Suicide Squad - May 2026

It is a time capsule of mid-2010s studio panic. It is the sound of a studio slamming two contradictory visions (gritty realism vs. colorful fun) into a blender and hitting "puree." For every cringe-worthy line ("This is Katana. She’s got my back..."), there is a genuine moment of character warmth between Deadshot and Harley.

Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, terrifyingly stern), a no-nonsense government official, creates "Task Force X." The idea is to assemble a team of the most dangerous incarcerated meta-humans, implant bombs in their heads, and send them on black-ops missions. If they succeed, they get time off their sentences. If they fail… well, collateral damage is part of the plan. suicide squad -

On screen, the result is a bizarre anomaly. Leto’s Joker is a tattooed, grill-wearing, "damaged" forehead-sporting gangster who feels more like a scrapped GTA character than a Clown Prince of Crime. He is barely in the film (roughly 10 minutes), and the theatrical cut reduces his role to a series of disjointed, romantic subplot scenes with Harley Quinn. Critics panned it as cringey; fans remain divided. Ultimately, the performance is less "Joker" and more "edgy club promoter who watched Fight Club once." While Leto stumbled, Margot Robbie soared. Her Harley Quinn is the chaotic, heartbroken, joyful soul of the movie. Stripped of her classic jester suit for "da da da da da da" hot pants and a "Puddin'" baseball bat, Robbie’s performance is a lightning rod of energy. She is hilarious, dangerous, and heartbreaking—especially in the film’s best scene, a bar sequence where she admits, "I’m not the one who got broken. I’m just the one who fell in love." It is a time capsule of mid-2010s studio panic

Their mission? Stop an ancient, god-like witch named the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) from destroying the world with a giant laser in the sky. It is, by all accounts, a standard third act—but the ride there is anything but. No discussion of Suicide Squad is complete without addressing the elephant in the purple Lamborghini: Jared Leto’s Joker. Following the iconic performances of Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, and the posthumous legend of Heath Ledger, Leto had impossible shoes to fill. His approach was method to a fault: sending used condoms, dead rats, and anal beads to his co-stars. She’s got my back