A loud, messy, often incoherent comic-book action movie that still has enough swagger, visual energy, and a few standout performances to make it intermittently entertaining. It’s best approached as a chaotic guilty pleasure rather than a polished superhero film.
Suicide Squad
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Action · Adventure
Wed · 2h 2m
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie
Overview
From DC Comics comes the Suicide Squad, an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.
Director
David Ayer
Cast
Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie
Curator Review
Verdict
A loud, messy, often incoherent comic-book action movie that still has enough swagger, visual energy, and a few standout performances to make it intermittently entertaining. It’s best approached as a chaotic guilty pleasure rather than a polished superhero film.
Best for
Viewers who enjoy glossy, trashy blockbuster chaos
Fans of antihero team-ups and comic-book misfits
People who like style, needle drops, and big performances over tight plotting
Anyone curious about one of the most infamous studio-edited superhero movies
Skip if
You want clean storytelling or coherent character arcs
You’re looking for a serious or emotionally grounded DC movie
You’re easily irritated by clumsy editing and tonal whiplash
You dislike movies that feel more like a trailer than a complete film
Overview
Suicide Squad is the kind of studio blockbuster that seems to be fighting itself in real time. It has a strong premise, a killer cast, and moments of real pop-movie energy, but the execution is jagged, overstuffed, and often baffling. The result is less a satisfying ensemble adventure than a series of flashy scenes stitched together with very little confidence in the material.
Worth noting
And yet, it’s not a total wash. Margot Robbie gives the movie its most durable spark, Viola Davis brings authority, and the film occasionally lands on a nasty, comic-book pulp tone that feels more alive than the surrounding clutter. The soundtrack-heavy approach and the ragtag-team concept give it a certain disposable fun, even when the story is collapsing around it.
Bottom line
If you’re in the mood for a polished superhero movie, this is not the one. If you’re interested in a notorious misfire that still has enough personality to be weirdly watchable, it can be an entertaining disaster. Its appeal is almost entirely in the gap between ambition and execution.
Top Letterboxd reviews
•lily• (1.5★) · 5715 likes
Margot Robbie’s back must hurt after having to carry this entire film
•lily• (1.5★) · 4864 likes
films that suicide squad has more oscars than: •midsommar •knives out •blindspotting •portrait of a lady on fire •gone girl •the witch •good time •the handmaiden •your name •suspiria •raw •never rarely sometimes always
vanessa (1★) · 4714 likes
Isabelle Huppert did not come all the way from France to see Suicide Squad win an Oscar.
hunter strawberry (1.5★) · 3347 likes
I used to think that Jared's Joker is a comedy, but now I realized, it's a tragedy
Kairit (2★) · 2747 likes
me in suicide squad: so when do we kill ourselves?
Themes
antiheroes, team dynamics, government black ops, comic-book chaos, redemption, villainy, found family, chaotic spectacle