Director James Gunn has already confirmed that The Suicide Squad will be rated R, and that it will absolutely earn that rating. But what exactly does the film do to make that classification really stick? Well, considering all the blood that will coat a good amount of the scenes, it will probably be fairly easy for most things to stick.
The thing is, though, The Suicide Squad isn't just bringing the violence for the sake of being violent. Ok, well maybe part of it is. But according to Gunn himself, the rating also does the film a service by allowing them to really tell a story where nobody knows going in how it might turn out for any of their new favorite characters. In fact, much of the marketing has revolved around the idea that anybody can die, and Gunn says that's part of the experience.
Gunn compared The Suicide Squad to his other big hit superhero films in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. "I don't think most people think that Star Lord's head is going to explode in the middle of the movie," he said in a 2019 journalist roundtable, "but any of these characters, their heads could explode in the middle of the movie. So it's that unknown, that being on edge, that really not knowing what's going to happen is much different than the Guardians."
Even the film's actors, like Joel Kinnaman, agree that The Suicide Squad makes full use of its R-rating. But again, it's also using that freedom to focus on comedy and telling its story, presumably giving audiences a unique experience that nobody but Gunn and his team could pull off. Gunn himself said that some of the film's greatest influences are gritty ensemble action films of the '60s and '70s as well as The Suicide Squad's own original comic book run from the '80s. So it's not difficult to see where much of the all-out, bloody, heavy action focus is coming from.
It's not like this is anything new for Gunn either, as proven by his cult classic bloody superhero film Super. The film starred an over-the-top Rainn Wilson becoming his own superhero (albeit without powers) and just going hog wild on petty criminals, demonstrating a take on the genre that wasn't afraid to subvert ideas in a violent way for the sake of comedy. This was even back in 2010, when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was only just beginning to turn the idea of superhero films into the cinematic powerhouses they are today. So giving Gunn the freedom to really take the idea and run with it in The Suicide Squad may be exactly what audiences are looking for right now.
It's hard to say how it will turn out, of course. But given Gunn's massive success in recent years, it may be safe to say he's found that sweet spot between shock value and mainstream appeal. A hilarious script can easily help that along as well, and that's just one more thing he tends to excel at. So get ready to enjoy what's sure to be a very different movie when The Suicide Squad releases. Though some people might want to bring a blood-resistant umbrella.
The Suicide Squad will release theatrically on July 30th in the U.K. and August 6th in the U.S., also coming to HBO Max for one month on August 6th.
Source: Collider