'The Suicide Squad' lets James Gunn take another shot at DC's team of super-villains

"The Suicide Squad" is a rather ironic title for a do-over, taking another stab at the team of super-villains five years after a prior effort. On the plus side, writer-director James Gunn's movie is superior to its predecessor on most every level.

At its best, Gunn manages to wed the team-of-misfits goofiness, garnished with a pinch of heart, from his "Guardians of the Galaxy" films for rival Marvel with the cheerful gore and irreverence of "Deadpool," catering to fans eager to see heroes (or villains) allowed to utterly cut loose. This new "Suicide Squad" also shrewdly cherry-picks the best elements from David Ayer's film, bringing back Margot Robbie as the Joker's homicidal sidekick Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman as square-jawed Colonel Rick Flag and Viola Davis as the ruthless government bureaucrat who oversees Task Force X, whose underlings obviously prefer the more colloquial nickname when wagering on who will survive the mission. (Ayer has recently discussed that the movie released wasn't his cut, but any comparisons at this point can only be based on what audiences have seen.)