Reaction: ‘Suicide Squad’ 1st Official Trailer

“They’re bad guys”

So we finally have the first official trailer for ‘Suicide Squad!’ Well, of course, we had the trailer from the SDCC, but we only received that due to a leak. They’ve made us wait for the first official trailer, but it was sure worth the wait. So, without further ado, here it is:

Impressed? I sure am! Compared to the recent ‘Batman v Superman’ trailer, it’s a work of genius. I didn’t get round to venting my horror at the latter trailer, but it was truly hideous. It told us the basic storyline and thwarted a lot of speculation about the direction ‘Batman v Superman’ would take. So, they come to blows, but unite against what appears to be Doomsday. And Wonder Woman shows up. We all knew Bats and Supes would unite after fighting, but why tell us most of the story in the trailer? Not only that, but Doomsday looks like a worse version of the Abomination in ‘The Incredible Hulk.’ We saw buildings fall and a city laid to waste in ‘Man of Steel’; we’re looking to have more of the same in it’s sequel…which is a negative. The never-ending battle in ‘Man Of Steel’ sapped my patience. I want something different!

“I can’t wait to show you my toys”

Of course, I can’t just berate DC for doing that. Avengers: Age of Ultron repeated the finale of The Avengers, just with louder and bigger explosions. If DC want to do something different from Marvel, they can’t just aim for the grit and realism of Nolan’s Batman trilogy; they need to look at the end of ‘The Dark Knight,’ for example. No massive explosions, no city-wrecking climatic battle. I’m sorry, what am I talking about again? Oh, that’s right…Suicide Squad!

The first official trailer may be covered in darkness (literally!), but the tone is far lighter. The song playing over the footage is Queen’s Bohemian Rhapody, for starters! The quotes selected are mostly light-hearted and funny (Deadshot’s ‘What is this, cheerleading tryouts’ in particular had me giggling), which seems very out of place in a DC film! But that’s a good thing. It’s a film about a group of bad guys doing (presumably) good things…it can’t take itself too seriously! My biggest gripe about ‘Man Of Steel’ was how deadly serious it took itself. There was barely a smile in the whole film! And it’s a film about an alien with superpowers! But along with the explosions, guns, and The Joker, there is a much-needed tongue-in-cheek nature about this trailer. Comic book films can be fun AND serious, and I reckon ‘Suicide Squad’ will successfully straddle that fine line.

“We’re bad guys, it’s what we do”

All of the actors/actresses involved seem to be having a ball. Margot Robbie, as Harley Quinn, looks like she has nailed the role. She even puts Jared Leto’s ‘The Joker’ to shame! Jai Courtney…well, he’s Jai Courtney. Enough said! And Will Smith looks to be playing…Will Smith! I guess we won’t see much of the Deadshot mask, unfortunately. Let’s hope Will Smith doesn’t become the main focus of the storyline, as all of the Suicide Squad have to have an equal amount of limelight. It’s time to focus on those villains who haven’t seen the big screen! And I know we haven’t seen Deadshot on the screen before, but we’ve seen Will Smith plenty of times before…

It’s a trailer full of promise and entertainment, but also one full of questions (which is what trailer are all about: provoking questions!) Jared Leto looks like he’s fully embraced the more comic book side of ‘The Joker,’ in appearance and in nature (the shot of him laughing among a lot of weapons is great!). However, his scenes don’t seem to be concurrent with the action going on with Harley Quinn et al. Could he be only part of a flashback involving Harley, perhaps? Another question is: what are the Suicide Squad uniting against? The city that they enter has already had havoc wreaked on it, so we may be spared seeing another city being torn apart in a comic book film. But what has wreaked havoc? There is a lot of black goo about…has another BP oil spill happened, perhaps? Or, more likely, is the ‘Enchantress’ the actual big bad of the film? Questions, questions!

As of now, it’s one of the comic books films I am most looking forward to this year. We’re getting the villain’s side of the story! There may be too many characters to be introduced, and too many to focus on, but if done correctly the film can be a great ensemble piece. Screw ‘Batman v Superman,’ give us ‘Suicide Squad’ first!

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