The Suicide Squad

by Hans A. Carpenter

Director: James Gunn
Starring: Margot Robbie,
Idris Elba, and John Cena
Mister Marquee Says:
LEGENDARY
Number: 5/5
Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) sends a team of villainous convicts into a Latin American island nation to destroy a project that could be potentially dangerous to the United States. Bloodsport (Idris Elba) is forced into leading the rag-tag group of bad guys.
For once Warner Brothers made a good decision when it comes to a DCEU movie. Instead of meddling behind the scenes, reshooting, and having a trailer production company chop up the theatrical cut into a Hot Topic commercial like the first Suicide Squad, the powers that be gave the reigns to James Gunn when a hasty firing from Marvel allowed the director to fall into their lap. Gunn had wild success with the Guardians on the Galaxy movies. With The Suicide Squad, Gunn has been allowed to apply that winning formula to the one tool he would never get at Marvel: a hard R rating.
Boy howdy, from language to violence, this is as hard as hard R gets. Gunn’s usually sharp comic chops are on full display, as John Cena and Sylvester Stallone (as a talking shark) both get ample time to shine. Each member of the core team gets their moments.
My only real gripe with The Suicide Squad is the runtime. The last twenty minutes or so feel tacked on and overlong. Still, it’s a minor gripe for a movie with this much fun. With strong comedy and lots of B movie cartoonish violence, The Suicide Squad is a Deadpool level good time.