The 8 Best Movies Like The Suicide Squad
Content Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Suicide Squad.
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad looks poised to reboot the franchise that follows a team of DC supervillains forced to save the day. There has been a lot of anticipation for this latest DCEU project, the critical response has been very positive thus far, and the reaction from fans has been equally enthusiastic.
The movie looks to be taking the DCEU in a new direction, once again. Gunn is going for a much different tone to some of the other movies, not to mention the R-rating, and he has drawn on some interesting inspirations as well. While this makes for a unique comic book movie, but also means there are some interesting variety of movies to watch if you loved The Suicide Squad.
8 Kelly’s Heroes (1970)
Gunn has spoken often about the kinds of movies that influenced The Suicide Squad, namely those classic men-on-a-mission war movies from the ’60s and ’70s. According to The Irish Times, one of the specific ones that Gunn mentioned was Kelly’s Heroes.
Featuring the likes of Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, and Don Rickles, Kelly’s Heroes follows a group of American soldiers in WWII who attempt to steal Nazi treasure. It is not only the ensemble mission premise that feels similar to The Suicide Squad but also the fact that the heroes are not completely heroic.
7 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
One of the most unforgettable opening sequences in movie history is the beach attack in Saving Private Ryan. It is a brutal and shockingly violent set-piece that throws the audience into the mayhem and presents a realistic war movie.
The Suicide Squad similarly opens with a beach assault that also turns into a graphically violent sequence, albeit with a more comedic edge. Gunn named Spielberg’s movie as an inspiration for this opening scene. The movie also shares a similar theme of a team on a mission, trying to find redemption in a chaotic situation.
6 The Expendables (2010)
The rather simple premise at the beginning of The Suicide Squad is that the team of villains is tasked with infiltrating a South American island, which is under the control of a cruel military leader. It is a typical action movie setup and one shared by The Expendables.
In that action throwback movie, a team of mercenaries are hired to take out a dangerous general being controlled by a rogue CIA operative. Along with the setting, these movies share some interesting aspects. They each deal with characters facing a moral crossroads, betrayals within their team, and Sylvester Stallone.
5 Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Gunn and Quentin Tarantino have a lot in common as filmmakers. Both of them obviously love certain types of genre movies, but also like to add their own unique style of humor into these genres.
Much like what Gunn did with The Suicide Squad, Tarantino decided to explore the team-on-a-mission war movie genre with Inglourious Basterds. It is another graphically violent war movie about an elite group of soldiers, but it also is laugh-out-loud funny – even with its particularly dark sense of humor.
4 Escape From New York (1981)
There is something about reluctant heroes that are so interesting, and Snake Plissken is one of the most iconic reluctant heroes in movie history. Escape From New York is set in the future in which New York City has been transformed into an island prison. After the president’s plane goes down in the city, convict Plissken is set in to rescue him.
Just as Plissken is in Escape From New York, the members of Task Force X in The Suicide Squad are saving the day against their will. They are also implanted with an explosive device in their head to ensure they comply. In both movies, this provides simple motivation while also allowing the character to be anti-heroes.
3 Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
When the trailers for Ayer’s version of Suicide Squad began circulating, many fans pointed out that it looked like DC’s version of Guardians of the Galaxy. So it is ironic that when Gunn moved from Marvel to DC, this is the property he chose to take on.
The Suicide Squad feels a bit like what Gunn would want to do with the Guardians if he was let off the leash, but it’s also easy to see these similarities between the projects. They both follow teams of dysfunctional characters, feature irreverent humor, and also a lot of unexpected heart. The similarities between Groot and King Shark are impossible to overlook.
2 Super (2010)
Even before stepping into the MCU, Gunn made another superhero movie with Super. The movie stars Rainn Wilson as a fairly ordinary man who begins dressing up as a costumed crime-fighter when his wife leaves him.
This movie shows just how ready Gunn was to take on an R-rated superhero story years before The Suicide Squad, as it also shares similar themes. It is also quite amazing that Gunn was able to bring many of the sensibilities into The Suicide Squad that he showed in this movie.
1 The Dirty Dozen (1967)
The Dirty Dozen is another classic war movie about a group of convicts who are given the option to save themselves from prison but going on a highly dangerous mission. It’s not hard to see the similarities the movie shares with The Suicide Squad, nor is it hard to see when Gunn saw this as the perfect inspiration.
The throwback war movie feel of Gunn’s movie is largely drawn from this incredibly fun ensemble adventure. Gunn even went so far as to base the poster for The Suicide Squad off of the classic poster for The Dirty Dozen.
About The Author
Best Posts
Related Posts
Game Of Thrones: Tyrion Lannister’s 10 Best Friends In The Series
Tyrion Lannister was one of Game of Thrones' most intelligent and entertaining characters, so it's no surprise he managed to make so many friends.
Why A Christian Bale DCEU Flash Cameo Makes No Sense
Christian Bale's Batman appearing in the DCEU as one of The Flash's multiverse cameos makes no sense after the end of The Dark Knight trilogy.
Space Jam vs. Space Jam 2: Which Movie Is Better
After 25 years, a sequel to Space Jam has finally been released. So how does LeBron James' team-up with the Looney Tunes stack up to Jordan's?
A Bout De Souffle & 9 Other Great French New Wave Movies
Breathless (À Bout De Souffle) was one of the most influential movies to emerge from the French New Wave. Here are some essentials of the movement.
Galactus’ Iconic Helmet Actually Makes Him Weaker
Galactus is one of the most iconic cosmic characters in the Marvel Universe. What most people don't know is that his helmet actually weakens him.
Bob’s Burgers: The 10 Best Burger Puns On The Show, Ranked
From the Take A Leek Burger to the Mush-Aroom About Nothing Burger, here are some of the greatest burger puns in the history of Bob's Burgers.
I Am The Night Cast & Character Guide
The new TNT limited series, I Am the Night, produced and directed by Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins, features a stellar cast led by Chris Pine.
10 Things We Didn’t Know About Pocahontas (1995)
Disney’s Pocahontas broke down barriers by starring the first Disney princess that’s a woman of color. Here are some interesting facts about the film.