Colourful, violent and silly, The Suicide Squad makes a comeback

Margot Robbie leads a cast of unhinged supervillains as The Suicide Squad returned on Friday in a sequel that its cast calls colourful and crazy.

With a new director in James Gunn and fresh characters played by Idris Elba, John Cena and Sylvester Stallone, The Suicide Squad follows the 2016 movie that did well at the box office but got weak reviews.

"It may look different and may feel tonally different... Since James Gunn is directing it, he's really kind of made it his own," said Robbie, who plays fan favourite Harley Quinn.

Based on characters from DC Comics, the squad is "a group of criminals who fall into doing good things against their will because they have a bomb stuck in the neck and they'll get their heads blown up if they don't do what they're told," the Australian actor said.

Portuguese newcomer Daniela Melchior quipped that it was like "a trip without taking drugs."

The Suicide Squad arrived in movie theatres and on the HBO Max streaming platform on Friday.