The Suicide Squad Review: Best Superhero Film to Date!

The Suicide Squad, directed by James Gunn, is a 2021 superhero movie, a standalone sequel to the 2016 “Oscar-winner” Suicide Squad, and the 10th film in the DC Extended Universe. Starring Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, and Peter Capaldi, this film is, without a doubt, the best superhero film to date, by a wide margin.

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The Suicide Squad exceeded my already high expectations thanks to the brilliant writing and directing by James Gunn. His imagination and inclusivity of some of the most loved and most unknown superheroes resulted in an incredibly bizarre yet perfect film. All in prison, The Suicide Squad is a group of villainous superheroes who are given the chance to knock ten years off their sentences if they agree to help the United States government complete their most dangerous missions.

Back from the previous film, Suicide Squad, is the fun-loving Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) along with a band of brand new villains, including Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and Ratcatcher II (Daniela Melchior), all under the command of US field leader Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman).

Gunn has a way of taking unknown characters and even actors and making them fan favorites. The way he casts The Suicide Squad is no different. The film is absolutely outrageous and lively, with a set of lovable savage characters at the forefront, with every single one leaving an impact on the audience emotionally.

One of the best parts of The Suicide Squad is how little James Gunn holds back from his creative genius, taking on American corruption and violence through his use of some of the most memorable superheroes on film. What seemed like little input or pushback from the studio, The Suicide Squad feels like a film that was given free reins to do everything a comic book film should, including entertain, disgust, and uplift audiences in feeling like the top tier of comic book films have been reached.

It is balls-out crazy and fun, with an imaginative premise that leaves audiences gasping and cheering at the same time. The strong R-rated violence feels authentic to how comic books are while maintaining a level of emotion when we see even the evilest ‘heroes’ die. The film feels like it is more “The Suicide Squad versus The United States Government” as they are used as pawns with little care that they are humans too. Needless to say, The Suicide Squad will, without a doubt, be the most fun you have at a theater this year, and it begs for repeated viewings.

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The Suicide Squad has set the bar so high for the superhero genre, and topping it in years to come will be a major challenge. But, for now, it exists and if this is the bar being set, I’m ready for DC to become the strongest force in the superhero game.

‘The Suicide Squad’ Rating – 4.5/5

Review by Stephanie Young
Follow Steph on Instagram – @cinemasteph_7