The Suicide Squad: A Wild and Witty Antidote to Superhero Norms, Redefining the Genre

The Suicide Squad — currently screening in theaters and on HBO Max — serves as a light reboot of Suicide Squad, redefining the concept of strange in an appealing manner. Ironically, the existence of this new DC film is tied to Disney and a Twitter backlash aimed at its writer-director, James Gunn. Just over three years ago, Disney terminated Gunn’s contract following the re-emergence of inappropriate tweets from years prior. Although they initially maintained that Gunn would not be re-employed for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Marvel Studios would ultimately reverse that decision. This unexpected U-turn turned out to be a sweet victory for Gunn. During this uncertain period, Warner Bros. stepped in with a proposition for him to choose any project he wanted. Gunn’s pick was a Suicide Squad film — and now, it has arrived as an unexpected result of his departure.

At first glance, it makes perfect sense for Gunn to select The Suicide Squad. A mismatched band of anti-heroes and villains causing chaos? That’s exactly where his talents lie. With Marvel, Gunn crafted and directed Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, both of which received accolades from a majority of critics and grossed a total of $1.64 billion (approximately ₹12,153 crores) globally. When The Suicide Squad was first revealed, my immediate thought was, “Great, he’s bringing his Guardians style to DC.” Surprisingly, The Suicide Squad transcends being merely DC’s answer to Guardians of the Galaxy. Naturally, it contains Gunn’s hallmark traits — blending dramatic tension with humor and an infusion of nostalgic music — after all, it is his creation.

However, this time Gunn dives into his unique sensibilities, discarding what hasn’t worked for him in the past. Consequently, The Suicide Squad isn’t constricted by conventional storytelling techniques. In fact, the movie’s storyline could easily be encapsulated in two sentences. The narrative flow is minimal, resulting in The Suicide Squad feeling more like a collection of vignettes than a cohesive story. It’s essentially a massive joke that the film is in on itself. Many characters are used as punchlines, meeting their end shortly after introduction. Gunn certainly kept his promise to kill numerous characters, and he follows through. Yet, a select few enjoy plot protection, persisting until the climax and, surprisingly, even beyond. There’s an ongoing joke about audience indifference towards side characters, who are often forgettable.

Gunn similarly amplifies the bizarre, introducing not one or two, but nearly three anthropomorphic or animal-like characters for the audience to connect with. This peculiar content is what gives the film its distinct character. The Suicide Squad shines brightest when it embraces its outrageousness, absurdity, and sheer enjoyment.

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The Suicide Squad jumps straight into action with the new Task Force X, featuring some familiar faces like commander Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and chaos-loving Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Technically, Gunn’s film acts as a sequel to the 2016 flop Suicide Squad, yet it hardly acknowledges previous events, if at all. Consider it a much-needed fresh start. The new crew is headed by high-tech marksman and estranged father Robert «Bloodsport» DuBois (Idris Elba, known from Hobbs & Shaw) and fellow marksman, the morally ambiguous Christopher «Peacemaker» Smith (John Cena, also from F9). Bloodsport and Peacemaker share similar skills, igniting a rivalry that paints the first thirty minutes of The Suicide Squad into a competition of one-upmanship.

Moreover, we are introduced to rat-communicator Cleo «Ratcatcher 2» Cazo (Daniela Melchior, from Valor da Vida) with her pet rat Sebastian (the film’s closest parallel to Guardians of the Galaxy’s Groot), a monstrous great white shark named Nanaue/King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), and experiment-subject Abner «Polka-Dot Man» Krill (David Dastmalchian, from Ant-Man) who has the odd ability to shoot polka dots (as expected). Polka-Dot Man stands out as an ideal candidate for the film’s elaborate humor — indeed, he contributes to what I found to be the film’s most hilarious joke (delivered three times, and each time landing perfectly), but Gunn adds layers of unexpected emotional depth as well. Viola Davis returns as Task Force X’s head honcho Amanda Waller, yet her role primarily revolves around exposition.

On the subject of exposition, The Suicide Squad sees Harley and her fellow members dropped onto the (fictional) Latin American isle of Corto Maltese (likely a nod to the renowned Italian comic book series of the same name), where a military coup has recently dethroned long-standing dictators. Waller is anxious about Project Starfish, a scientific undertaking taking place at a Nazi-era facility referred to as Jötunheim. Her directive is clear: infiltrate, obliterate any evidence, and exfiltrate. For Gunn, this serves as a setup to explore interactions among his new ensemble. King Shark contributes to the humor with his human flesh cravings, Polka-Dot Man wrestles with his dark history, Bloodsport and Peacemaker compete for supremacy, and Ratcatcher 2 reveals her surprising golden heart as a bank heist veteran. Harley, on the other hand, finds herself in her own narrative during the initial half.

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Polka-Dot Man, Peacemaker, Bloodsport, and Ratcatcher 2 in The Suicide Squad
Photo Credit: Jessica Miglio/DC Comics

Despite Robbie being prominently featured in The Suicide Squad, she has limited involvement for much of the film. Her presence seems more of a legacy gesture, considering Harley has been integrated into the DC Extended Universe for the longest time — this marks her third outing following 2016’s Suicide Squad and 2020’s Birds of Prey, alongside Henry Cavill’s Superman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. The film primarily revolves around Elba, Melchior, Cena, and Kinnaman. The first two serve as the emotional core of the story, with Bloodsport and Ratcatcher 2 sharing poignant segments that exemplify Gunn’s more heartfelt approach. Additionally, through Peacemaker and Flag, The Suicide Squad seeks to critique decades of American foreign engagements that have devastated smaller nations.

Corto Maltese can represent various countries where the CIA or the US military has intervened in local affairs, disguised as a mission to foster peace but primarily motivated by American interests (or simply because they can). Peacemaker personifies these twisted values — his ideology prioritizes peace at any price, regardless of the human cost. If taken a step further, he could fit seamlessly into a dark comedy like Dr. Strangelove. The messaging in The Suicide Squad does become somewhat overt at times, with Peter Capaldi’s supervillain Dr. Gaius “The Thinker” Grieves serving as another means of exposition, similar to Davis’ Waller. Nevertheless, Gunn consistently keeps the humor front and center, ensuring that the film maintains a light-hearted tone.

However, certain sequences within The Suicide Squad can feel overextended and drawn out. Despite its runtime of slightly over two hours, it appears much longer. Perhaps some of this arises from the absence of urgency in the new squad’s mission. Or it may stem from the lack of a genuine antagonist. The military leaders of Corto Maltese often feel like an afterthought, only as competent as Gunn allows them to be. The massive alien starfish Starro, hinted at in trailers, serves simply as a massive alien starfish.

Nonetheless, Gunn delivers a wild, blood-soaked, and chaotic escapade at his most uninhibited — more than his previous works at Marvel, or perhaps even more than he’s previously allowed himself. And for Warner Bros., it’s a further lesson in refraining from excessive interference in its DC projects — as the theatrical version of Suicide Squad was rejected by its director David Ayer due to this issue — as the studio could certainly use more of this spirit in its quest for a renewed identity to rival Marvel’s tightly-run machine.

The Suicide Squad is currently screening in cinemas worldwide. In India, it is available in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Additionally, it can be streamed on HBO Max in the US at no additional cost.

Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, features a double episode this week: discussing the OnePlus 9 series and the Justice League Snyder Cut (beginning at 25:32). Orbital can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your audio content.