more Gunn could do with her. But everyone else is wonderfully realized and played perfectly by the ensemble cast. As Bloodsport, the de-facto leader of this new team, Idris Elba strikes the right balance of stoicism and uncertainty, while John Cena (as Peacemaker) once-again demonstrates he's more adept at comedy than pure action. Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmaichian) and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) are also fun, each with amusing backstories. But King Shark steals every scene he's in, a perpetually hungry manfish who manages to be both monstrous and endearing (and a role Sylvester Stallone was born to play).

With the exception of Task Force X director Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), the antagonists are perfunctory. Their plan, however, is gloriously insane; the dictator of Corto Maltese plans to wipe out America using a 30-year-old experiment gone wrong: Starro, a giant extraterrestrial starfish that spawns face-hugging offspring to re-animate & control the dead. This leads to a final act that's as hilarious as it is grotesque, aided by amusing visual effects.

Unlike the first film - which was mostly just bells & whistles - The Suicide Squad is the complete package, delivering an abundance of action, humor, violence and well-realized characters. James Gunn's playful approach is just what was needed, making it the best - and maybe the smartest - DC film since Christopher Nolan hung up his spurs.

You can tell that everyone involved in this project was having fun and it transfered into the audience.

I remember as if it was yesterday my utter disappointment in 2016 when I purchased my tickets to watch Suicide Squad back then. No hate towards David Ayer, the studios definitely meddled with his film to the max, I would LOVE to see his version but nonetheless, what we got was such a terrible film.... Fast forward 5 years & Warner Brothers turns the tables and makes what is probably one of the GREATEST comic book movies of all time. The film is very ballsy, violent & full of heart. The characters are eye candy & I'm VERY happy that James Gunn kept what worked in the original. Because it was a bad movie but there were some good in it. This film James really respects David Ayers film by keeping what worked while just sticking to what needed to be done. The R Rating was needed, I'm also glad the studio acknowledged that. I'm VERY Tired of seeing studios go for a PG-13 rating so they can get more views. Like cmon now, grow a pair please. Sony doing it with Venom & all other types of examples of studios fearing the R Rating... I think ever since Joker Warner Brothers has discovered that they can really get the same numbers if not more regardless, Then Birds Of Prey happened, which I enjoyed too. BUT my point is ALL of this led up to this movie RIGHT HERE. So again, kudos to Warner Brothers for the R Rating!!! Now first things first, The action is GREAT & the twists are even more magnificent. The Comedy is SPOT ON, and lands when it needs to, the use of dark comedy and balance of character development is done so well that it doesn't feel out of place or that one is taking over the other. BloodSport carry's this movie, his performance was SCREAMING Will Smith for me, (meaning the role just looks like it was meant for him because he had daughter issues too) but I gotta say, Idris Elba grew on me more than Will Smith did. His performance is GREAT and he has amazing chemistry with another character and it just feels special. Polka Dot man was absolutely hilarious yet gave me a bittersweet taste in my mouth, but in a good way. King Shark was an amazing joy to watch on screen. Peacemaker was awesome too. Now what I mean by awesome is off their importance, performance and role in the movie. Some of these characters are not like able... mind you... and some things will happen over the course of events and make you not like characters more and that's where this movie shines. It's VERY unpredictable. And when you feel like you think you know where the movie is going it pulls the rug from under you hard. Very enjoyable ride. When it was over I wanted to watch it again.

*Pros* Well written characters / performances Comedy/Action (is not repetitive) Effects/CGI Story / plot / script

*Cons* Thinly written Villain Climax for the ending felt just a bit thin wish it would have required more "teamwork" and not one character being the reason they won (you'll see what I mean) Some Characters I felt died a bit too soon and would have liked a little more depth before they went.

WB needs to keep this up and we will continue to want more. If they understand the character they should know the direction needed to continue the character. Superman doesn't need to be dark and suicide squad should never be PG13. Not saying these are "impossible to do" but just saying if you REALLY understand the character you should know what works and what doesn't, and as far as I see it... this is the RIGHT direction for The Suicide Squad Peacemaker show is something to look forward to! And I will be more than happy to call this Film an "The REAL Academy Winning Suicide Squad" because it deserves the title more than the 2016 one... #releasetheayercut.

I am in two minds about this film.

On one hand, I really did enjoyed it well enough.

However, I'm in no rush to see it again and it was rather... dull... in places.

Not something I thought I'd ever say about a James Gunn movie.

The beginning is great fun, and I don't know where else they can take the Harley chatacter after this (other than maybe a prequel?), and there are plenty of funny moments with some great action beats.

It just felt a little... I don't know.

Maybe because Gunn was clearly let off the leash he didn't have to restrain himself and so moments that may have been handled with more care were allowed to simply explode?

There is a lot of blood and gore, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

As I said, I enjoyed it, and I will watch it again someday, I'm just in no big rush to revisit it.

A generous seven out of ten.

I've read the Suicide Squad and DC comics for a very long time, and all the low reviews with the 'restore the Snyderverse' hashtag can go away.