David Ayer's latest flick Suicide Squad has breathed deeper life into the DC cinematic universe, even deeper than Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. With a poor 26% on Rotten Tomatoes, Suicide Squad has been heralded as a major let down and disappointment. However Suicide Squad did an amazing thing for the future of DC movies, and here are 5 reasons why.
1. Setting the tone for future DC Movies.
While it's no surprise that DC has set a grittier and darker tone with their first two box office blockbusters this year, Suicide Squad expanded on the idea that superhero movies, as well a super villain movies, can be twisted. Characters like, Harley Quinn, El Diablo, Slipknot, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and Killer Croc are no where near heroes. In fact, their crimes range from straight up assassination to robbing banks. No one on this team even really wants to be apart of it, the "Suicide Squad," title is an alternative to a death sentence. In fact the only voluntary member was Katana, simply because she wanted to protect Rick Flag. Suicide Squad gave the DC cinematic universe a darker tone, and paved the way for future flicks to be as macabre as they choose.
2. Love for the underdogs.
Okay, an expert marksman, a guy with a skin condition that makes him look like a crocodile, and a... master of the boomerang? Suicide Squad gives DC's underdog and C-List villains a lot of love. No one would really be interested in these characters when hearing them in passing, but Suicide Squad fleshes out their characters, even if all their backstories were not featured into the movie. However this is where research comes in. Casual audiences might not be interested in the comic books, but some are willing to read and spend the time to get to know what they're watching, and who they are watching. While everyone knows who Harley Quinn is, more people can meet El Diablo, Enchantress, and Katana.
3. An All Star Cast
Audiences already know names such as Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared Leto. The Fresh Prince, Naomi Lapaglia from "The Wolf Of Wall Street," and front man for "30 Seconds To Mars." Couple that in with an actor like Ben Affleck, and DC's choice of actors is astoundingly big. Though not as impressive as Marvel's Avenger's cast, directors of DC's movies are grabbing some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
4. The Art of Distraction
From all the trailers of Suicide Squad, we saw tons of promotion for The Joker, with a lack of said methodical clown in the movie. While most fans found this disappointing, it paved the way for the character to be fleshed out in other ways. The movie is titled "Suicide Squad," the Joker is not a member of the Suicide Squad, he only shows up to save Harley Quinn. The less Joker the movie had, the better. If the plot centralized around the Joker, it wouldn't have been a Suicide Squad movie, something to realize if you're seeing the movie for the first time or going to watch again. Watch the first trailer here, and see if the movie still looks promising.
5. The Reveal of The Joker
Many questioned how Jared Leto's portrayal of the Joker would stack up against the likes of Jack Nicholson, Caesar Romero, or Heath Ledgers'. Game Theory's video on which Joker Jared Leto plays is an important thing to take into consideration when finding out who the Joker is. However, with Suicide Squad's small portions of the Joker, we see who the character has the potential to be. Leto's portrayal of the Joker was spot on, matching the gangster joke we see a la kin to Nicholson's Joker. If you went into Suicide Squad looking for another Heath Ledger, you were right to be disappointed. The revelation of the Joker's character in Suicide Squad allows the character to make waves in future appearances, with Suicide Squad serving as a teaser for the character.
