This review contains spoilers.
What practical joke has been played on society to make DC Comics' Harley Quinn the harbinger of the opening and closing of movie theaters under the shadow of Covid. Way back in February 2020, the before-pandemic times, BIRDS OF PREY AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN opened to a tepid response. So much so, it was quietly renamed HARLEY QUINN AND THE BIRDS OF PREY, not that it helped the movie any. As for theaters, there's no superhero or villain created that could have helped with their mass closure. But Harley persisted.
More than a year later, we should ask Director James Gunn about that practical joker. Known for the gigantic success that was Marvel Studio's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 1 & 2, Gunn faced social media cancelation for some old jokes he tweeted. The storm-in-a-(mad)-teacup controversy led to Disney announcing his removal from Volume 3 and the then indefinite postponement of that film. It took Warner Bros maybe five minutes to decide on pulling him out of solitary confinement and assigning him the sequel to the mostly-dead-on-arrival franchise SUICIDE SQUAD (2016).
Titled THE SUICIDE SQUAD, this movie is a both a reboot and a sequel, including twice the number of new characters as the handful of the surviving cast members to return. Gunn doesn't even bother with the one stylistic flourish from the previous movie worth keeping: the 30 second title-card secret origin. Up until that point a character could take up a whole movie with their origin. But in this movie, characters are arguing power-sets and genre status before the title sequence, all while fan-favorite Harley Quinn rolls in wearing badass black and red leathers, explaining away the wreckage of her previous exploits with a shrug. No time wasted on superhero set up backstories. It's tightly woven into the plot so as not to distract from the action.
There is certainly something special about Margo Robbie's portrayal of Harley Quinn. She’s survived two failed franchise launches and comes back swinging for a third. The character is visually indomitable, and you can track her evolution based on costume design from her original titillating digitally-enhanced hot pants to her latest red, white, and black ensemble. Credit should also go to Robbie's team of stunt-doubles who deliver a series of hard-hitting action sequences. Together they beautifully illustrate the absurdity of her badass status in a world of bulletproof shark people. But don't assume it's just the blonde bombshell that makes this movie blow up on a big screen. Her 2011 inclusion to the roster is a relatively recent incarnation of the comic series. The Suicide Squad, as known to readers of DC comics, has always had potential for great action and adventure, with a sly touch of social commentary.
Old Comics, New Adaptations
The original Suicide Squad shares an origin similar to another WWII-era-comic-turned-movie; THE LOSERS (2010) and this may be a movie worth re-watching considering the career-arcs of those involved. The modern concept of realpolitik antiheroes was launched in May of 1987 when writer John Ostrander's concept featured the US government utilizing supervillains to perform high-risk covert actions a.k.a. "suicide runs." The original series lasted for 66 issues but would return frequently, under its own title or crossing over into others.
To appreciate this latest incarnation of the Suicide Squad, consider DC Comics’ history of absorbing rival IPs and whole comic franchises. A textbook example would be DC's acquisition of the original Captain Marvel, now known as SHAZAM rather than Marvel's own CAPTAIN MARVEL. Another acquisition which would prove pop-culture-significant is the roster of superheroes from Charlton Comics. One of them, Peacemaker, joins this very movie, played brilliantly by John Cena and wearing an A+ translation of comic-art to costume. We’ve previously seen an on-screen “variant” of Peacemaker in Zack Snyder's WATCHMEN (2012), portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who was also in THE LOSERS).
But let's appreciate casting genius on the level of Robert Downey Jr's IRON MAN (2008-2019) here. Like Downey’s Tony Stark, Robbie’s Harley Quinn is one of the greatest cinematic interpretations of a comic character to date. And Cena is well on track with his take on Peacemaker. Akin to Dwayne Johnson, Cena first achieved stardom in professional wrestling before making the piledriver jump into movies. These guys are built for action. ‘Selling a punch’ on the silver screen is child’s play compared to doing it live before a ravenous WWE audience. Cena is having a stellar year. He’s now been in two back-to-the-theaters blockbusters, THE SUICIDE SQUAD and F9. What’s more, there’s an HBO Max series rumored to be spawning from this movie. Allegedly Gunn and Cena have committed to an eight-episode first season focused on Peacemaker.
Variants are very popular these days and we should probably thank DC comics for bringing the concept to comics. Years before Star Trek came up with a mirror universe, DC had its WWII era superheroes cross-over with their (then) current roster. Soon after the whole Justice League was facing off with evil versions of themselves from an Earth-3. The formula proved successful, and DC's main roster of superheroes would continue to encounter the heroes and villains of alternate earths populated by the variety of comic characters and franchises that DC had acquired. DC published whatever titles sold, each set in an earth of their own. In some, WWII never ended. On others, earth was well past WWIII. Each earth had its own timeline and continuity. In one, Harley Quinn was actually The Joker's daughter. Sound like Marvel’s upcoming WHAT IF…? as in what if rival comic publishers have poached each other’s concepts for years?
