There’s a reason it’s called The Suicide Squad and not Suicide Squad 2. Less of a sequel and more of a desperately needed do-over, this scabrous, side-splitting and surprisingly smart supervillain romp is the definite article. In theaters and streaming on HBO Max on Aug. 5, Furthermore, The Suicide Squad of 2021 springs from the twisted taste of James Gunn. His Guardians of the Galaxy movies injected weirdo sci-fi and a hefty dose of humor into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but when old tweets got him into hot water at Marvel, rival comic conglomerate DC snapped him up to revitalize another oddball ensemble: the neon-drenched, face-tattooed 2016 Suicide Squad movie misfire.
The Suicide Squad 2021 (IMAX) (First viewing)
Dir. James Gunn pic.twitter.com/vTdkgDlO9M
— Po 🐼 (@roomtrot) July 30, 2021
The Suicide Squad (2021), reviewed by Harvard scholars pic.twitter.com/oNNb1HEvaW
— calvbowe (@calvbowe) July 31, 2021
♢ An amazing reimagining of Harley Quinn’s costume in The Suicide Squad (2021) by @/doubledomino on Instagram ❤️ pic.twitter.com/pQ5CKASEIs
— ♦️ (@harleyshub) July 29, 2021
Moreover, DC’s Dirty Dozen suits Gunn even better than the MCU’s Guardians. Freed of Marvel’s family-friendly fetters, the man who began his career at B-movie trash palace Troma has found the perfect home for his gloriously bad-taste blend of gore and classic rock; ’80s action flicks and forgotten comics; and the most scurrilous of humor and foulest of language. Lastly, This is a movie where the US government hires a shark that talks like Sylvester Stallone to tear people in half. And it is sick. It is sick as hell.