The Suicide Squad

aka The Suicide Squad: Suicide Mission; Warner Bros. Pictures, K-16, 2h 12min, release: 5.8.2021

Oh yeah, finally another DC success story – fun to watch and you really wanna watch it again – actually what we’d expected from the first screen version of this anti-hero saga. Hair-raising action, weird characters and even weirder black humour – plus lots of scenes that justify an age-16-rating (squeamish sensitive animal-lovers, beware!). After all, DC has its “much darker than Marvel” reputation to defend. Yep, mission accomplished…. In addition, writer-director James Gunn has crafted an almost flawless, gritty rollercoaster ride with many twists and turns, which should satisfy “just action, no need for logic&physics” fans as well as “need plot and character development” aficionados alike.

The content:
A group of degenerate criminals from Belle Reve prison are willing to do anything to get out – even join a suicide squad named Task Force X: Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Savant (Michael Rooker), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (voice: Silvester Stallone), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Mongal (Mayling Ng), Javelin (Flula Borg), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), once again led by Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman). The suicide mission takes them to the island of Corto Maltese, where they face jungles, guerrillas and many other enemies, including Thinker (Peter Capaldi).

The first Suicide Squad movie should be memorable only for the brilliant performances of Margot Robbie and Viola Davis – and the soundtrack. The CGI overkill – which I found annoying back then – had been upgraded with irony and comic book references, which makes it all much more digestible for all its improbability. The Suicide Squad 2 impresses with brilliant performances from the entire cast (incl. the 100% CGI King Shark) – some characters score with playing on emotions, some for being whimsy, some with brutal action. However, Idris Elba’s presence remains supreme in each of these aspects, even outshining “badass” Viola Davis and the likeable Daniela Melchior. John Cena, however, is a surprisingly strong counterpart, and once again, a special highlight are the Harley Quinn scenes, nobody can top that – Margot Robbie rules! But let’s be honest, the breakout star of this movie and future merch icon is -Sebastian! 🙂

So – simply go and watch it!

PS: Remarkable guest appearance by Taika Waititi as Ratcatcher, therefore he successfully completed a special franchise triathlon – DC, Marvel and Star Wars.