Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has another mission for her suicide squad. Infiltrate the island of Corto Maltese where a recent coup has destabilised the government and destroy a secret weapon that could threaten the United States. 

The Suicide Squad whilst ostensibly a sequel barely references the first film and completely overhauls the tone on its way to being easily the most fun DC superhero movie in its new extended universe. Writer/director James Gunn, the man behind the excellent Guardians Of The Galaxy films has been given free reign to take the ragtag team humour from those films and add violence, swearing and the deaths of many of the titular squad. 

Surviving the first film are Waller, Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtenay) and the wonderful Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Whilst some of our new additions include Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) and King Shark (Sylvester Stallone). 

Whilst Viola Davis’ Waller and the government coup scenario the team are dropped into are deadly serious the remainder of the film is entirely bonkers and hilarious. Bloodsport and Peacemaker are assassins constantly trying to one up each other on how deadly they can be, whilst Peacemaker’s idea of how far he will go to ensure peace is psychotic. Talking of which, Polka-Dot Man has an unhealthy obsession with his mother and Harley Quinn is still gleefully insane. King Shark may just steal every scene he is in though as the dumbest, cuddliest most violent criminal of them all. 

It is also hard to pick out the best performance in amongst a fantastic ensemble. Margot Robbie owns Harley Quinn so entirely now it would be hard to imagine anyone else attempting to fill the role and she gets a fantastic action sequence where Quinn sees blood as psychedelic flowers. Sylvester Stallone is truly brilliant as a shark who just wants some friends and plenty to eat. Idris Elba’s role could easily have been formulaic given how close his squad leaders character falls to Will Smith’s Deadshot in the previous film but Elba probably gives the best performance he has delivered on the big screen. And I could go on, Joel Kinnaman actually gets something to do and is a lot of fun, Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher 2 is the heart of the squad whilst everyone else delivers criminal insanity perfectly. There are also plenty of cameos, the comic created John Ostrander features, director Taika Waititi has a small role as well as Gunn regulars Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn and Pom Klementieff. 

The jukebox soundtrack is fantastic, the fight sequences are inventive and hilarious and the film probably has the last word on slow motion walking towards camera. 

The entire movie is a bonkers, joyous and hilarious triumph that will probably make many people forget Suicide Squad exists. The Suicide Squad is the definitive article.