In 2016, Harley Quinn and The Joker put Clown-Americans in the spotlight and may have even helped Donald Trump become the first Clown-American President.
...and 5 years later, Margo Robbie once again dons the face paint and floppy shoes to reprise the role of Harley Quinn, the world's most dangerous Juggalo, in this summer's sequel to Suicide Squad, which they creatively called "THE Suicide Squad."
Along with Harley, other returning characters include Rick Flag and Amanda Waller. Waller is ruthless, heartless, cold-blooded government operative. As in the first movie, Waller uses bribery and coercion to make imprisoned super-villains do her dirty-work for her. She has a job that needs to be done, and there can't be any evidence of the US government being involved. Some of them she bribes, offering years off their prison terms. Others, she threatens their families. Whichever the case, Waller always gets what she wants.
The supervillains she is able to recruit are not exactly household names. There's no Lex Luthor, Joker, or Darkseid in this crew. Instead you get Bloodsport! Captain Boomerang! Javelin! King Shark! TDK! Peacemaker! Rat Catcher 2 and Sebastian! Polka Dot Man! The Weasel! Blackguard! Milton! And many others you haven't heard of!
Famed comics writer Frank Miller invented the tiny fictional nation of Corto Maltese in his legendary "Dark Knight" limited series in the 1980s. It's an imaginary banana republic in Latin America, a fictional stand-in for El Salvador or Nicaragua or Honduras or whichever country the United States was up to no good in during that particular week. A scene in which Superman is single-handedly crushing a rebellion in Corto Maltese demonstrated the extent to which the Man Of Steel's moral compass had gone astray. The Suicide Squad is set in Corto Maltese as well, and for more or less the same reason.
Underdogs and misfits banding together to achieve something and find belonging has always been a winning movie theme, whether it's The Bad News Bears or The Replacements or The Guardians Of The Galaxy. And The Suicide Squad does the same. They're not trying to win a baseball game, they're trying to complete a secret black-ops mission, but aside from that it's a lot like Bad News Bears.
I loved this very very much. It's insanely violent, hilarious, gross, crude, crass, ridiculous, heartwarming, uplifting, and inspiring. Also, I couldn't stop giggling any time The Weasel was on screen. The first Suicide Squad film did great box office but was not very good. This Suicide Squad film did disappointing box office but was fantastic.
Idris Elba stars as Bloodsport, Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn, Violet Davis returns as Amanda Waller, John Cena is Peacemaker, and Portuguese actress Daniela Melchior is Ratcatcher 2, her first English-language role. Kiwi wunderkind Taika Waititi has a small role as Ratcatcher 2's late father, and Sylvester Stallone provides the voice for King Shark.
Musical highlight: the opening credits to the tune of "People Who Died" by the Jim Carroll Band.
-k
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