The Suicide Squad

For the past several months my nephew and I have been having a movie night every Saturday.  We get a treat and pick several movies to watch together and it has been so much fun (watching the movies and spending time with him).  Lately we have been working our way through all of the movies in the DCEU (we are huge fans) in preparation for the release of The Suicide Squad.  It is safe to say that we have been anticipating this movie for a long time and we both had a great time watching it in IMAX last night!  After the ruling family of Corto Maltese, an island nation off the coast of South America, is overthrown and a ruthless anti-American dictator (Joaquin Cosio) is installed, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) recruits a group of supervillains from Belle Reve penitentiary to destroy Project Starfish, run by Dr. Gaius Grieves/ The Thinker (Peter Capaldi) in a Nazi-era laboratory on the island, which could be catastrophic to the U.S. if it is in the wrong hands.  Col. Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is the field leader of the so-called Suicide Squad composed of Harleen Quinzel/ Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Robert DuBois/ Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Christopher Smith/ Peacemaker (John Cena), Cleo Cazo/ Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Abner Krill/ Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and Nanaue/ King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone).  There are some interesting, and often hilarious, interactions within the group because Bloodsport and Peacemaker keep trying to show each other up, Harley Quinn has boyfriend issues, Ratcatcher has daddy issues, Polka-Dot Man has mommy issues, King Shark just wants a friend, and Flag has second thoughts about the mission.  The action sequences are fantastic, especially when Harley Quinn fights every soldier at the Presidential Palace to escape while the rest of the group is trying to come up with a plan to save her (Harley is so kick-ass), and they feature a killer soundtrack!  This movie is incredibly violent, gory, and filled with profanity but I was surprised by its heart and by how sympathetic the characters are.  I loved the message that even the lowliest and most despised creatures can still have a purpose and Sean really loved James Gunn's visual style and how all of the title cards are displayed.  This is how you make a comic book movie, in my opinion, and we both loved it!