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March 28, 2021 8:43 AM   Subscribe

 
The The Suicide Squad trailer has dropped.

I do appreciate the gutsiness of attempting to memory-hole a terrible movie by adding the definite article to the title to imply that the newer one is the definitive version.
posted by explosion at 8:46 AM on March 28, 2021 [21 favorites]


Having missed the previous (but listened to the Flop House talk about it) and the Harley Quinn movie, I am...pretty lost? Is this a sequel with an identical premise and one returning character, like Escape from LA?
posted by dismas at 8:49 AM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]


Gotta hand it to James Gunn, it looks like he's fixed things enough to make this actually possibly enjoyable.

I like the whole "not quite a sequel/not quite a reboot" vibe. (To be fair, I'm not QUITE sure it's an attempt to memory-hole the original, as much as it is a refresh of the copyrights.) I wish more movie studios would admit when they made a flop and just gun into remaking it instead of waiting 10 years as is the norm.

I like that he pulled more obscure characters, I like that the movie seems less grimdark than the original.

Anyway, thanks James Gunn, for giving me some throwaway dumb movies to snarkily enjoy. He tends to be pretty good at that.

"I am...pretty lost? Is this a sequel with an identical premise and one returning character, like Escape from LA?"

It doesn't reference the previous movie, but it also does not contradict it, (according to Gunn) making it technically a sequel but also technically a reboot for anyone who hasn't seen the original. So, to answer your question: Yes-ish.
posted by deadaluspark at 8:50 AM on March 28, 2021 [6 favorites]


I do appreciate the gutsiness of attempting to memory-hole a terrible movie by adding the definite article to the title to imply that the newer one is the definitive version.

See also: The Wolverine.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:54 AM on March 28, 2021 [4 favorites]


I mostly trust Gunn to fix this franchise and the cast is great but mostly I'm going to be so hyped to see anything in the theater by the time August rolls around.
posted by octothorpe at 9:14 AM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


As a fan of the Ostrander comics: yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 9:17 AM on March 28, 2021


John Ostrander is actually *in the trailer* as the doctor injecting the explosive devices, which is a wonderfully meta thing to do. It's hard to undo the damage that the awful non-definitive-article version did to the concept, but Gunn has a good shot at making something that at least understands the tone of the original comics.
posted by HunterFelt at 9:24 AM on March 28, 2021 [6 favorites]


I made it to the end mainly because of the Dan music. I can't recall ever hearing a Steely Dan pop piece anywhere as soundtrack stuffs, so I can't help wondering what's going on with that. I hope this doesn't mean more Steely Dan soundtrack surprises are in store when it comes to explosive beat 'em up movies featuring characters in goofy (Yes, the shark is shudder-worthy goofy.) costumes.

I hope I wind up on a plane some time in the future and this movie comes on and after watching it I'm wrong about my impressions.
posted by uraniumwilly at 9:55 AM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


If nothing else, Gunn has better taste in needle-drops than whomever ended up choosing the music for the first movie.
posted by octothorpe at 10:02 AM on March 28, 2021 [4 favorites]


Is this a sequel with an identical premise and one returning character, like Escape from LA?

Don't be ridiculous! There are [checks notes] four returning characters. (Besides Harley, they've brought back Rick Flag, Boomerang, and, obviously, Amanda Waller. Because who in their right mind would pass up on having Viola Davis in anything, ever?)

I definitely sympathize with all the folks I've seen on Twitter mournfully saying "Yeah, remember how it turned out, last time we were all excited for an awesome-looking Suicide Squad trailer?" But those casting decisions drop a lot of the most leaden parts of the first movie and keep the characters that worked best. And with the Snyderverse seeming to be on its way out, and this one having a much more clear James-Gunn-stamp all over it, I am certainly hopeful that this one will be more fun than the last one.
posted by mstokes650 at 10:15 AM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


Can anyone think of another DC movie that was made by someone who actually reads comic books? (And if anyone has evidence that Snyder has ever read anything other than Watchman and TDKR, please let me know).
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:20 AM on March 28, 2021


There are actually four characters returning that I've identified: Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn, Boomerang, and Rick Flag. (preview: mstokes650 beat me to the punch.) Also, Idris Elba as Bloodsport is basically standing in for/replacing Will Smith's Deadshot; Elba was originally going to be the Deadshot recast, until they decided to cast him as a very similar character in case Smith decided to rejoin the series later. (Bloodsport is generally not as big of a deal in DC comics as Deadshot, although he's got an awesome bragging right that he picked up in his very first appearance that I hope they make reference to in the movie.)

