Going into the cinema to see James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad I was fairly sceptical. The trailers were pretty good but considering the massive disappointment which was Suicide Squad, I was ready to be disappointed. That being said, the sequel was 2-and-a-bit hours of absolutely ridiculous fun. That being said, I have never been in a cinema with such sporadic laughing – at some point, each person in the cinema was the only one laughing. If you’re not interested in reading further, my one piece of advice for this film is to go see it on a big screen. If I were watching it at home, I might have walked away strongly disliking it but the level of immersion that the cinema provides is enough to not just go along with the ride, but enjoy it all without having too many critical thoughts.

Technicals and Music

The CGI and practical effects in this film are outstanding. The gore felt like the graphics team used Sin City and The Watchmen as reference points for the style they wanted and just dialled it all the way up to 11 – this is probably one of the most gory films I have seen recently and James Gunn weirdly pulls it off in a way that is somewhere between deeply scarring and obscenely amusing. The soundtrack, as should be expected from a James Gunn film was full of nostalgic hits that were perfectly chosen. The score, on the other hand, was nothing interesting but at this point I think it is clear that DC has no real interest in their scoring.

The character design (and hair and makeup) in this movie is outlandish but perfect and, though it misses a few times (in my eyes at least), makes the extravagance of the movie work well.

Writing and Direction

I don’t know which idiot gave James Gunn full creative control over this movie but I think it worked out. The whole plot of the film is completely insane and honestly barely holds together so if you are the kind of person that is bothered by something not being realistic, I would definitely not recommend this film. The direction is really more impressive than anything. There are 100 moments in the film that, on paper, seem like they would never work but Gunn manages to pull it all together in a film that is incredibly enjoyable.

Also, James Gunn was set up with a difficult situation for writing this as a sequel but also rebooting almost everything about the franchise and, though it’s difficult to explain without spoiling the film, he does a great job of moving on and only retaining the elements that work (and those that were not left in only the first film for legal reasons).

Other

Usually I would write a portion on casting, acting, editing, and some other aspects of the film making but with The Suicide Squad I have very little to say about them. John Cena did a surprisingly good job as Peacemaker and the Idris Elba, of course, did not disappoint. Daniela Melchior was also a pleasant surprise as Ratcatcher 2. The other elements of the film (e.g. editing, colouring, set design, etc.) was good but nothing that really stood out.

In Summary…

If you can, go see it in a cinema but don’t go in with any expectations. I had a great time and I’d be happy to see it again but it is a wild ride and is ridiculous to a point where some might not take a liking to it if you go in with too high standards. The comedy is great and everyone came out of the cinema talking about what crazy parts of the film they liked the best (none of which were the same). Finally, don’t be put off by the first movie – they have practically nothing to do with one another and don’t even have similar atmospheres.

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked this review. Please make sure to go check out more of our content at Screenhub Entertainment such as our review of The Green Night or my who’s who guide to film composers.