"The Suicide Squad" Review - From the Vaults

 Of all of the things I expected from "The Suicide Squad", "Whistle for the Choir" by The Fratellis was not one of them...

On the island of Corto Maltese, a military coup has just displaced the island's rulers. Now Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has dispatched a team of ragtag supervillain misfits to the island, not to deal with the coup, but to eliminate the mysterious facility of "Jotunheim", a leftover from Nazi war criminals which contains a dangerous weapon which must be destroyed. Leading the team is cynical mercenary loner with a fear of rats and a suit made of guns, named Robert "Bloodsport" DuBois (Idris Elba); and accompanying him are:

Christopher Smith, "Peacemaker" (John Cena) an ultraviolent, jingoistic, uptight, arrogant murder machine who believes in America and peace at any cost.

Nanaue (Sylvester Stallone), an adorable man eating shark set to become the internet's favourite part, and I can see why.

Abner Kirill, "Polka Dot Man" (The always underrated David Dastmalchian) a depressed, quiet, strange man with mother issues, a tragic past and the need to fire a polka-dot virus out of his body before it consumes him.

Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior, more on her later) an adorable young thief with the ability to control rats, a terrible past of her own, and a best friend/pet rat named Sebastian who practically carries the team in my book.

Our Queen. Picture source: Kyulcorn, Art Station

They team up with others on their journey, both old faces and new, and must learn to work together if they are to survive this hellscape. That is, if any of them are even meant to get off this island alive...

First things first, before I say anything else:

I do not understand how this movie gets away with being a 15. James Gunn has gone back to the good old days of Troma and goes WAY harder than he needs to. We get men ripped in half (squibs, not CGI blood), heads chewed, throats slit, men set on fire, people injecting heroin (twice), male full frontal nudity, boobs, a HORRIFYING underground laboratory straight out of "Slither" or a Troma movie; and a beach scene straight out of "Saving Private Ryan". This should NOT be a 15.

This movie is fantastic fun.

I legitimately adore these two fucking characters so fucking much. My queen Ratcatcher 2. Source: Kathudsonart, Pinterest

Gunn has captured the spirit of a 70s war film, and a B-movie one at that. This is a riotous, bloody, gory, violent, carnage fuelled odyssey into darkness, blood, and fucking hilarity. The pacing is fantastic, there is a spark and spontaneity and creativity to the fight sequences (special mentions go to something straight out of "Birds of Prey" and one shot entirely in a reflection) and that soundtrack we have come to love and expect from Gunn at this point. But there's no overuse of the gas pedal, he knows when to relent, understands the importance of pacing, and of characters.

Seriously this movie is so much fun. Source: Agente Parker, Twitter.https://twitter.com/agenteparker/status/1427453464335069187?lang=en

We like this Squad, we want to see them succeed. Idris Elba is always excellent, and here is the prototype of an Idris Elba action movie character we have wanted but never quite gotten; David Dastmalchian is fantastic and gets the darkest joke of the movie, Margot Robbie as Dr Harleen Quinzel is wisely written out for a lot of the movie so that we can focus on our main protagonists and not be too distracted (though her sequences are fun, and surprisingly subversive, and also a good running gag with a weapon); John Cena is having fun subverting and playing with his all-American image to a surprisingly dark effect; Joel Kinnaman returns as Colonel Rick Flag and is given a lot more to do here, and actually was one of my favourite characters this time round; but it is Daniela Melchior who is the centre and anchor of the movie: Ratcatcher 2 is a sweet, endearing, heartbreaking and all-together lovely character, and her dynamic with Bloodsport and the team adds some humanity missing in a lot of these movies.

It's not for everybody (it's fucking gory as hell, and the sense of humour may grate at some people) but it's got an anarchic, almost punk-like sensibility to it. This is made with love and eclectic carnage, without forgetting what makes these movies fun.