Suicide Squad

I've had a few things to talk about since I just finished my book, Foreworld Saga: Dragon Hand which should be up in the next few days, but since all the critics are giving Suicide Squad bad reviews, I thought I'd put that on the top of my to do list.

Suicide Squad is a good movie, but it helps if you know who's in it and where they fit in the DC universe. The thing is these are all villains that made their first appearances causing trouble for all the  superheros, but they were so cool, we, the fans got a soft spot for them and want to see them redeemed. DC decided that the way to redeem these bad boys and girls was to put them together on the Suicide Squad, a group run by government agent Amanda Waller, who is frankly the worst one of all. She is cold as ice, but she gets the job done. As for the others, the first character we are introduced to is Deadshot, the most accurate marksman in the world who works as a hitman. He goes to prison for a $2 million job, but he's sympathetic because he has a daughter and he does it all for her. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, we have El Diablo, a pyrokinetic who became a powerful criminal who lost his temper and killed his family one night, then gave himself up tot he authorities, because what's the point of having all the power in the world if it cost you the only thing that matters? El Diablo is really the best part of the story, he exemplifies what it's all about, a bad guy trying to be good. WHat sets him apart from everyone is he has already sought the path of redemption, the others have to be forced to do the right thing, he actually wants to do the right thing. Then there's Killer Croc who is familiar to fans from the 90's when he was on the animated series alot, he's an unfortunate situation, he was born with atavistic hyperkeratosis, so he's actually part crocodile for no reason other than a random genetic defect, and he became a monster inside to match what people treated him like on the outside, but his story is downplayed to the point that the only time that he's important is when he swims through a flooded subway. Then there's Captain Boomerang and Slipknot who are pretty worthless, especially Slipknot, who is introduced last and only lasts long enough to die trying to get away proving the nano bombs in ther necks are for real. This group is held together by Colonel Rick Flagg and Katana who are not bad guys but get stuck working with them anyway. Katana is another obscure character, she takes her name from the Soul Stealer, a sword that killed her husband and trapped his soul and then she used it to avenge him by killing the guy who ordered his death in the first place, and now she still uses it to fight and kill whoever Flagg orders her to. Rick is not so much a superhero as the model soldier that Captain America could have been if he had just been a good soldier instead of a scienc experiment. Rick's problem is that Waller had him bring in the last member of the Suicide Squad, her special pet, The Enchantress, and he fell in love with her. The Enchantress is most definitely the most powerful one in the group, so much that she becomes the antagonist of the movie. The Enchantress is actually two people, archaeologist Dr. June Moon(because her parents hate her, apparently) and an extradimensional goddess who possesses her, but has a weakness, a heart that is seperated from her body that allows Waller to control her. What Waller doesn't count on is Enchantress releasing her brother who helps set her free and they terrorize Midway City. Relly she want to take over the world, she picks this city for one reason only, because it's where Waller is and she can start by taking revenge on her and reclaiming her heart so she can be free.

No, I did not forget about Harley Quinn, it's just that she deserves her own section. Harely is the Joker's girlfriend, introduced in the 90's animated series. Usually when comics get adapted, anything new added in for the adaptation is not recognized by the original creator and it's ignored, but Harley was unique. The Joker had a plan to pop out of a cake to ambush some police officers, but the showrunners wanted to have a girl pop out of the cake and gave him a minion tailor made just for this. That gilr was Harley Quinn and took on a life of her own, developing a bizzarre backstory in which she was actually a doctor treating the Joker at Arkham Asylum, but fell in love with him and became the Bonnie to his Clyde. She got put in the comics and has a rabid following, leading to the true purpose of Suicide Squad, redeeming Harley Quinn. This is her first time on the big screen and this is a critical point in Harley's development, because when Harley joins the Suicide Squad, we see she has potential for good, which creates a very special situation in which she gets to play hero with the good guys, the very same good guys that she used to try to kill and put her in prison in the first place. This movie doesn't show that future very well, but fans know that now that she has been introduced, she's in play for any future films. The truth is Harley is actually a very sweet character, the example of "loyal to a fault" her fault being that her loyalty was to a bad man who taught her to do bad things. She, like many of the squad, does the wrong thing for the right reasons. Throughout the movie she shows she has a good heart and loves the people in her life, but the Joker corrupted her, and while she still is motivated to do right by those she cares about, she has lost her moral compass beyond that sense of loyalty, so if you get on her bad side, you are so screwed. She spends a lot of the fight scenes using just a baseball bat, infrequently using a revolver that has a barrel with alernating "LOVE" and "HATE" engravings. She can be a badass, but you have to respect the purity of her motivation. Margot Robbie does a great job playing her, portraying her personality, and her unique accent, which has not been shown well in promotions, do not believe the previews, when she says "Puddin" and "Mr. J." she has the accent down pat.

Ultimately this movie is about showing the best in the worst of us, and sometimes the worst in the best of us. Don't trust the critics, go see the movie and judge for yourself, you'll be glad you did.