strong bloody violence, gore, language, brief drug misuse

From DC, The Suicide Squad follows a group of super-villains 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.

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 second entry into the Suicide Squad franchise. 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 imagined creatures distancing the carnage from reality.

We also tested The Suicide Squad in our 2024 guidelines research and 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, brief drug misuse.