The Suicide Squad released to high critical acclaim and positive fan reception alike – and it’s easy to see why. Written and directed by James Gunn, the film manages to wrap a thematically coherent and engaging story around a surprising, blood-splattered action flick. There’s so much going for the movie, it’s hard to know where to begin, but we want to unpack some of the highlights that make The Suicide Squad special. Some spoilers ahead, so if you want to watch the movie first, you can catch it in theaters now or stream it on HBO Max through Sept. 5. Now, let’s get to it!

Inverted Expectations

Besides providing an eye-catching spectacle, action scenes work best when they progress narrative and character development. The Suicide Squad’s excellent action sequences eloquently convey character and conflict while also playing around with, and challenging, conventions.

Perhaps no scene does it better than the bloodiest one. After freeing herself from her torturer's shackles, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) blasts her way through her captor's mansion, donning a red gown and black combat boots that harken back to the character’s original color palette. The scene is violent and gory, to be sure, but it also upends our expectations when Harley drops her guns and picks up a javelin. Beautiful flowers start flowing behind her – and vibrant petals spurt from her enemies’ wounds. As if that weren’t enough, two-dimensional cartoon birds flitter and flutter about, turning what would ordinarily be a display of unabashed (and unimaginative) machismo into a playful romp expressing Harley’s dynamic (and deranged) personality.

Super Substantive

With a stellar ensemble cast, the film juggles multiple plotlines throughout its 132-minute runtime, but arguably the core conflict is best represented by Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). It is through their uneven relationship that the movie frames and explores its themes of power and corruption.

Waller, a ruthless, high-ranking government official, is in charge of recruiting penitentiary inmates with special powers to join Task Force X on a dangerous mission in exchange for lighter sentences. Waller means business. Should any of the task force stray from their mission, she will detonate a bomb inserted into their skulls. Bloodsport is uninterested – until Waller coerces him by threatening to try his 16-year-old daughter, who recently committed petty theft, as an adult. Waller warns that their prison has the highest mortality rate of any system in the U.S., more than suggesting his daughter may not make it out alive. Bloodsport begrudgingly agrees to lead the mission.

Task Force X ventures to the fictional South American island nation Corto Maltese to uncover the mystery behind the secretive experiment Project Starfish. After a battle that leaves half the task force dead, the group runs into a rebel faction fighting for independence from the brutal regime of Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto). Despite her hesitation, faction leader Sol Soria (Alice Braga) tells the “guns blazing” American squad she’d “make a deal with the devil” to gain independence for her people, and decides to team up with Task Force X.

After capturing The Thinker (Peter Capaldi), lead scientist in charge of Project Starfish, Task Force X learns that the American government has been secretly funding the project for decades – leading to the dictatorship in Corto Maltese and shocking human experimentation. When the heroes get their hands on the hard drive containing evidence of this revelation, they disagree on whether the news should be leaked to the public, and chaos ensues.

Despite the complexities of the material, the story never feels heavy-handed, nor does it slow down the pace of the movie. Rather, The Suicide Squad is a masterclass in how to make action say something.

Side Notes

• Bloodsport rocks a beret so hard, we’re fully expecting the hat to become a new trend in men’s fashion.

• Chapter titles are stylishly displayed throughout the movie, utilizing flames, elevator buttons, and more.

• In a film that defies the male gaze, Peacemaker (John Cena) provides some well-appreciated eye candy. 

• The Suicide Squad is also just really funny. While the giant mommy kaiju visual gag garners the biggest laugh, there are a few lines that made us bust out laughing:

  • Harley to a lover she just murdered: “Killing kids… kind of a red flag.”

  • Also Harley: “If we find out you have personalized license plates, you die… If you mismatch blacks, you die… If you cough without covering your mouth…” 

  • Peacemaker on his goofy helmet: “It’s not a toilet seat. It’s a beacon of freedom!”

And Then There’s Heart

We’ll leave you with a final line of dialogue:

“If I die because I gambled on love, it will be a worthy death.”

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