This has been a fantastic weekend for trailers. First we got Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, then we got Deadpool, and now we got Suicide Squad? I’m going to need a moment…
I’ve been a big supporter of the Suicide Squad film since it was first announced. My excitement only grew once the casting announcements came in. Of course, there were (and still are) many people complaining about certain factors of the film (as I’ve already talked about). I think this trailer has silenced a fair amount of haters, but there will obviously be people still adamant about their preconceived notions of this film. That’s fine by me. I’ll see you all at the premiere.
Now. Onto the trailer.
Did you watch the trailer? Watch it again. Then another time. Got enough views in? Alright, let’s get down to business.
My first impression is: this is dark. No shit. The concept of the Suicide Squad to begin with is very, very dark. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it’s basically this: a group of incarcerated DC villains are recruited by a shady government organization to carry out extremely dangerous missions. In exchange for their service, the villains are given a lighter prison sentence. However, they best follow the rules or else they’ll get their heads blown off by explosives implanted in their necks. Brutal, right?
The Suicide Squad has made appearances in Arrow and Assault on Arkham, but this is the first time we see it in a live-action film. The concept itself fascinates me; how desperate are some people for their freedom? Are they willing to put themselves in danger just for the sake of a few years shaved off of their sentences? And are these people really villains, or just misunderstood souls who were dealt a bad hand in life?
In the trailer, we get a good glimpse of the main players of the film. We have Amanda Waller, the surly but ruthless organizer and coordinator of the Suicide Squad; Deadshot, a skilled marksman who just wants to see his daughter again; Harley Quinn, a beautiful, dangerous, unpredictable young woman with a penchant for baseball bats and mayhem, and the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker.
There are various other members of the Squad, but they hardly get any screen time in the trailer. It’s clear that this film will focus more on the aforementioned characters with a couple of scraps tossed among the rest. One thing that slightly disappointed me was the lack of Deathstroke. I don’t think it’s been confirmed yet, but I’m almost positive that he’s going to show up, possibly to have a one-on-one fight with Deadshot.
Speaking of Deadshot, I hope the film isn’t solely about him. Will Smith is a great performer and he’ll probably nail the role, but he’s a bit full of himself when it comes to acting, as demonstrated by his reaction to being offered the starring role in Django Unchained. I consider Deadshot as the Iron Man of the Suicide Squad. Yeah, he’s probably going to be calling most of the shots and getting the best lines, but everyone deserves a chance to shine on screen. Let’s see Captain Boomerang do what he does best; let’s watch Killer Croc rip someone limb from limb; let’s witness Katana using her trademark weapon in an epic battle with a bunch of goons. Give us what we want! Don’t turn this into just Will Smith and co.
Something that really stood out about the trailer was the music. The song playing is none other than “I Started a Joke” by the Bee Gees, only it’s been warped and slowed down to a shambling pace. It strongly reminded me of what Marvel did with “I’ve Got No Strings” in the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer. Is this a new thing now? Take a song that sounds all delightful and sweet and then slow it down and put it in a new context? If it is, I like it!
Everyone is talking about the Joker. Joker, Joker, Joker. Everyone just loves to bring up Heath Ledger‘s Joker. We get it; you watched The Dark Knight a couple times and wore a purple suit on Halloween so obviously Ledger’s Joker was the best. Cool. This is a new Joker, and he looks good. Get over it.
People were so fast to dismiss Jared Leto for no reason; and when the first pictures of him in makeup surfaced, the hate went through the roof. “Why does he have tattoos? Why is he so scary? Why are his teeth capped? Why isn’t he exactly like how I envisioned him in my headcanon?” Blah, blah, blah. Listen: the Joker has had tattoos in the comics before, he’s scary because he’s a goddamn psychopath, and his teeth are probably capped because he’s been Bat-punched in the jaw a couple-hundred times. I think he looks fine, and his voice sounds extremely creepy, as it should. He’s probably not going to be the perfect Joker, but he’s giving us a pretty damn good portrayal so far. I’m willing to put money on it that we’ll see a ton of cosplayers and Halloween costumes based on this iteration of the Joker after the movie comes out. Haters gonna hate.
All in all, I think Suicide Squad is going to be great. I’m actually more optimistic for this than I am X-Men: Apocalypse and Gambit. DC is going to steal 2016, and this is coming from a huge Marvel fan. I can’t wait to see what this film and others have in store for us in the future.
Suicide Squad will be released on August 5th, 2016.
What did you think about the Suicide Squad trailer? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter!
