The Suicide Squad (2021)

 

After the fairly lukewarm reaction to the first 'Suicide Squad', a lot of people felt the characters needed a film that was more in keeping with the comics. Less serious tone, more goofball adventures and no restraint on bodycount or blood for that matter. So who do you call?

Why, James Gunn, of course. 

But then the question is: did he succeed? And the answer would be: Oh hell yeah. This is precisely what a Suicide Squad film needed to be. Maybe this one also sticks out in a good way because the previous one was lacklustre, but if you want a thrill ride with oodles of humour and blood and guts flying everywhere: this is it. 

A new squad is sent to the island of Corto Maltese to infiltrate and destroy a research base known as Jotunheim. But as soon as they hit the beach, they are ambushed and except for Harley Quinn and Rick Flag, everyone gets brutally killed. 

(I did feel sorry for Captain Boomerang, though. I actually liked that character a lot)

This was in fact all a diversion for a second team, led by Bloodsport. They are now en route to the base, but get a little sidetracked when they discover they need to free Rick Flag. They even break Harley Quinn out of her incarceration. Well, sort of. 

It all culminates in a bizarre ending battle when it turns out that there are things that go bump in the night being kept in Jotunheim and no one is safe from expiration. 

I won't give away too much of the plot and its little twists and turns, suffice to say you get what you paid for, but what makes this film stick out is the Gunn-touch. Everything is colourful, the characters are all twisted in their own way and make for memorable people/creatures and it's surprisingly easy this time around to empathize with these outcast criminals. Sure, King Shark is bizarrely cuddly, but the rest is just as engaging. 

By the way: John Cena playing an uptight, violent arsehat who does everything in the name of peace is absolutely sidesplittingly hilarious.

Of course, if you don't like comic book adaptations to begin with, there isn't a lot for you here. Also: this film is pretty brutal and gory at times, so if you're a bit squeamish, maybe turn away. This also goes if you don't have a thing for rats, by the way. Trust me on that one. 

This is one of those films that brings fun back and sets it centre stage. This is what James Gunn does best and we should all be happy he got to do his thing (more or less) with this one.