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After serving as producer for the horror film come superhero deconstruction Brightburn (2019), it comes as no surprise that director James Gunn, best known for the Guardians of the Galaxy films (2014-) would turn his attention to a slightly more subversive flick within the superhero genre. Enter The Suicide Squad (2021), tenuously linked with the 2017 Oscar winner for Best Makeup and Hairstyling (no seriously). Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, in contrast to its predecessor, which was notoriously mashed together from three separate edits, displays a strikingly singular vision. This is big budget auteur filmmaking that uses CGI to create a stylistically unique, ensemble comedy, much in the same way that Tim Burton used production design to place his own stamp on Batman in the 80s.

In contrast to the corporate meddling that renders 2016’s Suicide Squad a barely compressible mess, Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is messy in a manner that can only result from a clear creative vision on the part of all involved. I say this not to make it sound as though Warner Bros. have suddenly changed their ways and become champions of creative vision; as much as to say that films such as Aqua Man (2018), and Shazam (2019) have clearly given them the confidence to loosen the reins on their creatives. If this is the result, long may it continue.

So let’s dig into the film, shall we? The film centres around a suicide squad, though the definite article in the title is initially misleading. Harley Quinn is once again portrayed by the enigmatic Margot Robbie, who alongside Rick Flag (played by Joel Kinnaman) return in the opening of the film before we are introduced to the new members of the ensemble. Robbie is the star of the show as usual. Harley Quinn’s lingering anxiety over her relationship with the Joker is carried over from Birds of Prey (2020), but interestingly we also see how she is seen as an anti-American rebel abroad. This is both hilarious, and ties into the film’s subversive narrative. Idris Elba’s Bloodsport is a reluctant father, whose macho sparring with the jingoistic peacemaker, played by John Cena, is played to hilarious effect with the real punchline being its patheticness and needless destructiveness. Cena’s character is also of interest to me for reasons that would creep into serious spoiler territory, so I will refrain from discussing them for now. Mikaela Hoover makes a turn as Camilla, a rat keeper who is the heart of the team, David Dastmalchian is the (kind of) oedipal Polka Dot Man and the motley crew is rounded out by Sylvester Stallone playing Nanaue: a talking shark that serves as the Groot of the group. The group dynamics are fun for the majority of the film, though there are definitely a few jokes that do not land. One quip about millennials being lazy felt particularly snore inducing. 

I complimented the CGI in my introduction, and it really is one of the standouts. It is frequently used in an expressionist fashion to show the internal perspectives of Harley Quinn and Polka Dot man. The resultant sequences feel as though they are using the CGI for a story telling purposes, rather than just to realise a big monster (though the film does have that too). It also uses it in the gore department, with CGI showing anatomical carnage a camera never could, and it is used at one point to underscore a tragic moment. 

The film is also politically adventurous, delving into the murky nature of the suicide squad premise. While it is not breaking any particularly new ground in this regard, it is always good to see popular media that does not pull any punches in its political narrative. 

With the goofiness of Guardians of the Galaxy, the visual boldness of Aquaman, and the gore and irreverence of Deadpool (2016). The Suicide Squad feels like director James Gunn is really stretching his creative muscles in an effort that could only come together with the work of many talented CGI artists, actors, and editors. The results for my money speak for themselves, this is a creative work that really brings something to the blockbuster filmscape.   

The Suicide Squad is out in Irish cinemas now.