‘The Suicide Squad’ Review: A Genre-Bending, Tone-Shifting, Fun Thrill Ride

The Suicide Squad is one of those perfect concoction of a movie that would fall apart completely without a good director to guide the ship. There is no part of the movie that isn’t perfectly calibrated and adjusted – even the two-plus-hour runtime seems adequately appropriate to fulfill the type of story James Gunn is looking to tell. From the script to the actors to the sets, costumes, action sequences, and practical and visual effects, James Gunn knocks it out of the park at every turn.

The basic premise of the movie is that the U.S. needs some dirty mess cleaned up and they’d rather send expendable criminals in to do the job for them. In this case, two teams – one led by Rick Flagg (honored war hero and Amanda Waller’s whipping boy), the other by Robert DuBois (aka Bloodsport, the best van Damme film ever). Of course, with Waller overseeing the op, you know that there is more to the story than just a simple clean-up duty, and each new detail and twist compounds the danger for Task Force X.

Let me be clear: this movie is playing for keeps and it lets you know early and often. What starts off in fairly goofy (and artsy) fashion quickly slides away to reveal the side of James Gunn that had been toned down by Marvel. If you’ve seen Slither, you know Gunn has a very sick and dark sense of humor similar to an R-Rated Looney Tunes. Most of the best moments come from his liberal use of over-the-top violence and gruesome imagery, and it never fails to delight in the slightest.

In fact, Gunn has fun playing with all sorts of genre fare. The movie acts as a love letter to genre filmmaking, from gross-out body horror to action to slasher films, an ode to Predator, zombie movies, giant monsters invading the Earth, stalker films, Westerns – Gunn made a movie that uses genre filmmaking to help keep things interesting while also keeping the movie active and engaging. Likewise, the movie has many tone shifts, juggling humor, drama, horror, fantasy, and danger. Unlike some movies where the tones clash, Gunn lets the moments and characters dictate the tonal shifts, never allowing them to feel out of place or unearned.

Part of this is due to the stellar cast. I was most excited to see Idris Elba placed in a role that would really let him shine, guided by a director who wouldn’t waste his talent, and I was not disappointed. Whereas Will Smith stayed strongly on-brand as Deadshot (to the point where I never saw him as a villain), Elba trusts his director and has to stretch his range quite a bit (he is a much more talented comedic actor than people give him credit for), while keeping the core of his character grounded and real. Elba has had a lot of good roles in movies, and this is one of his best ones.

The rest of the cast fares excellently as well. John Cena gets to display his now-standard comedic chops as Peacemaker, an over-the-top Captain America-inspired asshole motivated by a very dark principle. Daniela Melchior is pitch perfect as Cleo Cazo, an effective heart of the movie that tugs at your heartstrings and is undeniably brutal if she needs to be with her army of rats. Margot Robbie – showing full trust in her director – is the most lethal and aloof she’s ever been as Harley Quinn, a balance of manic chaos and wholesome lovable anti-hero. It might be her best version of the character (mileage will vary on how much you liked her in Birds of Prey).

You can very much tell from start to finish that DC let James Gunn have free reign over this movie. Every character was adjusted to fit the script, nothing was toned down regarding violence, sex, visuals, or language, and there is a feeling that everything – including the kitchen sink – was in this movie. He manages to pull it off and pull it off in spectacular fashion – the events unfold at a natural pace (especially the escalation of conflict, something that is managed very poorly in a lot of movies) and keep you engaged the entire time.

If I had a criticism, it would be that there are too many “getting hit by a bus”-type gags in the movie, so much so that you can easily see them coming by the end of the film. The other issue is that Amanda Waller doesn’t feel quite as threatening as she did in the original, though most of this is due to the fact that almost all her scenes take place in a very small office instead of an over-the-top imposing command room (though it is somewhat funny that the command center is a small little office). It is important to note that Viola Davis is just as imposing as ever as Amanda Wallace, and I was left wanting more scenes with her, especially when they were with Idris Elba. Finally, like in Guardians of the Galaxy, a lot of the movie plays like a series of music video moments with plenty of slow-motion walking and action. It’s not the worst, and it works extremely well here (James Gunn’s use of music is, as always, very good).

Overall, the movie is excellent and a must see (especially if you are fans of this site). Be warned, the level of violence and gore is very high – not quite as gruesome as Slither, but definitely not for everyone. If you can stomach it, though, you’ll find a real treat. The promise from the trailer of the original Suicide Squad has been fulfilled and exceeded with The Suicide Squad.

Rating: High Shiny and Chrome.