In general, yeah, really looking forward to it; one of the things about Gunn is that, in addition to the more obvious goofy bits (i.e. King Shark), there are also these almost throwaway bits that ring true. When Harley offers to rehostage herself and Bloodsport barks, "That's condescending!", and then they introduce themselves? [chefskiss] Or "We're all gonna die." "I hope so." August can't come fast enough.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:23 AM on March 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


So, I can watch this movie without all the other DarkGrim DC movies ? Great!
posted by Pendragon at 10:35 AM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]


Was the kaiju Starro the Conqueror? Interesting choice.
posted by SPrintF at 10:38 AM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]


And if anyone has evidence that Snyder has ever read anything other than Watchman and TDKR, please let me know

His entire aesthetic is turning Alex Ross covers into film?
posted by praemunire at 11:17 AM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


praunmire: Snyder was pretty close to the beats and panels of The 300. I'd say that Snyder is a Frank Miller fanboy, though without the entire suite of Miller's neuroses and psychoses.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 11:38 AM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]


For those whose campy shark needs cant wait until this comes out, you can get a small-screen fix in the Arrowverse, which also features a talking/telepathic gorilla.
posted by sardonyx at 12:24 PM on March 28, 2021 [5 favorites]


Starro also made a very brief appearance on TV in the not-so-distant past.
posted by sardonyx at 12:28 PM on March 28, 2021


I did like the Kaiju comment was immediately followed by a shot of Idris Elba; that's some good meta-lampshading.

Also WTH is Nathan Fillion doing in this?
posted by suelac at 12:29 PM on March 28, 2021 [4 favorites]


Is this before or after Constantine and King Shark were a thing
posted by emjaybee at 12:32 PM on March 28, 2021 [6 favorites]


technically a sequel but also technically a reboot for anyone who hasn't seen the original
It gets deeper, remembering that the whole thing is a rehash of The Dirty Dozen, inspired by Commando and other war comic books, itself ‘rebooted’ several times over decades with Ernest Borgnine only getting older, ‘remade’ in Italy as spaghetti war movie (The Inglorious Bastards) before being brought back to the self-referential ourobouros Western canon by Tarantino...
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 1:17 PM on March 28, 2021 [4 favorites]


Because he hasn’t been mentioned yet, let me just remark how excellent David Dastmalchian is—it’s been nice seeing his career get some momentum. I can’t wait to see him as Piter de Vries in Dune if it ever comes out.
posted by hototogisu at 1:56 PM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


> "Snyder was pretty close to the beats and panels of The 300"

Although he did manage to somehow miss literally the ONE interesting thing about 300, which is that the Laconian Spartans from whom we get the *&^*$&%! word "laconic" were actually portrayed as being soft-spoken people of few words and dry wit (it wasn't THIS! IS! SPAAAAARTAAAAAA!, Snyder, it was "This is Sparta." *push*) but Snyder's almost supernatural ability to reproduce a piece note-for-note while still somehow avoiding any indication he understood it on any level is par for the *30,000 WORD RANT CONTINUES IN MY HEAD*
posted by kyrademon at 2:28 PM on March 28, 2021 [43 favorites]


I did not see any empanadas. I hope that scene wasn't cut.
posted by ckape at 2:32 PM on March 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


It's smart to make a big production like this essentially a comedy, which by default is a kind of critic-proofing. "Hey, it's just big dumb fun!"
posted by zardoz at 2:40 PM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


Also WTH is Nathan Fillion doing in this?

He was in Slither written and directed by James Gunn and also voiced a character in the prison scene in the first Guardian's movie. I think Groot shoved his fingers up his nose. He also filmed a cameo for Guardian's 2 but it was cut.
posted by beowulf573 at 2:49 PM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]


I saw the (old?) movie Suicide Squad a while back on cable TV. I knew nothing about the characters, but it didn't seem any worse (or better) than any of the other few superhero flicks I've seen. It was goofy action movie. I don't get why it's so panned.

I realize I am not the exact audience for these things, but I enjoy silly action SFX flicks sometimes.
posted by SoberHighland at 2:52 PM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]


Correction, the cameo in Guardian's 2 was just fake movies posters.
posted by beowulf573 at 2:59 PM on March 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


Yacht rock given the BWAAAAAAN BWAAAAAN superhero movie remix treatment? And Idris Elba?

