Top Five Takeaways from the New Suicide Squad Trailer

After a long day of yard work, I stumbled out of the shower last night just in time to catch the new Suicide Squad trailer on the MTV Movie Awards.

Timing is everything. That two minutes and 39 seconds filled me with more happiness than any trailer I saw for Batman V Superman.

Yeah, I said it.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, the Suicide Squad is the government’s black-ops answer to super-powered threats. The team consists of villains forced into service by the implantation of a micro-explosive in their necks.

Don’t follow the rules? BOOM!

Try to escape? BOOM!

Complete the mission and come back alive? You’re free to go.

Pretty simple set up, right? The trick is that the Suicide Squad’s missions almost never go according to plan.

So, what did we learn from the new Suicide Squad trailer?

1. Music is Important – The new trailer traded Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” for Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” and Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz” as its musical muses to tremendous effect. The driving glam rock riff in “Ballroom Blitz” is a perfect counterpoint to the new action-packed trailer.
2. The Joker – We also got way more screen time from Leto’s Joker who looks to be a roadblock to the Squad’s mission. It looks like he will appear in some flashback capacity and then show up later in the movie. It also looks like Leto is going to chew every piece of scenery in the room when he shows up. That’s fine; he’s the Joker. And can we talk about that purple Hot Wheels car he’s seen driving? Slick.
3. Deadshot – Will Smith’s casting worried me. Would we get ‘Fresh Prince Smith’ or ‘Serious Actor Smith?’ Based on the trailer it looks like we got ‘Bad Boys Smith’ and I’m okay with that. Smith can be serious or funny, depending on the moment. If he can harness that I think he’ll get Deadshot right.
4. Batman – Yup, Batfleck is going to make an appearance. Remember the Hot Wheels car I mentioned earlier? He’s hanging from it. More Batman is always good.
5. Harley Quinn – Playing Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad is going to shoot Margo Robbie straight to the top of the A-List. If this trailer is any indication, she’s going to own every scene she’s in. Did I mention the hammer? She’s got the sledgehammer.
6. And the rest – The new trailer also gives better looks at the rest of the team including Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and Slipknot (Adam Beach). We also get a good look at Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller. Davis will bring some strong acting chops to Waller. She’s going to be fun to watch.

Okay, so I did six things. Sue me. I was excited.

Warner Brothers has a lot riding on Suicide Squad after the tepid response to Batman V Superman. Rumors of reshoots surfaced after that movie’s precipitous second weekend box office drop off. After seeing this new trailer, I am way more excited about going to the theater to see Suicide Squad than I ever was about Batman V Superman.

Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5.

Are you ready?