The Suicide Squad (2021 film)

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The Suicide Squad
Don't get too attached...
Directed By: James Gunn Produced By: Charles Roven Peter Safran Written By/Screenplay: James Gunn Based On: Characters from DC Starring: Margot Robbie Idris Elba John Cena Joel Kinnaman Sylvester Stallone Viola Davis Jai Courtney Peter Capaldi Cinematography: Henry Braham Editing: Fred Raskin Christian Wagner Music By: John Murphy Production Company: DC films Atlas Entertainment The Safran Company Distributed By: Warner Bros. Pictures Release Date: July 30, 2021 (United Kingdom) August 5, 2021 (United States/theatrical) August 6, 2021 (United States/Max) Runtime: 132 minutes Country: United States Language: English Budget: $185 million Box Office: $168.7 million Franchise: DC Extended Universe Prequel: Suicide Squad Birds of Prey (chronological) Zack Snyder's Justice League (by release)

The Suicide Squad is a 2021 American superhero film based on the DC comics team Suicide Squad. Produced by DC Studios (known as DC Films at the time), Atlas Entertainment and The Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures; it is a standalone sequel to Suicide Squad (2016) and the 10th film in the DC Extended Universe. It was written and directed by James Gunn and stars an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, and Peter Capaldi. The film was theatrically released on July 30, 2021, and in the United States on August 5, exactly five years from the original, while streaming on Max (formerly known as HBO Max at the time) for a month the next day.

Peacemaker, a spin-off television series starring Cena, debuted on Max in January 13, 2022.

Plot

The government sends the most dangerous supervillains in the world - Bloodsport (portrayed by Idris Elba), Peacemaker (portrayed by John Cena), King Shark (portrayed by Sylvester Stallone), Harley Quinn (portrayed by Margot Robbie), and others to the remote, enemy-riddled island of Corto Maltese. Armed with high-tech weapons, they trek through the dangerous jungle on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Col. Rick Flag (portrayed by Joel Kinnaman) on the ground to make them behave.

Why the Suicide Squad Is Back

1. The film is a massive improvement over its predecessor, as it has a sensible and understandable plot, and it even feels realistic, it also helps that it fixes the problems from the said predecessor with the character development and editing.
2. The R-rating works well with the film.
3. It takes a lot of bold risks, and executes them extremely well:
   • For one, it isn't scared to show the problems with the US government, such as censorship and US soldiers killing innocent civilians.
   • This is one of the rare films (and probably the first superhero film) where the Americans are the villains.
   • Various members are killed off, even ones who returned from the predecessor, and ones who the audience has followed throughout the whole film.
   • The Project Starfish story is another step in DCEU's creative direction.
   • More than one villain in the film, but each gets a big role.
   • As mentioned earlier, the film itself is a standalone sequel to a poorly received film, showing that sometimes, bad films deserve another chance.
4. James Gunn makes a return to directing, and Warner Bros. has given him a lot more freedom than Disney, which led to him creating a unique film.
5. Awesome acting, for example:
   • Margot Robbie continues her great performance as Harley Quinn, and her design is more faithful to the comics.
   • Idris Elba is a great replacement for Will Smith.
   • John Cena did a great job as Peacemaker to the point that he got his own spin-off show and would be a playable character in Mortal Kombat 1.
   • Sylvester Stallone (voice) and Steve Agee (body) were the perfect casting choice for King Shark.
6. Plenty of good and fun self-aware humor that would never overused, mediocre, or bad.
   • For example, King Shark has funny quotes like "bird" and "hand", which is surprising, due to how simplistic these quotes are.
7. Despite how you don't need to watch the original Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey to watch this film, it still follows the continuity from both films unlike other sequels that either retcon or ignore its prequel.
8. Like the rest of DC films, the action scenes are really entertaining, and fast-paced; for example, there is a scene where Harley Quinn manages to kill a bunch of policemen in the most incredible way yet, then later a beautiful special effect comes out after she shoots the guards and then takes out a stick.
9. Good-looking and amazing cinematography by Henry Braham, since its known that it was cinematographed by him, as he did for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
10. The new characters introduced in the film are very likable and entertaining meta characters, as well as returning ones:
    • Harley Quinn continues to be an entertaining and fleshed-out character.
    • Bloodsport is a great replacement for Deadshot, and his chemistry and character arc are enjoyable. Plus, he's believable as an anti-hero, unlike Deadshot.
    • Ratcatcher 2 is a heartwarming character who is easy to empathize with.
    • Polka-Dot Man is surprisingly enjoyable and interesting to watch.
    • Rick Flag is more likable and genuinely heroic, unlike in the 2016 predecessor where he was a generic military soldier.
11. The score, courtesy of John Murphy, is very amazing. It even features "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash.
12. Overall, the film was able to save Gunn's career after Disney fired him.

Trivia

• Before the film came out, July 29, 2021, they released a Bloodsport skin from the very popular Battle Royale game, Fortnite, which released a character skin, a sword, a backpack, and four graffiti (only if you buy the pack with everything it has) like Harley Quinn, King Shark, etc.
• Another Spin-off series is in development, though unlike Peacemaker, it will be more dramatic and less comedic.
• The director, James Gunn, was fired by Disney from Marvel after finding out old offensive tweets from his account, once Warner Bros. found this, they immediately hired him to direct a DC movie.
• Warner Bros originally wanted James Gunn to direct a Superman movie but he refused as he wasn't sure if he could direct a good Superman movie so they let him choose a DC project to direct which ended up being this movie.

External Links

• The Suicide Squad at the Internet Movie Database
• The Suicide Squad on Metacritic

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