2016's Suicide Squad left a sour taste in many mouths, as David Ayer's film did not live up to the expectations held by fans and ones established in the Comics. Fast forward 5 years later, the sequel/reboot The Suicide Squad is already receiving raving reviews ahead of its release.
James Gunn, the mastermind behind films like Guardians of the Galaxy, hopped on board to direct back in 2019. Producer Peter Safran and the rest of the studio believed Gunn was the right fit to helm this project, and it seems they were spot on.
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Overall scores for The Suicide Squad are overwhelmingly positive, but that's not really too much of a surprise. On Metacritic, the film currently stands at a 78 on 23 critic reviews and has a 98% on rotten tomatoes with the consensus being: "Enlivened by writer-director James Gunn's singularly skewed vision, The Suicide Squad marks a funny, fast-paced rebound that plays to the source material's violent, anarchic strengths." It's apparent that Gunn's light fun energy is a change from the previous dark, grittier entries in the DCEU and one that compares to his previous Marvel work. Below are more initial reactions.
Los Angeles Times (Justin Chang)
"After 2016’s ugly, bludgeoning “Suicide Squad,” I couldn’t imagine liking — and could barely stomach the idea of seeing — another movie called “Suicide Squad.” I’m delighted to be proven wrong."
Score: Unscored
Empire Magazine (Olly Richards)
"His take on The Suicide Squad is unashamedly silly, but crucially never stupid, and keeps the baddies at least morally murky. Most importantly, its primary aim is to be really, really fun… Gunn puts plenty of time into building the team’s bond. If he lets it loosen in the middle, by the time it comes to the final showdown, as Starro wobbles destructively over the island, he’s made his senseless band make sense as a team… Gunn shows that you can have something to say while still delivering great gags. By embracing this deeply weird idea, he’s produced the most enjoyable DC movie in years."
Score: 4/5
JoBlo's Movie (JimmyO)
"The real story behind The Suicide Squad is simply that James Gunn was allowed to make exactly the film he wanted to make… And much like he did with Guardians of the Galaxy, he adds a refreshing amount of humanity, and he still manages to bring his very darkly wicked sense of fun into the mix… The Suicide Squad is a magnificent masterpiece of mayhem. I loved every single minute of James Gunn's bold new entry into the DC Cinematic Universe. Every single actor fully embraces the brazen insanity without holding back."
Score: 5/5
Times (UK) (Ed Potton)
"Now that’s how you do it… Just five years on, however, we have this much slicker, stranger and funnier sequel/remake with an extra “The” in the title. The set-up is essentially the same: a team of supervillains are plucked from prison to take on a foolhardy mission. It’s basically The Dirty Dozen in tights, and it’s still very violent, often nihilistically so. Yet the storytelling is vastly more assured and playful."
Score: 4/5
USA Today (Brian Truitt)
"…shifts superhero movies into a hilarious, gory and exceedingly bonkers new direction…Plus there’s a lot of heart and emotion woven through all the unpredictable deaths and rampant four-letter words that really give this strange picture life… So it seems lightning has struck again, this time in the DC universe where the most successful movies thus far have played it safe. That’s never been Gunn’s game, thankfully, and certainly isn’t here. Anyway, who needs Batman around when you’ve got Starro the Conqueror?"
Score: 3.5/5
The Suicide Squad, which includes returning characters from the 2016 film like Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang, Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, and Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, features new supervillains as well like John Cena's Peacemaker and Idris Elba's Bloodsport (who was originally recast for Will Smith's Bloodshot). Gunn clearly has a knack for taking a group of misfits and throwing them on a wildly absurd journey filled with heart and in-depth characters, so it's no surprise that critics are loving what they're seeing with this new interpretation.
Gunn had been tapped to write and direct The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros. and DC after he had been fired from the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. Disney's decision to remove Gunn from the project was prompted by offensive Tweets he posted several years earlier, which resurfaced thanks to conservative Donald Trump supporters who were angered by the filmmaker's criticisms of the then-President. Eventually, Disney reinstated Gunn as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but his commitment to The Suicide Squad forced the production of the Marvel Studios film to be pushed back.
Now, Gunn will deliver both a Marvel and DC film to audiences, and they will each will bring his signature brand of mayhem and humor. So, while Gunn's temporary dismissal was a blow to him and fans, it turns out both the director and his supporters are the real winners in this scenario.
The Suicide Squad is set to release on August 6, 2021.
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Source: Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes
