Movie Review: The Suicide Squad

8/10

The often-hilarious romp has an excellent cast and brings hope for brighter days in the DC Universe.

I have superhero movie fatigue. In fact I had superhero movie fatigue twenty superhero films ago. The narrative structure is the same in just about all of the films, regardless of which comic book universe the films spring from. The heroes and villains blend together along with their storylines. They are woven mostly into mediocre fabric that is typically overhyped by the social media verse.

Even the recent DC box office successes did little to intrigue me. Wonder Woman and Aquaman mostly stuck to the same formula that skyrocketed the Avengers universe to success. They featured some great lead performances but little distinguishable or memorable outside a “grand final battle”.

The original Suicide Squad was a complete disaster, an exercise of style (and poorly edited style at that) over substance.

James Gunn was the perfect writer-director to revamp the franchise.

With Harley Quinn being the only returning character, I was glad to see Margot Robbie reprise the role. It was a highlight of the first Suicide Squad film. Surrounding her are a new band of misfits that are immediately more engaging and more likeable than the original cast. Highlights are John Cena as Peacemaker and Sylvester Stallone as King Shark. King Shark is arguably the greatest DC character to ever be put to screen. You wouldn’t think it possible that a giant shark/man hybrid with a dad bod who mistakenly tries to eat his own team member could be so endearing. Stallone’s voice is perfect for the character. John Cena, meanwhile, has a comedic talent that will hopefully be more widely recognized as a result of this film. I’ll take a Peacemaker film over anything from the Marvel universe.

Leading the new band of misfits is the always-engaging Idris Elba as Bloodsport, a hired assassin who was imprisoned for “putting a kryptonite bullet in Superman that sent him to the hospital.” Elba is perfect in the role, managing to be at once gritty, reckless, villainous, and likable.

The narrative as a hole adheres to the traditional superhero structure, but does so with enough twists and turns to distinguish this as a comic book move worth the theater price. Characters both good and bad die unexpectedly; the final battle is one for the history books. The movie’s introduction is arguably the greatest opening in superhero film history.

The script provides plenty of laughs. This was easily the funniest superhero film I’ve seen since Deadpool, even managing to be a superior romp to my favorite of the Marvel films, Thor: Ragnarok.

Here’s to hoping Gunn gets the reigns to the sequel!