Written and Directed by James Gunn
Starring Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman David Dastmalchian, and Daniela Melchoir
Runtime 2 hours and 12 minutes
MPAA Rating R for Drug Use, Brief Graphic Nudity, Language Throughout, Some Sexual References, Strong Violence, and Gore
In theaters and on HBOMax

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport and “Doc” Hunter Bush, Podcast Czar

“I cherish peace with all my heart but don’t care how many men, women, or children I have to kill to get it.”

Rosalie Kicks:

The Suicide Squad (re-do) is not terrible.

There’s thrilling action, Harley Quinn redemption (to be clear: from the Ayer rendition), gnarly King Shark chompin’ scenes, a Norman Bates type character that wears polka dots, John Cena in tighty whities (if that is a thing you might be into), Idris Elba looking jazzed to actually be in a film and oh yea, tentacle porn. It is comic book stuff made wild, undoubtedly by the mind of a wild man: James Gunn. Now, I don’t want to rain on this parade...but there are moments in which I felt Gunn could have been tamed though. Maybe reigned in a bit?

Two hour and twelves minutes is a lot of time to fill and The Suicide Squad is a jammed packed adventure. Yet, there are moments that invoke fatigue. It is not that the plot is overly complicated but this is a film that is...wellll...trying to do a lot. A mission to overtake an enemy infested island to acquire a harddrive is filled with a rescue mission, a kidnapping of a scientist named Thinker with lite-bright hair (Peter Capaldi), infighting, a government coup and oh yea, an extremely large alien starfish creature named Starro that is stomping on the city while spawning little mini-mes that attach themselves to people’s faces in order to control their minds.

With that said, I don’t think you could have called on a more perfect filmmaker to rebrand a property that had a lackluster, messy start.

“Doc” Hunter Bush:

I think James Gunn is one of the directors better suited to adapting comics (this of course depends on what kind of comics you want to adapt, but for the sake of this discussion I’m focusing on the big, silly, power fantasy kind) because he treats it all very seriously while knowing that it’s big, silly, and supposed to be fun. Watching The Suicide Squad (that “The” is how you tell them apart!) you can really see how reigned in his more splattery, goopy, brain-exposing tendencies are when he’s working with Marvel. That’s not a dig at anyone in particular btw, just an observation with regards to style.

Gunn’s adoption of comic book style here is writ large, literally, with big chapter titles dividing things up in fun ways that seemed, at least mostly (?) to have been realized in-camera. Things like giant flaming letters, roots poking out of the walls of a jungle pit, or the assorted junk arranged along the top of a scientific black site all spelling out things like Operation: Jotunheim, for instance. That was a neat touch that I appreciated, which made this feel like it was unabashedly a “comic book movie”.

It’s not perfect but, especially coming from the DCU, the amount of fun (violent and splattery) to be found here more than outweighs any minor quibbles I have.

What were some of your favorite bits, Kicks?

Rosalie Kicks:

I think the more appropriate thing would be to ask: What were my favorite dots?

This, of course, is in reference to the fantastical villain Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian). Never did I ever think I would enjoy seeing a person puke on screen as much as I did when I experienced a colorful stream of polka dots emerging from David Dastmalchian’s mouth. This is hands down my favorite unique, lesser-known villain that has popped up in one of these comic book adaptation things. It makes me question when we will finally be gifted the presence of other illustrious villains on the silver screen such as: Egghead or Condiment King?

“Doc” Hunter Bush:

Personally, I would love to see more of the C- and D-list villains (and heroes!) get their time on screen, especially if they’re as good at pairing the characters with actors who haven't had their moment to shine quite yet as Polka Dot Man/David Dastmalchian! I also really enjoyed Nathan Fillion’s turn as TDK, Flula Borg’s as Javelin and who doesn’t love Sean Gunn’s portrayal of Weasel?

Give me some Kite Man! Rainbow Raider! Crazy Quilt! All those weirdly-specific baddies created to give the heroes something to do!

Rosalie Kicks:

Yes to all these baddies. Please come in with the weird.

I can’t go without saying that I was extremely fond of the other squad members such as Rat Catcher 2 (Daniela Melchoir), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone and Steve Agee) and Weasel (Sean Gunn). To me, everyone that was part of this film looked like they were having a blast and it comes through in their performances.

What I love about James’s films are that they have an energy that manages to transcend the screen. I sense that this guy knows how to run a hardworking movie set that remembers to have fun. Sure, I may have squabbles about the story here and there, in particular the glamourization of guns. Yet, I can’t complain about a scene in which a bunch of dudes come to Harley’s aid only to find that she doesn't need no rescuing cause she can kick ass all on her own. Overall, this is an entertaining watch and, frankly, with the current happenings in the world is just what I needed.

“Doc” Hunter Bush:

This was definitely a good time, and James Gunn clearly had his own fun - killing off some of his favorite collaborators after dressing them up like goofballs, poking fun at the previous attempt to bring The Squad to screen and basically ruining Marvel’s chances of ever getting a Squirrel Girl movie to screen feeling like a fresh idea.

Rosalie Kicks:

HA! Well, I still think the chances of seeing a Squirrel Girl is highly likely, doc. There is nothing that will stop the house of mouse.

In the end, I am happy James Gunn is around making films, continues to give Lloyd Kaufman cameos, and clearly just gave this generation their own Stay Puft.