There’s no other way to say it. I’m a nerd. Not only am I a nerd, I’m pretty predictable nerd. If Marvel puts out a movie, I’m going to watch it. You want to make a movie about a guy that shrinks to the size of an ant and his arch enemy looks like a hornet? I’m in! I’ll see it. I may not go watch that one in the theater but you can bet I’ll watch it at some point. Besides, Paul Rudd is money!!! Guardians of the Galaxy 2, 3 and 4? Front row baby (maybe more like the back row because you get a better view but front row has more oomph). I’ll be there. Go ahead and repeat that last scenario with Captain America, Iron Man, Avengers, Thor and the likes and the result will be the same.
I’ve seen all of the new Batman movies and despite how badly I feel like the last Superman: Man of Steel movie was…I’ll be watching Batman vs Superman on the big screen. Rooting for Batman of course. Yes, I know that Superman has super strength and is virtually indestructable but we all know that Bruce Wayne is going to score some Kryptonite and make the fight worth our while. I can’t wait!
I was a little conflicted however, when I heard that they were making a superhero movie about super villains. I’m sort of a purist when it comes to superheroes. I like my heroes good and my villain bad. I get a little edgy when the lines are blurred on the two. Sure, Batman has a tendency to push the boundaries a little bit but he was always still on the side of justice…with a side of vengeance. I’ve been reading a lot of articles and I have watched the trailer for “Suicide Squad” in which Dead Shot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and a few other baddies are recruited for impossible missions. There is a lot of gray in this movie from the stand point of good and evil. That being said, the writers and director (David Ayer) of this movie have done something really interesting with these characters, at least in the trailer. You feel for them.
I think we all connect with characters who are down and out and have nothing to lose. I am strangely intrigued by these guys I typically root against. That’s just good writing! Since my brain is always running and I can’t seem to turn it off, I have to wonder why am I rooting for them. I think if I break it down a bit, I would say that we all see the bad in ourselves. We are with ourselves 24/7 and we know our own thoughts and motivations. We understand the capability that each one of us has for evil. That can be overwhelming at times and we can sometimes begin to think that because of that, we can’t be used for good.
Enter in “The Suicide Squad”. These criminals that have been thrown in a deep dark hole and then the hole has been thrown away, have the opportunity to do something valiant, to do something good. I think we see the Suicide Squad in each one of us and we then find ourselves rooting for characters that we hope are redeemable. That is the human story. We are each capable of great evil but God wants to use us for good.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Since the movie doesn’t come out until 2016, I have no idea what the content of it is or even if it will be a good movie. Quite honestly, I’m already wishing that Harley Quinn had longer pants on so I wouldn’t have a guilty conscience while watching the trailer. That’s just me being real. I do know that there is something inside of me that roots for these anti heroes because I also am also rooting for humanity and we’re all in the same boat: fallen from grace but hoping for redemption.
“Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” –1 Corinthians 6:11
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