Of all the things to expect on the Internet, the least was probably the reaction that seems to have overwhelmingly greeted the first full trailer for David Ayer's Suicide Squad. Having been a punching bag for fans outraged at the new direction of the Joker and the perceived uneven tone of the Comic Con footage, the film is now being talked about in far more glowing terms. The hype train is firmly back on the tracks. Kevin Smith got to see the trailer before anyone else - it pays to have friends at DC - and he predicted the film is going to be shockingly good:
"I think this is their Guardians of the Galaxy. It's going to be a sneak f***king stealth hit."
And that now seems to be the general consensus: excitement taking the place of eye-rolling at stories of Leto staying in character, or his grill, or his walking stick. Or you know, any design decision relating to the Joker at all. Sure, there are still lots of questions - where is Common, where is King Shark, what are they fighting? And why. But that's sort of the point: it's a teaser that sells the idea and the tone of the film without giving away too much. There is obviously a lot more to come, and that can only be good news for fans. But what did we learn? Deep breath, and let's get into this...
45. "Firm But Fair"
Welcome to Blackgate Prison: that slogan is brilliant - on a par with Shawshank Prison's claims of a pious penitentiary. As if "firm" is any sort of answer to a crocodile or a megalomaniac killer clown... And there he is at the end there, preceded by a corridor of heavily armed guards, standing Lecter like in the middle of a bare cell. That's quite the mythology building image. In the comics, Blackgate always looked suspiciously like the version of Azkaban Prison that appeared in the Harry Potter films. Definitely some homaging going on there by Rowlings' people. The decision to use Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody is just inspired and undoubtedly a fair shout at being the best comic book movie trailer musical accompaniment ever (alongside Guardians Of The Galaxy and Age Of Ultron's Pinocchio). So that's two musical wins already for this film's marketing department.
