DC Comics released a few large items at Comic Con this year, in a seemingly desperate attempt to fight the over-powering negativity surrounding their forth-coming projects. Included in the goodies were extended trailers for Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad.
Granted, they almost immediately trampled any good will by publicly whining when the trailers were immediately leaked onto the internet, and then sullenly posted “official” version themselves. DC, what did you expect to happen when you screen these to a room full of die-hard enthusiasts with smartphones? Be glad that people are interested–don’t slam them!
Their response to the most predictable event of all time aside, I got a chance to see the trailers myself last week and wanted to post some of my responses.
Look, I am not at all enthusiastic about their upcoming efforts for reasons I’ve already outlined (joyless movies, character blindness, and a terrible director). And nothing that I saw in the Batman vs. Superman trailer convinced me otherwise. In fact, the trailer basically confirms all my worst fears for the film. It appears to be a plodding, tone-deaf outing driven by a talentless director and a clueless studio.
Suicide Squad, on the other hand, has officially piqued my interest.
Perhaps it’s because I went into the trailer with no expectations beyond “wait…this is a thing?” While Batman vs. Superman seems incredibly weighed down by character history, future films, attempted gravitas and the cinematic universe that DC is intent on establishing (to wit: a Batman vs Superman Wonder Woman cameo that’s utterly devoid of excitement—thrown in, mid-sequence in what feels more like an obligation than a big reveal).
Suicide Squad feels exciting because it’s not something that DC really had to do. We know that Justice League, Aqua Man and Wonder Woman are coming…and the style of the whole universe makes those movies feel like a chore. Suicide Squad appears to be something different. It’s like a diversion and a chance to play, instead of grimly and stiffly setting up future films.
These characters don’t have to resolve their differences at the end. Not all of them even have to survive. We will enter the theater having almost no idea of what will happen. This is exciting. And a huge break from the rest of the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU).
Granted, not everything in trailer was perfect—the new version of Joker, in particular, has me rather apprehensive. The grilled-out teeth and the pointless tattoos make the character seem as if he’s desperately attempting to be edgy; not fresh, scary, or original is intended. That said, it was always going to be tough to follow Heath Ledger’s Joker, so a new direction was probably inevitable. I’m willing to give Jared Leto a chance—the costume doesn’t wow me, but maybe his performance will win me over.
The rest of characters look pretty great, though. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn looks awesomely creepy. Karen Fukuhara as Katana looks fantastic. Will Smith as Deadshot has me pumped (say what you want, that dude can carry a movie). And while I would have liked a more CGI’d version of Killer Croc (comparable to how Marvel did the Hulk), there’s always a chance Muppet Croc won’t be horrendous.
Another good omen: the director isn’t the overpoweringly mediocre Zack Snyder, but David Ayer of Training Day fame. Sure he’s got some bad films too (Fury, Fast and the Furious), but if he brings the same danger and grittiness of Training Day or End of Watch to this project, it has the potential to be great. It’s those qualities that made Christopher Nolan’s Batman films so excellent, and are absolutely essential to this project.
Would it be cooler if these characters (most of them completely unknown to the general public) had been introduced in other films first? Sure. It’d be nice to have some concept of who these people are so the film can get right to the action, like the first Avengers. A sure-fire way to sink this project would be to waste an inordinate amount of time trying to set up these characters. I’m going on the record right now: if I have to sit through a 20 minute “Captain Boomerang” origin story, I’m going to dropkick a wombat. And I’m not even 100% sure what a wombat is.
But despite all of that, this movie appears to be best of any of the upcoming DCCU films and has me genuinely excited. DC, I might not buy tickets to any of your other movies, but credit where credit is due: Suicide Squad’s got my $14.50.