The Suicide Squad was released in 2021. It sees Colonel Rick Flag lead Task Force X, a team of villains on a top-secret mission to Corto Maltese. The film stars Joel Kinnamen, Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, Sylvester Stallone, Steve Agee, Sean Gunn, Jai Courtney, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Pete Davidson, Jennifer Holland, Storm Reid, Alice Braga, Peter Capaldi, Taika Waititi, and Viola Davis. 

I enjoyed The Suicide Squad a lot. I thought it was really good. The Suicide Squad did not do well in theaters. However, it was released during the pandemic. 2021 was a rough year for movies at that time. The other thing that probably hurt its box office success was the fact it was released in theaters on HBO MAX simultaneously. Warner Brothers released all their theatrical films that way and most of those movies did not do well box office wise. The only two movies to make at least a hundred million domestically were Godzilla vs Kong and Dune. The Suicide Squad did well on streaming. If things were different or it came out at another time, the film probably would have been a hit. It might have even beat the original Suicide Squad that was released in 2016. Despite the negative reception, that movie managed to make over three hundred million domestically alone. The Suicide Squad is a very loose sequel as well as a reboot. There are not any references to David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. The only real link is several of the characters. Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnamen, Viola Davis, and Jai Courtney are the only ones to reprise their roles. The film does not reference any of the events in the prior movie. 

I did not dislike David Ayer’s Suicide Squad but after learning the released film was not the intended cut that David Ayer wanted, it does make it a little harder to really like the movie knowing there was studio interference. The Suicide Squad is a huge improvement, and James Gunn does a fantastic job with the movie. The movie is a lot of fun. It is over the top and has a great cast. 

Spoilers 

There is a lot of death in the movie, and no one is truly safe including major characters. The deaths are over the top which is fitting given the fact anyone on the team has explosives in their head and can be killed off at any given moment should they step out of line. 

The soundtrack is solid. The music really fits the movie well. It is not a random collection of songs as if someone is changing the station five hundred times. I do own the original soundtrack from the prior release. Not all the songs really fit the movie itself well. The music James Gunn picked fits the scenes and this movie quite nicely. 

Even with all of the over the top moments and craziness that ensues, the movie has heart and there are some emotional movements. James Gunn has always done a good job with that balance. Look at what he has done with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. 

The movie has two credit scenes. A mid-credit scene and a post credit scene. Both scenes reveal the fates of two different characters. 

This was one of the final movies in the now defunct DCEU. Some of these characters have carried over to the DCU that James Gunn co runs alongside Peter Safran. John Cena’s Peacemaker has appeared in Superman and his own show Peacemaker. Season 2 is part of the DCU. Season 1 was part of the DECEU. Sean Gun’s Weasel is a major character on the animated series Creature Commandos. Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller also has been in Creature Commandos. She is expected to star in her own show Waller at some point down the line. Some others have appeared as well. It is not known if other characters from this movie would get recast or keep the same actors. Harley Quinn is a mystery in terms of getting recast or if Margot Robbie will get to keep the role. 

The Suicide Squad is a fun, heartfelt, bloody movie and probably one of the best movies in the DECEU. It has a stellar cast, great music, and is very colorful. It is a true blast. I am curious to see if there will ever be a Suicide Squad movie in the DCU.