The Suicide Squad (2021) - DCEU's best movie?

Rag-tag super villains are back for the sequel... except it's not really a sequel and it's much better and this one has a massive shark. (Non-spoilers).

Back in the summer of 2018, director James Gunn was fired by Disney for a series of 'indefensible' tweets which were 'inconsistent with [Disney's values] (ironic from Disney given its morally interesting past). This freed up the high-profile Guardians of the Galaxy director to get the Suicide Squad sequel gig just a few months after Mickey gave Gunn his P45. Amends have since been made between Gunn and Disney with Gunn's third Guardians instalment set to be released in summer 2023. However, snuggled in between Guardians Vol 2 and 3 on Gunn's filmography is this DC delight - heavy action, compelling development of mostly unknown villains from DC's wide selection of miscreants, Gunn-style comedy which lands well and sets the tone of the film early on. This isn't the cinematic Suicide Squad we've seem from the 2016 incarnation. The film is as if a B-movie script was given $175 million steroids and a talented writer/director to create a bombastic rollercoaster with just enough silliness to make you laugh and just enough heart to make you feel.

There's very little setup. We're thrown head-first into the Squad's latest mission where we get a great sense of the new characters and a natural reintroduction into familiar faces such as the recurring Harley Quinn and Rick Flag. From here the story flows naturally and entertainingly, with Gunn's use of flashbacks and time jumps (sometimes only 8 minutes into the past). The narrative gives the flow of the film real bounce and energy which continues throughout. While a non-stop narrative like this can be hard to manoeuvre and comprehend at the hands of a lesser filmmaker (Transformers comes to mind), Gunn helms the chaos of the action perfectly.

Gunn also gives time to flesh out his characters. Elba's Bloodsport the father who cares for his daughter, Melchior's Ratcatcher 2 the bereaved daughter and Robbie's Harley Quinn's been in two movies already so we don't need a backstory there. For me however, John Cena's Peacemaker provides the biggest surprise and best character in the film. Cena plays the character with the desired comedy and desired menace when required. A twisted patriot who wants peace by any means necessary, subtle (or maybe not-so-subtle) commentary on the United States itself. Tension arises between the all-or-nothing Peacemaker and the more morally equipped Rick Flag which provides a profound and unexpected commentary into the self-conflict surrounding serving your country. King Shark gives us much more heart and emotion then we'd come to expect from an 8-9 foot hulking shark. He's this film's King Kong - misunderstood gigantic monstrous creature with a heart of gold who just wants to be loved, with Stallone giving a perfect balance of sensitivity and menace to the voice of King Shark. While none of this is particularly original or ground-breaking, Gunn's script and the actors performances become compelling enough for the viewer to care.

The Suicide Squad is the jolt of freshness DC really needed and a welcome change to the comic book movie genre. While the recent Marvel movies haven't been bad by any means, formulaic wouldn't be an unfair descriptor of them. The DCEU's filmography hasn't produced anything with the same energy and flair... possibly at all. If DC continue on this trajectory, they could finally rival Marvel. Conceptually, the film is trodden ground - unexpected heroes, giant villain at the end and a destroyed city. But the real appeal of the film is this freshness, similar to how Guardians of the Galaxy brought the same to the MCU. If you're looking for a grenade of heart and a nuke of fun, look no further than here - you won't much of this anywhere else in DC.