BY CHRISTOPHER STAMM
GUEST movie REVIEWER
The Suicide Squad (Showing in theatres)
Rated a Hard R – For Language, pervasive violence, gore, and adult themes.
Like many of you back in 2016 when Suicide Squad came out, I gladly handed over my money to see it, and like so many of you, I walked out of the cinema that day shaking my head and thinking of P.T. Barnum’s famous quote: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
So, when I heard that they were doing a sequel, I shuddered in horror and said, “No, never – once bitten, twice shy.”
Then I heard they hired James Gunn (Guardians of The Galaxy 1 & 2) to write and direct it. I said, “No, no – nice try, but that’s still a no from me.”
But when I heard that the studio, having learned its lesson, gave Gunn total freedom to make it any way he wanted, my resolve started to weaken.
Then, Gunn announced it was not a sequel, nor was it a reboot. While they accepted the premise of the first, they would rebuild its foundation. Now I was becoming intrigued.
[Sigh.] Then they announced the cast, and my resolve started to crack. Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Sylvester Stallone, John Cena, Nathen Fillion, and the list continued. My initial decision to skip this film was taking some hits here, folks.
That’s when I saw the previews, and I broke – and let me tell you, I am so glad I did.
The Suicide Squad is excellent. Gunn truly captures the tone of the DC Comics, from which it’s adapted, perfectly – with a great balance of story, comedy, action, and pure insanity.
I know this review told you nothing about the film, which is my intent. I will say this film gets a solid four out of five stars from me on this one, so just go see it. You are going to love it!
FYI: You need not have seen the first Suicide Squad to see this one. In fact, I recommend you never see it. If you get the urge, take two aspirin and lay down until it passes.