Personally, I have never been a fan of the “benchmark” superhero film. From The Avengers to Captain America, I could never enjoy the tales of such heroes because they seemed more like characters from a marvel comic than people whose bravery has gotten them where they are. Suicide Squad was probably the first “superhero” movie I actually enjoyed. I was hesitant to head to the theaters and spend 12$ to see it because of the eccentric ads and seemingly unrealistic plot line. However, once the film began I was pleasantly surprised as the film gave each villain a background story that led you to see them as real people with oddly relatable problems. The only thing was that each had one tragic event that led them to join the side of the villains. None can enjoy this luxury of being a villain for long when Amanda Waller, an agent for the U. S. army, recruits them all to join her in protecting the nation. All goes south after one of the villains, “Enchantress”, escapes Amanda’s control and the team has their first mission. After she avidly destroys NYC, the team moves in on Enchantress where they finally gain the upper hand after a drawn out battle. The ending where they overcome her and her brother was the other part that I will not review positively because the graphics were terrible and the once believable storyline took an unexpected turn towards being overdramatic. Overall a 7.5/10.

Despite the mixed reviews of the film, we are expecting to see a lot of halloween costumes influenced by this movie as you walk through the high school halls. So far I have heard of about ten girls planning to be Harley Quinn and about 5 guys thinking of being male characters from the movie. After putting two and two together I wondered why so many girls wanted to be Harley Quinn? It became apparent to me that every year there is usually one movie or form of pop culture that has an influence on teenagers halloween costume decision. Usually the influence is larger with girls, especially when the main character of interest is female. Such was the case with Harley Quinn. But why not any of the other characters like Enchantress or Katana? Well, besides her intriguing personality, Harley Quinn is one of the more sexualized characters with her fishnet stockings and exposing shorts and shirt. Each year kids are being socialized to pursue sexualized lives, this is what I believe is one of the main appeals of Harley Quinn’s character. On her own though, Margot Robbie is a stunning actress so it is easy to understand the appeal to teenage girls as many envy her beauty. With this costume they can have insight into what its like to be Harley and lead a life of beauty and craziness. It was time for a modern badass superhero villain and I think the popularity of the costume is an indication that Marvel has found their girl.