David Ayer/Twitter
David Ayer is currently busy shooting The Suicide Squad, but that hasn’t stopped him and the Warner Bros. marketing department from teasing fans 14 months before the comic book adaptation is even released. By now it’s fair to say the first glimpse at the Joker (Jared Leto) wasn’t warmly received, and, without question, Leto looks ridiculous, but you have to give it up to Ayer for trying something new, and “new” is exactly what the comic book genre needs right now.
As entertaining as Avengers: Age of Ultron is, it’s a superhero movie that’s checking boxes – rarely delivering the unexpected. You know what you’re going to get from an Avengers film, but you don’t really know what you’re gonna get from a Suicide Squad film, and that’s exciting. Based on this photo of The Suicide Squad – a group of supervillains given a chance at redemption if they pull off impossible missions for a secret government agency – Ayer’s film could either be a disaster or a wild, fresh spin on the genre.
Fans are already split by the character designs, but there’s nothing wrong with a little divisiveness. I think it’s impossible to complain about Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. She doesn’t look like she shops at Hot Topic, she looks like she’d rip somebody’s head off and have a good chuckle about it. Robbie’s Harley Quinn, based on this photo alone, is already lovable and frightening. The other actors featured, including Will Smith and Joel Kinnaman, are eaten up by Robbie’s shadow.
This picture is a reminder of how many characters are in this movie, though, which is cause for concern. This photo doesn’t even include pivotal side characters – like The Joker, for some strange reason. David Ayer has always been more adept at writing intimate stories – Training Day, Dark Blue, and End of Watch — while he’s had trouble with ensemble films. Sabotage is an all around bad film, but even a movie as fine as Fury doesn’t have all of its characters fully-fleshed out by the end. If David Ayer can’t totally handle five characters, how’s he gonna fare with a team as big as The Suicide Squad? Then again, this guy directed Street Kings — which is a total B-movie classic in my book – so let’s give Ayer the benefit of the doubt he’ll manage to juggle all these villainous characters.
If you want more updates on the film, make sure to follow Ayer on twitter.
The Suicide Squad opens in theaters August 5th, 2016.
Related Topics: Comics
