How Did I Not Realize The Suicide Squad Was FANTASTIC

I guess you can polish a turd after all. After watching The Suicide Squad (or Suicide Squad 2) for the first time, I super annoyed with myself as I should have watched this fantastic movie earlier.

This movie was AWESOME! James Gunn, the director, is a genius movie maker/director as he was not only able to revive a dead, laughably-bad movie, Suicide Squad 1, but also managed to turn it into one of the best DC movies around. It’s simply extraordinary how two versions of the same movie, with both practically having the same plot, can be so drastically different from one another. Like I said, James Gunn is a genius.

Yet, it wasn’t just James Gunn who made this movie great. It was the new cast of actors too.

Idris Elba as Bloodsport, John Cena as Peacemaker, Margot Robbie (who is one of the three carryover actors/actresses from SS1) as Harley Quinn, Daniela Melchior as Rat Catcher #2, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Sylvester Stallone as King Shark, Viola Davis (the second carryover) as Amanda Waller, and Joel Kinnaman (the third carryover) as Captain Flag were all brilliant.

Unlike the first Suicide Squad that featured bland, lifeless, robots posing as characters, the super villains portrayed in this movie actually had realistic and relatable emotions, desires, and morality codes that I could invest in. Even the carryovers from the first movie, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, and Captain Flag, were infinitely better portrayed and actualized in SS2, even though they were played by the same actors in SS1.

If I had to pick some standout characters, it would have to be Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). It’s not that the other actors and actresses were bad or boring, because they certainly were not. It’s just these three had something special about them that I enjoyed more than the others.

For Bloodsport, he was just a superior Deadshot in every way. Idris Elba’s portrayal was funnier, grittier, more heroic, and more relatable than Will Smith’s Deadshot from the 2016 film. I know it’s easy to dunk on Will Smith now (especially after the 2022 Oscars), but this isn’t meant to be another insult to the man. He was given a bad script and direction for Deadshot, while Idris Elba was given a fantastic, realistic script/direction for Bloodsport and created a great character.

Okay, I actually will dunk on Will Smith a little bit as I think Idris Elba is just the better actor, which made Bloodsport that much more enjoyable to watch.

As for John Cena and Peacemaker, he expertly brought one of the most morally flawed, yet honorable characters in the DC comics to life in SS2. It was clear to see that Peacemaker wasn’t a superhero, as he was more than willing to kill anyone and anything to achieve “peace”, though he wasn’t entirely bad either as his overall goal (of achieving peace) was honorable.

That’s what made him so captivating to watch as I wasn’t sure whether to root for or against the character.

In the end, I rooted for him against Captain Flag, even though he was technically on the “wrong” side. It’s too bad he died, though James Gunn is directing a spinoff series for him right now which I have to watch as soon as I’m done with writing this.

Anyways, the most surprising characters who I really liked was Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Even though she’s one of the best actresses in the world, Margot Robbie has been given such awful scripts and movies (Suicide Squad 1 and Birds of Prey) to work with during her time as Harley Quinn that I couldn’t see her pulling off a good Harley Quinn portray. Especially not one in another Suicide Squad adaptation.

Thankfully, I was proven wrong as the gorier, raunchier, and funnier Suicide Squad 2 suited Harley Quinn so much better than Birds of Prey or Suicide Squad 1 could have. I hope Suicide Squad 2 won’t be the last time we’ll see Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn as she deserves another shot at a spinoff as the crazed psychiatrist with competent directors and screenwriters.

Moreover, I think every character in this movie benefited from the gorier, raunchier, funnier, and just downright outlandish tone Gunn set for this iteration of Suicide Squad. It’s a movie that doesn’t take itself seriously at all and is all the better for it. It’s not supposed to be serious in the first place.

Strangely, the first movie tried to be self-deprecating while also taking itself serious at the same time, which obviously didn’t work. That’s the main difference between the two.

Oh, and that James Gunn and his excellent screenwriting staff were the ones in charge this time.

Nevertheless, I really wish I watched this movie when it came out in 2021, though I guess late is better than never. This is a super late review, but I’m giving The Suicide Squad (which is really just Suicide Squad 2) an 8.8/10. It’s that good and I recommend that everyone should watch it if you haven’t already seen it.

Images Source: Featured Image: (Warner Bros. Discovery/DC) (THE SUICIDE SQUAD – Official “Rain” Trailer – YouTube)

In Text Image 1: (Warner Bros. Discovery/DC) (THE SUICIDE SQUAD – Official “Rain” Trailer – YouTube)

In Text Image 2: (Warner Bros. Discovery/DC) (THE SUICIDE SQUAD – Official “Rain” Trailer – YouTube)

In Text Image 3: (Warner Bros. Discovery/DC) (THE SUICIDE SQUAD – Official “Rain” Trailer – YouTube)