Fantasy action sequel in which a group of supervillains who are released from prison and sent on a dangerous mission in exchange for lighter sentences. The anti-heroes must use their extraordinary abilities to overcome a host of enemies, both human and monstrous.
Classification Issues
- Violence
- Action scenes include bloody shootings, stabbings, beheadings, impalements, and scenes in which people are ripped apart or explode, resulting in brief gory detail.
- Action scenes include bloody shootings, stabbings, beheadings, impalements, and scenes in which people are ripped apart or explode, resulting in brief gory detail.
- Language
- There is frequent use of strong language ('motherf**ker', 'f**k'), as well as milder terms including 'dick' 'pussy', 'bloody', 'shit', tits', 'butt' and 'hell'.
- There is frequent use of strong language ('motherf**ker', 'f**k'), as well as milder terms including 'dick' 'pussy', 'bloody', 'shit', tits', 'butt' and 'hell'.
- Drugs
- A man is briefly seen injecting heroin.
- Injury detail
- There is occasional focus on gore, including blood, innards and severed body parts.
- There is occasional focus on gore, including blood, innards and severed body parts.
- Additional issues
- There is brief breast and genital nudity, scenes of moderate threat, and occasional crude humour. There are also brief references to a man being abused by his father.
Key classification issue: violence
We regularly classify films in the superhero genre aimed at young viewers, but occasionally a film will be aimed at older audiences and push the boundaries of violence at the 15 / 18 borderline.
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is the sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer. We had classified the first instalment 15 for sustained threat, moderate violence in 2016, but this sequel upped the levels of violence and gore considerably. The Suicide Squad features stabbings, shootings, beheadings, impalements and sequences in which people’s bodies are torn apart in visceral detail – including by one of the film’s unconventional heroes, a large humanoid shark.
Although bloody violence occurs frequently throughout the film, the darkly comic and anarchic tone reduces the impact, preventing lingering upset over the results of violence. The fantastical context is important too, with the use of special effects and inhuman creatures distancing the carnage from reality.
We tested The Suicide Squad with audiences in our 2024 consultation on our Classification Guidelines. People agreed with the 15 rating, recognising the strength of the violence but feeling the comedy, fantasy and fast-moving action meant an 18 was not required.
We classified the film 15 for strong bloody violence, gore, language and brief drug misuse.
