I've become a bit disenchanted with our modern superhero age of cinema, where true variety and originality are only getting harder to find. Marvel/Disney or one of their countless imitators still put out enough to tickle my fancy from time to time, but I'm finding it more and more difficult to get truly excited about whatever big event is on its way to theaters (or streaming) next, when the majority of it is either another by the numbers cape-and-costume flick or a remake/revival of some long-dormant nostalgia property that probably would have been better off left in the past. Heck, even the stuff not connected to a grand cinematic universe is often guilty of following the exact same formula with the hopes of achieving a little taste of the box office domination regularly experienced by the comic book characters in their tights and spandex, and that distinctive MCU style of shoehorning comedy into everything has been slowly creeping its way into so much as the bloody horror genre as of late. That's one area where the DCEU has kind of impressed me. Yeah, the results have been mixed at best to put it lightly, but at the very least Warner Bros. and DC Films have shown a willingness to attempt unique things with most of the various properties they've added to it so far. The Suicide Squad standing as a fine example of that. In an effort to make up for the absolute disaster that was 2016's Suicide Squad movie, James Gunn was reportedly given almost complete freedom to come up with his own vision for the project and put it onscreen as he saw fit. The end result isn't something that radically breaks the mold, but rather works well enough within the confines of it to put some one of a kind spins on the established set of familiar elements and walk away with an identity all its own. Gunn is obviously extremely educated in the various obscure nooks and crannies of DC Comics long history, and liberally pulls from lesser known corners of it to deliver a bevy of names and plot devices only the most hardcore of nerds will recognize and that nobody would have ever guessed would make their way to the screen at some point. Ditching the ghetto Hot Topic costume designs of its predecessor and its kind of, sort of spin-off Birds of Prey, the appearances of the villains here are often very faithful to, or a creative new take on, their comic book counterparts. Which naturally leads to a cast of faces, as well as powers, that honestly look blatantly odd next to each other, gleefully reveling in the absurd diversity of uniting such awide array of source material, and I'm 100% here for it. The expected blend of action and humor gets a little extra flavor due to the R-rating. All the naughty words and gore manage to differentiate themselves from what you'd find in Deadpool thanks to the singular personality and attention to detail of the director. So every gag and bloodbath compliments the surprisingly great story well, while giving each member of the team a real, significant sense of contribution Guardians of the Galaxy-style. I can't praise the narrative enough for really tackling the supremely messed up nature of Task Force X and getting me invested in the political side of a superhuman conflict in a way I haven't since The Winter Soldier. For all the laughs and goofs, this is a legitimately dark tale with a lot of bodies left behind against their will and a conclusion that's just a touch tragic since nobody will ever find out the true reason behind why these prisoners were sent basically to die. While this does nothing to grant us any insight into what's next for the DCEU or if its owners actually have any idea what they're doing with it at all, it does however finally give fans the Suicide Squad adaptation they deserve, while managing to standout from the pack by the virtue of its individualistic flourishes. Despite my overall fatigue and somewhat indifference with the whole superhero craze lately, I'd be legitimately interested in and hyped for a third outing. Particularly if James Gunn's name is attached to it again. Which is saying quite a bit when you consider how much of the MCU and its far more proven track record I still have to play catch-up on because of how willing I've been to let it pass me by at present.