The "Suicide Squad" Movie ?

So up until now I've been pretty lenient with the upcoming "Suicide Squad" movie DC/Warner Bros. has planned (and "strategically" placed before "Wonder Woman") but now I'm gonna start legitimately raising eyebrows and asking some serious questions. One of things I've applauded Marvel for is there ability to cast actors who look the part and more over are relatively unknowns. Robert Downey Jr. (and RDJ hadn't been a name in a LONG time before "Ironman") & Samuel L. Jackson are the biggest names of The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston weren't names but they're become names because of the characters they've played. Instead of relying on names, Marvel has managed to create their own names and successfully used character actors such as Benicio Del Toro and many others to their advantage. Meanwhile, DC/Warner Bros. is doing the exact opposite and in my opinion the wrong thing by relying on names to make their movies. This couldn't be more obvious than having Ben Affleck as Batman & Will Smith (of all people) as DC's most unlikable character (in my opinion) Deadshot (also has Will Smith EVER played a villain? Somebody get on that right now.)

The great thing about having relatively unknown actors in movies such as these is that it takes the pressure off the shoulders of the studio in having to shell out huge amounts of cash for actors salaries (as Studio Executives are already reluctant to shell out cash for super-hero films as it is) and it takes the pressure off the actor. Everyone knows who Ben Affleck is and what they can expect from him, everyone knows who Will Smith is and what to expect from him as well, but did anyone know who Chris Hemsworth was prior to "Thor" and could make a solid opinion about his ability to play such a character? If your answer to that question is "Yes." you're either lying or you're from Australia (and if you are then "G'day, mate!") This isn't a commentary on whether or not Affleck or Smith will suck as Batman & Deadshot, but rather this is a commentary on them NOT becoming Batman & Deadshot and becoming Ben Affleck in a Batman costume and Will Smith dressed up as Deadshot (and considering no incarnation of Deadshot has ever been Black, DC/Warner Bros. has their work cut out for them in convincing me that this is Floyd Lawton and not some other guy).

While I can't blame DC/Warner Bros. for going the safe route they're losing a very prime opportunity to develop their own talent. Consider this, Will Smith and Ben Affleck don't NEED their movies to be successful and while no actor wants their movie to tank, I'd be lying if I didn't say that some actors need movies to be successful more than others. Henry Cavill is now getting more leading man roles due to his work as Superman, and while that movie is (unjustifiably, in my opinion) maligned, whatever boom Cavill has in his career is owed to "Man Of Steel"...after all, you don't remember that he once made eyes at Robert DeNiro in "Stardust" (another comicbook movie, I might add). On the other end of the spectrum is Ben Affleck and Will Smith, and while I'm sure they're no doubt pumped to play comic book characters (Ben more so than Will, after all who wouldn't be pumped to play Batman?) they don't NEED those movies as they've already made their millions. If "Gigli" and "After Earth" have taught us anything, it's that Ben and Will can and most definitely will survive any box office flop they're apart of, but had an unknown been in those movies, chances are you'd never see them again until some studio exec decided to roll the dice on them again.

I'm not saying Will & Ben should have to be starving artists to make these movies successful, I'm just saying that a blank canvas is easier to paint on the repainting one we've seen. Will Smith and Ben Affleck are in NO WAY close to Gary Oldman in terms of acting, as Gary Oldman is able to completely vanish in damn near every movie he's been in. Will Smith and Ben Affleck don't have vanishing power and if they do, I have yet to see them do it. Tom Cruise, under heavy prosthetics have proved his vanishing power in "Tropic Thunder", but it's easy to vanish when in costume and make up, in terms of performance, Will Smith and Ben Affleck haven't surprised me or made me stand up and say "This kid is good." like I did when I saw Heath Ledger in "The Order". The thing is, I don't think Will Smith and Ben Affleck have some hidden or untapped potential that no director has been able to tap into, with the many numbers of films they've done as leading men and secondary characters, I'd say they're pretty tapped.

In conclusion, the casting of Will Smith (the most bankable star in Hollywood) as the most unknown (and unlikable) anti-hero (if you can even call him that) in DC Comics (and bare in mind, Deadshot is NOT the leader of The Suicide Squad, Rick Flagg is) just screams of DC/Warner Bros. making sure they cast a big name so EVERYONE will see it, rather than conserving the budget for special effects and post-production as opposed to paying Will Smith's handsome salary. Let's be honest, no one outside of comic books have heard of the Suicide Squad and it's hard to believe that DC/Warner Bros. greenlit this movie without some assurance that they'd get a return on their investment...their solution was to call Will Smith, mine was to cast unknown and allocate resources to other parts of the production and cast unknown but otherwise talented actors to man the roles. But then again, what do I know? That's not a sarcastic quip, I'm legitimately asking what do I know? I haven't seen a trailer nor have I looked at statements from Affleck and Smith about how they feel about their respective roles. Things will become more clear once a trailer is released and a plot is explained, until then, I can say that this is shaping up to be one absolutely confusing mess that is making squint with each step. Here's to hoping I'm proven wrong...God let me be wrong...

ADDENDUM: Yes, I am aware that Tom Hardy has dropped out of the "Suicide Squad" movie, good for him.