I care not a whit about comic books but this looks entertaining.
posted by emelenjr at 3:05 PM on March 28, 2021


Wasn't James Gunn canceled? Why is he back?
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:31 PM on March 28, 2021


I'm fairly certain half of hollywood rallied to Gunn's side. Apparently the reason he was cancelled was some decade-old tweets, for which he had already apologized multiple times before anyone found them and got him cancelled, and for which has apologized again after they came out.
posted by nushustu at 4:09 PM on March 28, 2021 [4 favorites]


I do appreciate the gutsiness of attempting to memory-hole a terrible movie by adding the definite article to the title to imply that the newer one is the definitive version.

Somebody call Kevin Costner: the world might be ready for The The Postman.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:20 PM on March 28, 2021 [8 favorites]


This kind of makes me want to find the original to Attack of the The Eye Creatures
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:49 PM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


I don't know ... it seemed like every character hated to be there, and I kind of wonder if that was the same for the actors and crew. Dripping with resignation.
posted by awfurby at 5:24 PM on March 28, 2021


That's sort of the whole premise of the movie.
posted by octothorpe at 5:27 PM on March 28, 2021 [6 favorites]


behold your guardians of the galaxy!
posted by alex_skazat at 5:29 PM on March 28, 2021


This kind of makes me want to find the original to Attack of the The Eye Creatures.

The Eye Creatures was a color remake (nearly shot-for-shot) of the B&W Invasion of the Saucer Men.
posted by SPrintF at 5:58 PM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


Nathan Fillion was also in James Gunn’s “Super” and his episode of “PG Porn” so I guess they like working together.
In the trailer, he is only seen in like one shot, as the guy drinking the Mr. Pibb, and is credited in casting announcements and such as “TDK” which further googling suggests to be “The Detachable Kid,” possibly a reference to Arm-Fall-Off Boy.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 7:29 PM on March 28, 2021


The Eye Creatures was a color remake (nearly shot-for-shot) of the B&W Invasion of the Saucer Men.

I don't want to live on this planet any more.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:34 PM on March 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


Can anyone think of another DC movie that was made by someone who actually reads comic books? (And if anyone has evidence that Snyder has ever read anything other than Watchman and TDKR, please let me know).

Snyder was apparently super, super passionate about introducing John Stewart in his cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE. Warner Bros. said no, but he went so far as to shoot a scene with the character (without authorization) on his own driveway. Which, again, WB shot down. Whether his take on the characters works or not, I think Snyder is more into the stuff than some give him credit for.

Anyway, the last SUICIDE SQUAD was spectacularly awful, but I adore James Gunn and it looks like he's having a blast with this. I'm down.
posted by brundlefly at 8:56 PM on March 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


Also WTH is Nathan Fillion doing in this?

Very probably playing a 21st Century version of Arm-Fall-Off Boy, if the rumors are to be believed!

Edit: (Aw, beaten. Probably by someone’s detatched arm.)
posted by Guy Smiley at 9:01 PM on March 28, 2021


Was the kaiju Starro the Conqueror? Interesting choice.

Apparently so. (Plus that's definitely him (her? it?) on the viewscreen 2:39 into the trailer).

As a big fan of the Ostrander-era Suicide Squad who had his hopes dashed by word-of-mouth of the original movie (couldn't bring myself to watch it), I'm cautiously hopeful that this version might actually be good as long as it gets the mix right and doesn't go totally JLI on us. (The original series could definitely be grimdark. Of course, it also had the Mad Pieman in it as well, so...)
posted by gtrwolf at 9:22 PM on March 28, 2021


Also:

(1) It would be nice to see Duchess make an appearance one day, but considering her history they would have to either give her a pretty opaque backstory or tie her to the whole Darkseid/Apokolips/New Gods/Female Furies saga (which would probably depend on the fate (or, at this point, mere existence) of the New Gods movie).

(2) Definitely not dissing Viola Davis, but does anyone else think that Queen Latifah would have made a badass Amanda Waller?
posted by gtrwolf at 9:41 PM on March 28, 2021


Was the kaiju Starro the Conqueror? Interesting choice.

Starro, Starro night 🎵
With tentacles blue and gray
Don't need mind controlling ray
An eye that knows the darkness in my soul

Starfish on the face
Take over the whole human race
Put the bipeds in their place
As servants of noble echinoderms

Now, I understand what you said with telepathy
You listened to the humans' plea
And how you refused to set them free
They would not listen, they would not kowtow
Perhaps they'll listen now
posted by benzenedream at 10:21 PM on March 28, 2021 [7 favorites]


Quick shout out to the HBO Max Harley Quinn series, which includes Ron Funches as King Shark.

