By Jarrod Jones. I have a question for you: What’s your favorite episode from the first season of Justice League Unlimited? That’s a tough one, I know. No, go ahead. Take your time. I’ll wait.
Mine is without a doubt the seventeenth episode, titled”Task Force X”: a wily, slick, self-contained glimpse into the inner workings of how supervillains interact with each other in a world festooned with Kryptonians and listless, pain-in-the-ass billionaires. It’s a smartly-written episode (by none other than Darwyn Cooke!) that introduces the uninitiated to the DC Universe’s very own Suicide Squad, and it does beautifully by them — even if the Cartoon Network series never could actually use the name (if you have two bucks and twenty-two minutes, you can watch it here).
It’s been ten years since Task Force X made their jump from the comics page onto a different medium, and though there’s another version of them bopping around on the CW’s Arrow (or, at least, there was), the momentum behind David Ayer’s latest film is making Suicide Squad something of a wild card for Warner Bros’ ambitious slate of DC Comics-related films. And if that’s intentional, then holy shit — this movie is going to rule. Let’s watch it again.
Whoever’s responsible for cherry-picking that Bee-Gees song for this trailer deserves a raise. Now let’s get to it.
First, let me say: Viola Davis as Amanda Waller is, in my eyes, kinda like Gary Oldman for Jim Gordon. The role fits so perfectly around the actor, and makes so much sense that my brain goes on sunny vacations when I watch this thing. She’s calm and composed, calculating and cold as ice: the perfect fit for The Wall. Now we need some facetime between her and Batfleck.
That “Firm But Fair” tag at A.R.G.U.S. penitentiary should be an insignificant throwaway, but to me it’s a flourish that makes this world feel that much more inhabitable. That tag makes me feel like A.R.G.U.S. has been around for a long, long time, and all these super-beings are just pesky “to-dos” on their itinerary. It’s all in Waller’s line: “Maybe Superman was some kind of beacon for them to creep back from the shadows.” Ooh. Chills.
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is another feather in Ayer’s cap: a casting choice so perfect that all those dumb little tattoos on her face don’t even bother me. (I can’t lie: they still bother me.) Robbie’s got the chops to make Quinn’s leap into DC’s Cinematic Universe feel totally legit. Now let’s hope her boyfriend fares just as well. (More on him later.)
Here’s Jay Hernandez as El Diablo. I’ll admit I know very little about this character, but it’s my understanding that — for a long time before the New 52 at least — El Diablo wasn’t a villain, or even much of an anti-hero, but hey. Hernandez looks great (the film’s single use of facial tattoos that doesn’t send my soul screaming from my eye sockets), and the atmosphere that comes from this shot shows me that Ayer is employing Warner Bros’ dark aesthetic to his supervillain film in all the right ways.
As little as I know about El Diablo, I know even less about Enchantress. (I know she runs in the same circles as Zatanna, Dr. Fate, and Deadman, which makes the news that Warner Bros’ Justice League Dark movie might be S.O.L that much more depressing). But the trailer does have Cara Delevingne traipsing about on her own more so than any other member of Task Force X, and that makes her presence an intriguing question mark. Maybe I oughta dust off those back issues of JLDark and hope for the best.
For being A.R.G.U.S.’ main man, Rick Flag, Jr. has almost zero screen time. Joel Kinnaman’s been hard at work fleshing out Flag longer than people were ever pumped about Tom Hardy being in this flick, so what’s the deal? The most annoying part about this is, if Hardy had kept the role, you just know we’d be seeing Flag all over this piece. Grumble.
I keep having to remind myself that Will Smith is in this movie. As the film’s biggest star, Smith is in charge of handling the trailer’s only two clunkers (“we’re some kinda ‘suicide squad’“, “let’s go save the world“), probably because everyone knows he can handle the baggage. The trailer offers us glimpses of Smith’s Deadshot hanging out with a small girl in a foppish hustler’s cap, so expect Floyd Lawton to probably have the movie’s biggest (and likely the most distracting) backstory. Smith’s marquee presence demands it.
I don’t think I’ve ever been pumped about Killer Croc. (Maybe he made me cry once during Batman: The Animated Series, and he definitely might have scared the shit out of me in Arkham Asylum.) But Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje looks downright amazing in this trailer, which makes me wonder what’s in store for the character in the future. (Maybe a role in the upcoming ‘Fleck-filmed Batman movie?) Oof. This cast looks amazing.
Just for the hell of it, here’s another screengrab of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.
What’s with the Batman mask? Maybe the Squad has a Point Break-style heist on their hands, only they’re subbing out the Prez masks for Justice League hoods? (Ah, speculation.) Whatever the case may be, I like the hard-edged, cynical bent to this movie so far. If only the DC Cinematic Universe had some light in it to provide contrast.
Just in case there was any doubt (we all knew better, right?), Batman will be in Suicide Squad. I’m guessing this is a prologue sequence where the Batman puts Harley Quinn down, but in true historic fashion, the Joker got away. It certainly looks like Warner Bros is scrambling to get DC caught up to their esteemed competition; now this trailer has two Justice League shout-outs.
Here’s Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. Posted without comment. (I pick on poor ol’ Jai too much already. Like, a lot.)
And here we are. The moment everyone was waiting for. Jared Leto’s Joker finally stands revealed to the world, and… um… hmm. Is that the laugh? And did Leto just hole himself in a hotel room for a week to watch The Dark Knight and The Shining, or what; because that man sounds like somebody mixed Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger’s voices together into one unholy abomination. I respect Leto for taking the risk — of all the roles in the known universe, this has to be the most thankless one — and I’m keeping in mind that first impressions with the Joker have historically been the wrong ones, but this is… not good.
So what did you think of our first look at Suicide Squad? Love it? Hate it? Let us know in the comments below.
