THE SUICIDE SQUAD
15 ★★★★
Cert
In cinemas now
“I cherish peace with all my heart,” says John Cena’s ridiculously attired superhero. “I don’t care how many men, women and children I need to kill to get it.”
A dastardly early twist makes a review of the latest comic book blockbuster devilishly difficult to write. But that line, delivered in deadpan sincerity by a former wrestler with what looks like a chrome toilet seat on his head, sums up the mood perfectly.
After struggling to bring the dark tone of the comic books to the screen, the DC Extended Universe has found an unlikely saviour.
James Gunn, the man who scored a huge hit for Marvel with Guardians Of The Galaxy, delivers an early reboot for DC’s supervillain supergroup that is delightfully silly and deadly serious, often at the same time.
Gunn (who was sacked by Marvel for old, off-colour tweets) isn’t just out to right the wrongs of David Ayer’s bland 2016 Suicide Squad.
It feels like he is both lampooning and celebrating a whole genre. You think people who dress up in latex and appoint themselves heroes are well-rounded individuals? The Suicide Squad makes you wonder what Captain American got up to in the war years.
In a wonderfully off-kilter first act, Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is tasked with leading a menagerie of oddball villains to raid a South American island.
After a bravura twist, Gunn’s leads emerge from a very crowded field – Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Peacemaker (John Cena), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and King Shark, a dunderheaded, CGI aquatic god amusingly voiced by Sylvester Stallone.
The film offers violent action, an unpredictable plot and a smattering of killer lines. The future of the DC Extended Universe now looks deliciously dark.