The black-ops team of supervillains goes on a deadly mission on the South American island of Corto Maltese in The Suicide Squad. Task Force X, nicknamed by many as The Suicide Squad, is a squad of inmates from Belle Reve penitentiary, recruiting by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), with the promise of a 10-year sentence reduction if they survive the mission. Accompanied by field leader Col. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), a team that includes Robert “Bloodsport” DuBois (Idris Elba), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Christopher “Peacemaker” Smith (John Cena), Abner “Polka-Dot Man” Krill (David Dastmalchian), Cleo “Ratcatcher 2” Cazo (Daniela Melchior), and King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone) are sent to the island of Corto Maltese to stop a deadly weapon known only as “Project Starfish,” overseen by Dr. Gaius “The Thinker” Grieves (Peter Capaldi).
The Suicide Squad is a film written and directed by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), which acts as a soft reboot to 2016’s Suicide Squad, despite including the returning characters of Amanda Waller, Col. Rick Flag, Harley Quinn, and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). The fresh start allows James Gunn to dig deep into the DC library and include some of the most obscure villains to be part of the film’s large ensemble, including Savant (Michael Rooker), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling Ng), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), and Weasel (Sean Gunn). The main mission of the film involves stopping the biological weapon “Project Starfish” from being used by the corrupt Corto Maltese government against the United States, with Task Force X receiving support from a group of rebels lead by Sol Soria (Alice Braga).
Despite the lackluster reception to the original Suicide Squad film directed by David Ayer, James Gunn was given the chance to direct The Suicide Squad after he was briefly fired from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 for controversial tweets he made over a decade ago. Given full reign by Warner Bros to do whatever he wanted with the property, the end result is a film that has very little to do with the previous film, other than a handful of returning characters. The Suicide Squad also marks James Gunn’s first R-rated film that he directed since 2010’s Super, with the film featuring much bloody violence and mayhem, including The Suicide Squad living up to its name and featuring a surprisingly high body count among its ensemble. While many of the film’s fatalities involve characters you expected to bite the dust from the start, there are also a few surprising casualties in the film, demonstrating how no one is safe in this film.
More or less, The Suicide Squad is James Gunn adapting his Guardians of the Galaxy formula for the DC universe, complete with the film sporting a 1970s soundtrack. Some of the more memorable aspects of the film including the dumber than dumb side team member of Nanaue, aka King Shark, who was physically played by comedian Steve Agee, who also plays a supporting character in the film, and voiced by Sylvester Stallone, who is clearly having fun playing a big dumb fishman. Other performances worth noting are David Dastmalchian as the very tortured Polka-Dot Man and Daniela Melchior’s sympathetic performance as Ratcatcher 2, complete with her little rat buddy Sebastian. Of the returning characters, Margot Robbie continues to develop her characterization of Harlie Quinn, which includes an action sequence set to the song “Just a Gigolo.” Then there’s Idris Elba and John Cena, whose characters of Bloodsport and Peacemaker sport similar abilities, leading to the two having an intense rivalry throughout the film.
Overall, The Suicide Squads demonstrates that it is possible to successfully reboot a franchise if you just find the right filmmaker.
The Suicide Squad is now playing
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