1. The Suicide Squad (2021)
Sequel to: Suicide Squad (2016)
When it comes to sequels improving upon previous movies, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad set the bar remarkably low. The 2016 entry into the DCEU did a handful of things passably well, but it was ultimately a tedious and jumbled mess of a movie with very few redeeming qualities. So, when James Gunn – fresh off the back of dual MCU successes in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – was announced as the writer/director of a Suicide Squad sequel, it was almost a given that it would be a better film than the original.
Not content to rest upon his laurels, Gunn went all out to inject a level of fun into the DCEU that the franchise sorely needed. The Suicide Squad introduced a new cast of B- and C-list antiheroes and villains, pitting them against a powerful (and somewhat hilarious) evil in order to save the world. It was a film that made use of unforgettable action set pieces, irreverent comedy, and brilliant casting decisions in order to deliver one of the strongest entries into the entire DCEU to date.
To say that The Suicide Squad is better than Suicide Squad is a little like saying that the Sun is hotter than the Moon. There’s nothing about Gunn’s sequel that doesn’t improve upon Ayer’s movie, particularly as it avoids making any of the same missteps while still touching on its better elements (like keeping Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn as a major character). The result is a film that seems to help right the course of the entire DCEU – proved by the fact that Gunn has been named as one of the franchise’s creative co-leads – proving that The Suicide Squad is a colossal improvement upon its far less popular predecessor.
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