The Suicide Squad (2021) is a superhero film adapted from DC Comics, directed by James Gunn and starring Margot Robbie and Idris Elba. The film is part of the DCEU and was released by Warner Bros.. Runtime: 2h 12m. Rated R. Audience rating: 7.2/10.
What is The Suicide Squad (2021) about?
Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of misfit criminals are sent on a mission to the remote enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.
Released in 2021, The Suicide Squad was directed by James Gunn and produced under the Warner Bros. banner. The film occupies a significant place within the DCEU — contributing to the ongoing narrative and mythology of that cinematic universe.
The film features lead performances from Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, among others, anchoring a story that adapts characters first brought to life in DC Comics. Its source material gives the film a foundation rooted in decades of published storytelling, which Gunn and the creative team interpret through a cinematic lens.
Its 7.2 rating reflects a film that divided audiences — appreciated for its ambition and spectacle by some, criticized for pacing and execution by others. Its place in the genre remains a frequent discussion point.
What happens in The Suicide Squad (2021)? — Full Plot
We open with two parallel Task Force X missions deployed to the South American island nation of Corto Maltese. The first squad — led by Rick Flag, including Boomerang, Blackguard, and Savant — is a deliberate sacrificial unit, designed to draw attention. Most of them die in the opening 10 minutes. James Gunn killed off the franchise's biggest established names in the cold open — a deliberate subversion of audience expectations.
The 'real' squad — Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) — lands successfully on the opposite shore. Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), running the mission from Belle Reve Prison, briefs them: there's a Cold War-era U.S. extraterrestrial-experimentation facility on the island called Jotunheim, currently held by the new Corto Maltese government. They need to destroy it.
Bloodsport and Ratcatcher 2 develop the film's central emotional arc. Bloodsport's young daughter is the leverage Waller is using to keep him on the mission. Ratcatcher 2 — whose father was a homeless rat-friend — has a soft heart for damaged things. King Shark, a sentient man-eating shark, joins because no one has ever told him he could refuse. Polka-Dot Man is haunted by visions of his mother. Peacemaker is a sociopath who believes peace requires the death of anyone who challenges it.
The squad infiltrates Jotunheim. They discover what the facility has been hiding: Starro the Conqueror — a massive cosmic starfish-creature with mind-control spores. Starro has been the subject of decades of U.S. experimentation; the Corto Maltese government has just been given control. Starro will be deployed against America once released. The squad has to destroy the facility before Starro escapes.
Peacemaker, secretly Waller's loyalist, reveals the mission's true objective: destroy not Jotunheim but the contents of a specific hard drive that proves the U.S. government created Starro. Peacemaker is supposed to silence the squad once they obtain the hard drive. Bloodsport learns this and betrays Peacemaker. The two fight. Bloodsport shoots Peacemaker through the throat. (Peacemaker survives — barely — and gets his own HBO Max series.)
The squad makes their escape with the hard drive. Starro is released. The starfish-creature deploys a city-wide spore attack, mind-controlling thousands of Corto Maltesans in seconds. The squad regroups in the central plaza. Ratcatcher 2 uses her rat-control powers to summon every rat in the city. The rats, swarming Starro, eat the creature alive — eye by eye — over the course of a ten-minute climax that the studio explicitly approved as 'genuinely disgusting.'
Bloodsport returns home to his daughter. The hard drive has been delivered to Waller — but Waller has been removed from her command after her subordinates rebel. Polka-Dot Man, Boomerang, and several others are dead. The film closes on Bloodsport reuniting with his daughter, his arc completed. The Suicide Squad grossed $169 million globally on a $185 million budget — a commercial failure due to HBO Max simultaneous release, but a critical success that became the franchise's most-respected entry. Gunn would soon become DC Studios' co-CEO.
Who stars in The Suicide Squad (2021)?
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What are some facts about The Suicide Squad (2021)?
The Suicide Squad released in 2021, placing it within the 2020s era of comic book cinema — a decade that saw superhero films become the dominant force at the global box office.
Directed by James Gunn, the film was produced by Warner Bros. and adapts source material from DC Comics.
The principal cast features Margot Robbie and Idris Elba, with key supporting roles played by John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone.
The film belongs to DCEU — the DC Extended Universe, Warner Bros' connected superhero continuity.
The Suicide Squad carries an audience rating of 7.2 — putting it in the solid-to-excellent tier of the genre.
The DC Comics source material for The Suicide Squad has been in continuous publication for decades, giving filmmakers a rich well of storylines, character arcs, and iconography to draw upon.
Modern superhero films like this one use a mix of practical effects and digital VFX, with entire sequences often shot against volume walls or LED stages pioneered by shows like The Mandalorian.
The Suicide Squad is catalogued on Movies on Comics among our collection of 162 comic book films spanning 48 years of cinema — from Richard Donner's 1978 Superman to the present day.
