Did Suicide Squad kill at the cinema?

Spoilers below.

Suicide Squad 2021 is the ‘reboot’ of the original movie from 2016 directed by David Ayer. However, this new movie this time around directed by James Gunn puts a spin on the original and for the better.

It’s hard to know if and when this movie takes place after the 2016 version, some characters crossover from both films like Harley Quinn and Agent Flag, yet the rest are all new to this particular film.

The introduction to this movie is very different to is predecessor, introducing the audience briefly to a brand-new cast of characters then immediately killing them off in the most brutal ways possible; the movie definitely deserves its R rating. It shoves the movies theme of ‘no one is safe’ right into your face, the gore is intense and the humour is witty.

Similar to Gunn’s previous work with superhero movies, Guardians of the Galaxy, the movie is very funny and full of some amazing action scenes. Characters work well together and you understand what they’re all about from very few interactions with them.

One main criticism that I have about this movie is pacing, once we meet our main squad members the movie just slows down. At points it felt like the movie was going to end only for it to carry on significantly longer.

On the other hand, compared to the first one there is definitely more of a story this time as well as some amazing cinematography. The previous incarnation just felt too dark and grey while this one is full of colour. Creative angles, such as the fight scene between Peacemaker and Flag filmed in the reflection of the helmet was a particular favourite of mine.

The lighting was amazing as well, the club setting had a darkness to it but was wonderfully illuminated in neon pinks, blues and purples. And the costumes! Oh, the costumes were some of my favourite things to come out of this movie. Now, I will admit I’m not much of a DC fan as I am Marvel, so I’m not sure how comic book accurate they all are. Yet, they still look amazing, the colours, designs, everything about them I just love.

Although the action scenes were amazing they did become rather repetitive and I can’t help but think it’s because of the secondary enemy of the film. Fight scenes were mainly generic army men with big guns fighting people with wacky powers, they’re still very intense, don’t get me wrong, but it becomes rather mundane after you see three of them in the span of 20 minutes.

Reoccurring character, Harley Quinn, is always a treat, Margot Robbie does a wonder job of playing her. Similar to Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and RDJ as Ironman, she was seemingly made for this role; but she can never replace Tara Strong in my humble opinion.

The movie offers a good plot twist, having John Cena’s character, Peacemaker, be a double agent ordeal. I was sad when Rick Flag died, he was one of my favourites and I personally thought he’d make it. Although, I should have trusted director Gunn more when he said anyone can die.

The main villain of the movie, not Waller, was Starro, a real alien villain in the comics. The CGI was amazing, the character design, although not hard to mess up, translates well and he was built up as a good threat. My only gripe was the ending fight went by rather quickly, I mean what did the giant starfish really accomplish in the time he was free? I suppose it’s a good thing for the heroes but as a villain, who’s been built up during the entire movie, there isn’t really a good pay off.

Rat Catcher 2 was another favourite I didn’t plan on liking. Besides Idris’s character and Harley, she seemed to have a lot of thought put into her backstory and it pays off. I especially love the Taika Waititi cameo.

King Shark was undoubtedly my favourite character in this movie, the amount of emotion Slyvester Stallone puts into the role is phenomenal, sorry Robbie but he has you beat.

Suicide Squad 2021 shows that more superhero movies should try an r-rating with some well-known characters. They lend themselves perfectly to grittier storylines that you won’t often be able to sell to younger audiences.

Suicide Squad gets 4 out of 5 Starro’s from me.