Veteran martial arts star Richard Norton amplifies Cena’s combat skills, along with the rest of the cast, overseeing the fight choreography. He worked on the original SUICIDE SQUAD too. Anyone who knows martial arts films from the 80s knows Norton. He got his start in Chuck Norris’ THE OCTAGON (1980) and went on to fight against and alongside Cynthia Rothrock, and so many others. Somehow amidst the flurry of firearms, Harley, Peacemaker, and Bloodsport (Idris Elba) wind up with cold arms like javelins and swords.
Marvel and the 80s
Once Marvel comics pioneered their outside-your-window style Marvel universe of the 60's, all these alternate earths and timelines seemed irrelevant. The 1985 publication of Crisis on Infinite Earths a twelve-issue mini-series would compress all their superhero I.P. into one coherent DC Universe. The Arrowverse even produced a small-screen adaptation of this using the entire CW network's roster of superheroes in a massive crossover event that linked ARROW, BATWOMAN, SUPERGIRL, THE FLASH, and LEGENDS OF TOMORROW.
The late 80's Marvel-izing of DCs superheroes resulted in the release of seminal Batman works like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986), very loosely adapted for the screen by Zack Snyder in JOKER (2019). This was also the time of a Yuppie Superman and a comedic Justice League (a sharp contrast to The Snyder Cut), James Gunn is happy to pillage all that source material instead.
It's from the 80s era that the character Bloodsport is recruited. Played by Idris Elba (former “Loser” and Thor's best friend), this Superman foe improves upon Will Smith's Deadshot character from the original film. He’s also used to poke fun at the cliche of super-soldiers, super-marksmen, and by association, super-archers too. The choice of big baddies and color palette nod to those "Bwah-ha-ha" Justice League comics of the late 80's as well. Having honed his style on those previous Marvel movies, James Gunn is unleashed by the R rating, and the chance to flex his knowledge of comics minutiae and superhero tropes all to hilarious and extremely sanguineous results. The ultraviolence is shockingly humorous (in both the ancient and modern use of the word). Characters get their body parts ruthlessly blown to bits in horrific episodes of digital splatter. If watching someone get a shotgun to the face offends you, perhaps you should skip this film and go back to Ariana Grande in SAM & CAT.
Gunn’s humor extends deep into musical choices as well as color palette and screen composition. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY was characterized by Star-Lord’s (Chris Pratt) cassette tapes of vintage oldies. Gunn plays a similar tune in THE SUICIDE SQUAD, opening with a perfect callback to Johnny Cash’s timeless classic Folsom Prison Blues, and then spins through a nostalgic collection ranging from Kansas to the Fratellis, the Decemberists, and Pixies, even throwing in an early track from K. Flay. From auditory to visual, Gunn has a keen eye for explosions of color, especially when it comes to the eye-catching Harley. Her full-auto flower explosion is a spectacle to behold, and its there just for the gratuitousness of it.
Finally, Harley Quinn gets the narrative captions she deserves. She’s no victim. She escapes her troubles on her own, without the help of men and pulverizes any man who tries to stop her. Harley even saves her male comrades on multiple occasions. She’s no damsel in distress. Harley Quinn is a diva of destruction. Margot's Harley has become one of the greatest live action comic book characters of all time, and here, she is positioned to show off her extraordinary acting chops along with some ridiculous action. Her story arc is somewhat apart from the other characters, but she’s the driving force of THE SUICIDE SQUAD.
Who’s Going to Die?
KungFuMagazine.com has a special connection to Mongal, played by Mayling Ng who's looks and backstory nod to more 80’s era Superman foes. According to canon, Mongal is the daughter of alien warlord Mongul, who first appeared as a Superman villain in the 80s. Ng appeared in a feature article in Kung Fu Tai Chi. In “Getting Shredded with Traditional Weapons: Kung Fu, Weightlifting and the Heavy Guandao” by the second author of this article, Gene Ching Fall 2019), Ng revealed some of the physical training methods she uses for her favorite Kung Fu weapon, the Guandao.
An outrageous number of characters get, as we like to say here at KungFuMagazine.com, “Shatterstarred.” Back in 2018, when another R-rated comic-based film, DEADPOOL 2 was released, KungFuMagazine was delighted to secure an exclusive interview with Lewis Tan, who played Shatterstar. But the joke was on us because of that character’s fate. Gunn teased a high body count for THE SUICIDE SQUAD, and it’s shockingly high.
THE SUICIDE SQUAD is one of the most entertaining DCEU ventures so far. It earns its R rating and then some with extreme sanguineous gratuitousness. While it may have ridden on the princesa-dresses of Harley Quinn, it goes somewhere original and refreshing. It’s great escapism, exactly what we all crave to get back to at the theaters.
For Harley Quinn, three’s a charm. Finally, she’s in a film that rises to her glorious campiness. David Ayer, the director of the original SUICIDE SQUAD, was tapped to direct GOTHAM CITY SIRENS back in 2016. This would unite Harley with Catwoman and Poison Ivy. However, that project has since been tabled. But if Harley can survive two mediocre films and the pandemic, no doubt she’ll persist.
