The Suicide Squad
Overview
The Suicide Squad is a 2021 superhero film directed by James Gunn, serving as a standalone sequel to the 2016 film Suicide Squad. The film features an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, and Pete Davidson. The film follows a team of supervillains who are recruited by the government to go on a dangerous mission in exchange for reduced prison sentences. The team, known as "Task Force X," is sent to the island of Corto Maltese, where a Nazi-era prison called Jotunheim holds a secret experiment known as "Project Starfish." The team includes: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), the deranged psychiatrist who has broken up with the Joker; Bloodsport (Idris Elba), a marksman who shot Superman and is serving time in prison; Peacemaker (John Cena), a jingoistic killer who believes in peace at any cost; Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), a young woman who can control rats; Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), a man whose mother experimented on him, giving him the ability to shoot polka-dots; King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), a man-eating shark-man who is surprisingly sweet; and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), the team's military leader. The film is a bloody, violent, and hilarious R-rated action-comedy. Gunn brings his signature style, mixing dark humor with heartfelt character moments. The film is not afraid to kill off characters, even major ones. The film's villain is Starro the Conqueror, a giant, telepathic starfish who is released from Jotunheim and threatens to destroy the island. The team defeats Starro, and they escape. The film ends with Bloodsport using a hard drive to blackmail the government, forcing them to leave the team alone. The Suicide Squad was a critical success, but a box office disappointment, earning only $168 million on a $185 million budget, partly due to the pandemic and its simultaneous release on HBO Max. The film is widely considered a vast improvement over the 2016 film, and it spawned a spin-off series, Peacemaker, which was also well-received.
