Set Your Sights on The Suicide Squad

IMAGE COURTESY WARNER BROS. PICTURES

By Chantal Brown / Tom Hanks


The Suicide Squad is unlike any other superhero movie you’ve seen.

While it begins like you’d expect any action movie to begin – while heading to the island nation of Corto Maltese, we meet the new and improved Task Force X, an unconventional group of antiheroes brought together for one common purpose: a mission at the request of Argus, a questionable U.S. intelligence agency, with only Col. Rick Flag, played by Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad) to keep them in line.

While the faces may be different, they are all the same: whether that is the cocky wisecracker, the pretty boy, or the fatherly senior figure.

Directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad hilariously parodies mismatched superhero team-ups, whether that is TDK – masterfully played by Nathan Fillion (Guardians of the Galaxy) – having detachable limbs that can do little more than tickle an opponent from miles away, or Polka-Dot Man, played by David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight) seeing his mother in the face of his opponents, including a starfish.

Yes, you read that correctly. A starfish.

WWE superstar John Cena plays Peacemaker, who is prepared to use force to defend peace (how ironic) and freedom.

“The costume really changes you. I think it knows the difference between the character and who I really am, but the worst part is the mirror image of all the cameras shooting back at you,” Cena said. “It’s the most ridiculous piece of the costume, but it’s also the most difficult.

Idris Elba (Thor) plays Bloodsport – a Black British mercenary who’s serving some time for shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet!

“We played with the idea of him being in jail and him not being as fancy as he was, but he was still handy,” Elba said. “I’ve played characters in their prime, but this guy was a little rough.”

You may be wondering if this is a reboot to the 2016 movie Suicide Squad. In many ways, it seems like it – with a considerable amount of the cast returning to reprise their roles, and with a few new characters entering the mix.

In the end, The Suicide Squad is an irreverent, witty and charming film that holds its own, juggling an array of wacky but lovable characters, boasts a lot of humor as well as a lot of emotion.

The film serves as a sequel to the 2016 film Suicide Squad which starred Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live), Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder) and Jared Leto (Fight Club).

The Suicide Squad hits theaters and HBO Max August 6.