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Parents' Guide to

The Suicide Squad

By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Gory and vulgar, but fun, with a surprising amount of heart.

Movie R 2021 132 minutes
The Suicide Squad Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 35 parent reviews

age 13+

Best DCEU movie?

Great movie with lots of funny moments. Lots of violence and swearing, but in a light hearted way, not a horror movie kind of way. I'm not sure why sex is at 4 stars, when there was close to no sex in this movie. 1 character kisses another and is implied to have smashed, that's about it for that, everything else is comedic. If you are ok with swearing and violence and comedy, this is a great movie
age 14+

Depending on strictness, a good watch!

The movie (in my opinion) is a very entertaining action packed thrill-ride with tons of cool fight scenes and funny dialogue for most of the family. The “most” is pretty important there. I wouldn’t say this is a good fit for any kid under 13 and even then it seems a bit iffy. In the country I was living in when the film released the age rating was PG13 which I do think is a little generous. Blood and gore are prominent in the opening and finishing scenes and are sprinkled (delightfully) throughout. Some kids (12 and under) could find this terrifying however most kids are exposed to similar media (intentionally or not) around this age and I will admit when I was young I watched a couple horror movies like this (Nightmare on Elm Street). My kids (14 & 17) both enjoyed this movie and asked for the DVD for their birthdays. The film is very diverse with the films pretty much main characters (Blacksport, Harley and rat catcher) being either strong women, POC or both! The film isn’t overly sexual and limits nudity to brief scenes with usually only a few frames. Language isn’t a problem in my house but I know that some take offence, if you are a devote Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Sikh and so on maybe sit this one out. Lots of blasphemous language (non god specific) for most family’s I’d “recommend” 15+ but realistically 13+. Hope this helps!

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (35 ):
Kids say (114 ):

Full of gleeful gore and carnage, infectiously silly jokes, and an overall vulgar, irreverent attitude, this wily, invigorating DCEU movie also offers surprisingly strong teamwork and lots of heart. A quasi-sequel (but more like a reboot) to the 2016 misfire Suicide Squad -- with only Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, and Amanda Waller carried over -- The Suicide Squad rambunctiously avoids the problems of that earlier movie, barreling over them like a noisy party bus. It's all thanks to writer-director James Gunn, who brought a similar dose of energy to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Despite his commercial successes, Gunn seems to retain the spirit of the low-budget exploitation studio Troma where he got his start.

The Suicide Squad feels a little like a guerrilla effort, fast and loose, with wild invention taking precedence over visual effects. For example, Starro may be a giant effect, but its weird, googly eye and flailing movements make it genuinely memorable. But Gunn's secret weapon, borrowed from the Marvel Universe, is that the characters are actually quite lovable and even relatable (as opposed to the earlier gloomy, brooding DC heroes). The key here is Ratcatcher 2 (so called because she took over the mantle from her father). Her devotion to her fuzzy little rats gives her a strong, touching empathy that spills over to the rest of the characters, even the hard-headed Bloodsport. It all works together to make this a Squad that we'd certainly want to sign up with.

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