I am not a huge DC fan but this show is delightful.
posted by JDHarper at 11:13 PM on March 28, 2021 [5 favorites]


let me just remark how excellent David Dastmalchian is—it’s been nice seeing his career get some momentum
I'll second that. He was terrific in Antman and the sequel.
posted by Arctan at 12:17 AM on March 29, 2021


I liked the first one, and will probably like this one more.

And let me second JDHarper -- that Harley Quinn show on HBO Max is INSANELY funny. It made me feel like a teenager seeing the first season of South Park all over again.

^__^
posted by Chronorin at 4:17 AM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]


Although he did manage to somehow miss literally the ONE interesting thing about 300, which is that the Laconian Spartans from whom we get the *&^*$&%! word "laconic" were

Well, Snyder is kind of the perfect example of reproducing the plot and either discarding or failing to grasp the theme.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:02 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]


I do appreciate the gutsiness of attempting to memory-hole a terrible movie by adding the definite article to the title to imply that the newer one is the definitive version.

It's like the first movie was Shit and the new one is The Shit.
posted by WalkingAround at 7:10 AM on March 29, 2021 [3 favorites]


I do appreciate the gutsiness of attempting to memory-hole a terrible movie by adding the definite article to the title to imply that the newer one is the definitive version.

The weird thing is that the first one was hugely successful. It made 3/4 of a billion dollars and is the fourth most successful DCEU film and was the ninth biggest film of 2016.
posted by octothorpe at 7:19 AM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]


The Suicide Squad Sales Pitch

I'm interested to see how much of this will still apply.
posted by Trifling at 7:51 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]


This would have been a good question on the green Thursday.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:51 AM on March 29, 2021


In comic books, the phrase "I was trained by Batman/Captain America/Wolverine" is basically a superpower. Any character who says that phrase has narrative justification to win a fight (or at least do a surprise take-down move) against anyone less powerful than, say, Spider-Man.

So the idea that someone like Boomerang or Harley could be so good at throwing boomerangs or hitting people with a bat that you'd send them on a mission instead of a team of SEALs is kinda the premise of the movie. No police officer can thwart these people if Batman's not there to do it. It's not really more ridiculous than Superman being able to fly, even though they don't go into detail about why the skill ceiling is so much higher in that world than ours.
posted by straight at 10:10 AM on March 29, 2021 [3 favorites]


The weird thing is that the first one was hugely successful. It made 3/4 of a billion dollars and is the fourth most successful DCEU film and was the ninth biggest film of 2016.

I think that there's a thing where a bad movie can be so highly anticipated that it makes big bank before people realize how crappy it really is, and can even ruin following movies that are better because people stay away in droves. It happened with Star Trek Into Darkness, which is still the highest-grossing Star Trek film, but was really just a warmed-over Wrath of Khan, and the follow-up, Star Trek Beyond, was a flop even though it was a much better film. Likewise, the first Suicide Squad had great opening weekends all around the world, but faded quickly, and is still at 26% on Rotten Tomatoes; Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), despite being better in almost every conceivable way, only grossed a fraction as much, even though it's at 78% on RT.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:29 AM on March 29, 2021 [8 favorites]


X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, on a somewhat smaller scale. Made quite a bit of money, still a franchise-killer.
posted by praemunire at 12:36 PM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]


I dig the use of Steely Dan,works great.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 3:14 PM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]


Halloween Jack, see also Prometheus.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:52 PM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]


"not quite sequel, not quite reboot"-- seguel?
posted by what does it eat, light? at 8:26 AM on March 30, 2021


For another King Shark take, and one that looks like to be in a similar vein as this one, check out the ill-named, Batman: Assault on Arkham which is minimal Batman and really just a Suicide Squad movie. It is part of the Batman: Arkham games series but I have never played the games and it worked pretty good for me. Not flawless by any means but it may serve as a taster before August.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 7:37 PM on March 30, 2021


So yeah the Steely Dan use is making me dig up and rewatch this trailer a whole bunch of times, but only because certain yacht-rock songs are my guilty pleasure and so this trailer is reminding me more of "suburban Connecticut childhood" rather than "Harley Quinn and King Shark Go On A Mission". This is not a reaction I was expecting.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:13 AM on March 31, 2021 [1 favorite]


And the second trailer has dropped

To be honest, this trailer doesn't get my hopes up like the first one did. Or maybe it was just the lack of Steely Dan (even if "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" (emphasis on that last word) is pretty apt for the Suicide Squad).
posted by gtrwolf at 9:28 PM on April 1, 2021


The new one does have some detachable arm action.
posted by octothorpe at 6:48 AM on April 2, 2021


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