FEATURE: 5 Reasons Why SUICIDE SQUAD Could Be The Best Comic Book Movie Of 2016
While Batman V Superman and Captain America: Civil War are the obvious contenders to stand out in an incredibly stacked year for comic book movies, it would be unwise to ignore Suicide Squad. Read on to find out why Minty thinks DC's other movie could outshine the competition!
By Minty -
Jun 13, 2015 06:06 PM EST
While Batman V Superman and Civil War look set to steal the spotlight next year, a strong dark horse contender has recently emerged from 2016’s promising crop of superhero movies. David Ayer’s Suicide Squad is due to hit cinemas August 5, and will be the second DC Comics movie of the year from Warner Bros. Pictures. On the back of some great casting, and very promising set videos, fan anticipation for the formerly unknown quantity has hit an all-time high.
For those unaware, Suicide Squad focuses on a rag-tag team of incarcerated criminals, forced to undergo deadly missions for the US Government. In return for their service, the members of ‘Task Force X’ are gifted with time taken off of their prison sentences. This collection of assassins, thieves and scumbags include the likes of Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Capt. Boomerang and Enchantress, and are held to their side of the bargain by the morally dubious Amanda Waller, and are led by former military man Rick Flag Jr.
The Premise
It’s the novelty of the Suicide Squad’s core concept that makes it so appealing. While director David Ayer has cited the likes of The Dirty Dozen as his inspiration, we have never seen this kind of theme in a superhero film. With parts of Hollywood beginning to chastise the so-called recent “tsunami” of comic book movies, this DC pic offers something fresh – in much the same way that Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy did last year. We all know how successful that movie was.
What separates Suicide Squad from Guardians (along with Marvel's other movies) are its darker themes and more adult tone. The phrase “dark and gritty” is used too often for comic book adaptations nowadays, and yet Suicide Squad is one of the few movies that fits this description. Boasting plenty of immoral protagonists, and drawing upon much bleaker source material than your average CBM, this movie is set to be very different from the light-hearted MCU. And for variety’s sake, this can only be a good thing.
The Cast
Margot Robbie. Viola Davis. Will freakin’ Smith. There are some big names attached to this project. The movie would have had Tom Hardy on board as well - were it not for those pesky scheduling issues. Nevertheless, in the likes of Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Cara Delevingne and Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje, DC have assembled a very talented, well-rounded and diverse supporting cast. There’s also a certain cackling Clown Prince of Crime to consider - more on him later...
The fact that so many rising stars and acting heavyweights have come on board David Ayer’s project speaks volumes about its potential. What’s even more impressive has been their total commitment to these roles. After all, signing on an all-star cast is fine - but The Expendables still sucked. In order to be great, actors need to be fully on board with a film, as opposed to phoning it in for their next paycheck. The fact that most of the cast have undergone dramatic physical transformations for their roles is just one example of the commitment they appear to have to this project.
The Characters
With the exception of Harley & The Joker, the main characters in this movie are not household names. While this may hurt the movie financially, it’s a blessing from a creative standpoint. Writers who have adapted flagship comic book characters like Batman and Superman in the past have been subjected to a plenty of fanboy criticism. By working with such little-known characters, Ayer will only have to deal with a fraction of this pressure – giving him plenty of creative freedom.
This also directly affects the movie’s stakes. Anyone who knows anything about Task Force X will be well aware that half of these characters won’t be alive by the end credits. John Ostrander’s wonderfully brutal work with the original comic made it abundantly clear that any character could die. The fun part is guessing who… Many of the supporting cast seem like obvious cannon fodder, but don’t rule out a few meaningful deaths either. Having notably perished during Ostrander’s original run, Flag would be an interesting choice, while the demise of Will Smith’s Deadshot would certainly deliver shock value.
One other thing to note is the comic book background of the characters featuring in Suicide Squad. Drawing from multiple different rogues galleries of popular heroes (including The Flash, Batman and Green Arrow), the movie will hopefully tease several of DC’s future superhero ventures. It's quite possible that this movie will serve as the springboard for a wider, connected DCCU - easing the burden on Batman V Superman to do so).
The Director
David Ayer is currently one of the most in-demand filmmakers around. Coming off success with both Fury and End Of Watch over the past few years, it seems he’s got half of Hollywood queuing up to work with him. Jai Courtney recently revealed that Ayer’s involvement was the real draw for him – and that he signed on without even reading the script. The talented director clearly had a big part to play in assembling such an impressive cast for the movie.
Despite this, Ayer’s record hasn’t been consistently outstanding over the past few years. Many would call Sabotage the director’s weakest work. While the movie had a few plenty of flaws, it still delivered a number of great action sequences. As a movie that will partly rely on its action to win crowds over, Ayer’s experience in this department will be vital – and he’s proven it time and time again. The man is also clearly very adept at handling a large ensemble cast.
The Joker
Easily the most controversial aspect about this movie, many fans are firmly on the fence about Jared Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime. The first still of the character set the internet ablaze, and while it was nice of David Ayer to let us know he’s “damaged”, the villain could have done without a few of the more garish tattoos. It’s a well-known fact that Ayer’s fond of his ink though, so this was always likely to be the case.
Personally, I loved the look. “Damaged” declaration aside, the rest of his appearance is almost exactly as I had hoped. Lean, maniacal and incredibly ripped, Leto’s clearly put a lot of effort into his physical appearance – and it shows. His facial expression alone is the stuff of nightmares, and given his immense talent, it's possible he could deliver one of the best takes on The Joker so far. Heath Ledger's iconic performance will always loom over him, but most fans would be wise to embrace Leto’s portrayal for what it is: a new interpretation of the world's most popular super-villain.
The most encouraging thing about this is that I feel I've barely even scraped the surface of Suicide Squad's potential. But out of loving concern for you guys I opted not to continue and bore you all to death. What are you most excited about DC’s ‘dark horse’? Or are you more looking forward to a different superhero movie from 2016? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments below!
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