The Suicide Squad Review

* Be sure to stick around 'till after the credits 😉 

Directed by: James Gunn

Starring: Idris Elba, John Cena,

Sylvester Stallone and

Daniela Melchior

Rating: 6 of 8

The Suicide Squad

There's nothing quite like a little insanity. Too much can lead to all sorts of messes. But when you get it just right, you can really create something special. James Gunn certainly does that, as he unleashes his special brand of insanity onto the Suicide Squad.

Five years ago, WB released the first Suicide Squad and though it certainly had a mixed reception, it was a big success at the box office. Though I certainly liked a couple things about it, - like Smith and Robbie's performances - there was a lot more bad about it than good. Thankfully, in many ways, this is a significant improvement.

Unlike the 1st film, which had very little stakes because barely anyone died, this one has no problem with killing people off, which it makes very clear. It gets to the point where you think anyone could be killed off - and when a mainstream film manages to create stakes like those, it's doing very well.

The trailers do it very little justice as, though the film's laced with a generous amount of humour, they made it look like it was almost nothing but. Thankfully, that isn't the case and there's actually a number of scenes where it slows down and we get a very welcome insight into different characters.

Very early on, we gain some insight into Bloodsport, (Idris Elba) whose situation is almost an inverse of Deadshot's. Like Deadshot, he's an expert marksman and he gets plenty of opportunities to show that off. Throughout, we get to see him embark on two kinds of journeys and it's a pleasure to see him walk them.

In a very touching sequence, we learn just why Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) has such an affinity for rats. It's a remarkably sweet tale, which probably fits, despite her love of such creatures. As odd as it may sound, there's a dark tragedy to Polka-Dot Man, whose given a constant sense of melancholy from David Dastmalchian.

Though he isn't as charming as Groot, Gunn's other amicable creature, King Shark (Sylvester Stallone) is better than I expected. He's definitely not as talkative as he is in the comics, but he's still pretty bloodthirsty. Peacemaker spills almost as much, though his philosophy lets him justify every drop.

As Amanda Waller, Viola Davis is just as incredible as ever. She crackles with a ferocity that lets you see exactly why she's in charge. She also has some great moments to show just how hard she can be and she's all the better for it. Finally, Harley's just as charming as she was in Suicide Squad, though much better here than in Birds of Prey.

Overall, this is just a fantastic film, laced with incredible action and some out of this world moments that really make the film stand out. It's not without it's flaws, though, as some of the jokes don't land, it underutilizes Peter Capaldi and it's a little overlong. Other than that, though, it's a great film, that I definitely recommend.