Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) - An Overdose of a Good Character
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
DC runs with what fans have been saying about Harley Quinn being the Deadpool of the DCEU with <i>Birds of Prey<i>. It's a messy, scattered vision with only a couple of redeeming qualities. Margot Robbie is a lot of fun as Harley Quinn. I understand why fans have fallen for this interpretation of the character even though Robbie hasn't gotten correct treatment with this character. I include this film in that statement. They push Harley to the forefront of the movie, and because the character has such a strong personality, it was a little much for me. She gets some funny scenes and one good action scene, but I felt like she needed some other characters around her to help the balance because even though the title pitches a team film, it isn't. Just about every character here had the potential to be a fun character, but I didn't feel any of them lived up to it. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was my favorite character and the biggest disappointment. She gets the best gag of the film, and Winstead is great in the movie. McGregor was also a disappointment, considering how much I've enjoyed him in other things. He's good here, but Black Mask is a character I've grown to enjoy over my comic experience, and I wanted a lot more from this interpretation of the character. Instead, we get this petty, flamboyant portrayal that was not my thing. The one relationship I enjoyed was the conceptual themes around Harley and Cassandra Cain. Cain's fascination with this insane lady was something I could have used more of because there were some fascinating themes around people's idols, and I'd of loved to see more focus on that.
However, the vision for this film is so scattered. I don't think this movie knows what theme it wants to put in the spotlight. The R-rating is by far the most needless of all the superhero films. It felt like a marketing play more than anything. It deserves the rating, but it never felt like a story that benefited from the R-rating treatment. The fourth wall breaking was the same case. They're going for Deadpool, and they don't pull it off. The editing is all over the place, and it was incredibly distracting. There was no benefit from it at all, and it felt forced. As far as feminist themes go, there isn't anything that I could embrace. Is this a film about men's oppression (from Black Mask), characters accounting for their past sins, or standing by them? I don't know, but I know it was lackluster.
I'll speak to the action before I close off. The police station raid was pretty good. However, the problem with <i>Birds of Prey's<i> action and modern action films is apparent. While the colors were visually vibrant, just because you do slow-mo mid-jump doesn't make it good action, that goes for the whole movie. The flick doesn't add to anything enjoyable or engaging as a whole, even though there's potential here.
Not Recommend
5/10
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