Suicide Squad, The

Stars: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, Viola Davis, Peter Capaldi, Taika Waititi, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion. Voice: Sylvester Stallone

Director: James Gunn

Easy after the first 20 minutes to dismiss this as rubbish, but writer-director Gunn knows this all too well, and is set on making what amounts to a moving comic-book, complete with masses of deliberately surreal violence, and brimful of invention and imagination.

It's The Dirty Dozen in a Marvel/DC world, as a clutch of super-villains, including Harley Quinn (Robbie) and Weasel (inside the meerkat-like suit is Sean Gunn, the director's brother) is unleashed on the island of Corto Maltese, off the South American coast (their flag looks suspiciously like that of Colombia), where dark deeds are afoot, courtesy mad scientist Peter Capaldi.

Alas, after inflicting considerable casualties, all but two of the A team is wiped out, and the B team is sent in, consisting of Bloodsport (Elba), Peacemaker (Cena, growling 'I cherish peace with all my heart. I don't care how many men, women and children I have to kill to get it'), Ratcatcher 2 (Melchior), who can summon up rats by the thousand, and keeps a pet one, to the horror of Bloodsport, who's allergic, Polka-Dot Man (Dastmalchian) who throws lethal, well, polka-dots and King Shark, voiced by Stallone, who begins as laughable but ends as lovable.

If you treat this one as a super-hero movie, you won't enjoy it much. If I tell you that at the climax an entire city is destroyed by a giant starfish, you'll get the tone. The film, however, has some clever touches, notably with the 'chapter headings', and is constantly thinking of new things to excite and amuse its audience.

Also available to rent on Home Premiere

David Quinlan

USA/Canada/UK 2021. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers. Colour by Company 3.
126 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 0, Swearing 3.

Review date: 28 Sep 2021

DVD review