Jared Leto's Joker... I don't hate it

Let me be perfectly honest with you all: when they release publicity stills of a halfway decent Harley Quinn for this Suicide Squad film only then will I permit myself to hope. I have been burned too many times by DC's film publicity looking good.

And this certainly looks good. Its an interesting twist on the Joker, even if I think the “damaged” tattoo across his forehead is a bit on the nose. Truth be told, I want to like it because it is different from the usual portrayals of the Joker and DC doesn't tend to go in for innovation with their films when there's perfectly dreadful Frank Miller interpretations to copy (though the publicity still does go for the next worst thing: referencing Brian Bolland's cover for The Killing Joke).

Also, its not like Leto was ever going to get a fair hearing from a lot of quarters, taking over the role from the practically sainted Heath Ledger is the definition of a lose-lose scenario: Leto could play it like Ledger and be judged an inferior tribute act or he could turn in a new interpretation that would inevitably be compared to Ledger anyway, probably negatively.

And I just plain want these films to be good. I don't like this constant expectation I have that the DC Cinematic Universe will suck forever. Green Lantern had way too much clunky exposition and spent all its money in all the wrong places but it wasn't disastrous. The Chris Nolan Batman films were all entertaining the first time round even if none of them really stand up to repeat viewings. Man Of Steel was an absolute disaster on almost every conceivable level but it had visual spectacle to spare.

At the end of the day, though, the DC Cinematic Universe has only had one movie (two if Green Lantern turns out to be canon) and Nolan has left the building. There really isn't much to judge this project by. What there is to judge it by is a complete trainwreck that its hard to fathom how it got made, I admit, but the point stands.

Well, and the Batman v. Superman trailer of grimness.

And the fact DC have commissioned Frank Miller to write The Dark Knight 3 as a practical tie-in.

And that oh so very 90s Aquaman design they released to the press.

This is going to suck forever, isn't it?