Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

I re-watched Thor: Ragnarok recently and was greatly entertained. While I’m not usually a big Marvel universe fan the lightness, humor, and color of Waititi’s film resonated well given the dark times in which we live.

On the other hand I had not really enjoyed Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies. They were just too banter-focused and silly for my taste, plus they featured Chris Pratt whom I rate as one of the least impressive actors currently working.

I did wonder if a bunch of ne’er-do-well DC comic characters would hold my interest (other than Harley Quinn whom I dearly love). I am happy to report that The Suicide Squad is quite enjoyable given its very tight direction, its weird collection of characters (with Dr. Quinzel at the top of my list), and its constant action and well-done special effects.

While some have commented on its over-the-top violence and gore — this movie is definitely not for children — if you love modern Japanese samurai movies or adult anime as much as I you will not be seeing anything unusual here.

Story wise, what we have is a twisted version of a stunt-driven Expendables movie but with sci-fi monster elements and a strange mix of human and semi-human characters.

That’s fine with me. Gunn knows how to propel the story forward while making sure the audience knows where we and the characters are at all times.

One word of warning: this movie is LOUD. If you’re watching this at home and your spouse is trying to sleep on the floor above your main viewing room you might want to consider turning your subwoofer DOWN.

Review copyright (c) 2021 by Dennis D. McDonald

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