|
DC is on the right track back. WB has seriously fumbled out the gate with its shared universe. I still can’t get over how much of a shrug Justice League is. With, WB willing to go to places that Disney won’t with its Marvel properties, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is another (flawed) step in the right direction. And from here on out, I’ll strictly be referring to this movie as Birds of Prey.
Following the events of Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is now on her own after the Joker throws her literally to the curb. Before thinking it through, she publicly declares her and the Joker are done. With it being open season on her, Harley must team-up with police detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and the Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) to save young pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) from the crime lord Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).
Now let’s get this out of the way. Yes, this is a sequel to Suicide Squad, with the events of that film heavily referenced, and clips from it shown in this film. And yes, Birds of Prey does curb the character introductions from that movie. The big difference here is that it works and doesn’t come off cheesy and sloppy. However, this film stands on its own two feet and if you come into this blind, you would not be lost. And that’s by design as DC is making it clear that they’re doing standalone films. For the time being anyway. Right the ship first then gather everyone together again. It truly says something when this film and Shazam! does more world-building than films that your main heroes are in.
Look, portrayal aside, I’m glad they gave Harley her own movie away from the Joker. No offense to Jared Leto, but I wasn’t feeling gangsta Joker. Plus, Harley’s abusive relationship is probably not one you’d want to showcase and immortalize in a movie. But then, this where the problems come in.
Look, I love Harley as a character and Margot was born to play her (you can tell she loves playing the character and is having a total blast), but with that having her be front and center, she gets to be a bit much after the first two acts.
And that’s primarily the movie’s biggest fault is the script. Christina Hodgson can’t pace this thing to save her life. It tries to be clever playing with time and breaking the fourth wall in a very Tarantino/Guy Ritchie style that really doesn’t work. So while you get big bursts of energetic scenes, that momentum is killed by hopping back in time to more exposition. For a film called Birds of Prey, they don’t really get together until the very last bits of the third act. Seeing them all together is honestly the best part of this film besides having Ewan going H.A.M. as DC’s best villain so far. And I get that this is a feminist superhero film, but the movie lays it on thick that every guy in this movie sucks. Like seriously, the men in this movie are constantly beating the women down in different ways from start to finish whether its attempted date rape, sexual humiliation, or a betrayal. Seriously, Christina, we get it.
Really what makes the film soar is the talented cast who all brought their A-game to the proceedings. Jurnee was the stand out to me as Dinah Lance aka the Black Canary. I really can’t wait to see more of her as this version of Dinah with her hopefully teaming with Olivier Queen aka the Green Arrow, in addition to further Birds of Prey adventures. The same goes for Mary Elizabeth as Huntress.
The film’s secret MVP is Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis aka the Black Mask. Black Mask is a notable Batman villain and Ewan is so good here that I wish he was saved for a Batman movie. Ewan plays him so menacingly and so unpredictably that you don’t know what’s gonna happen next. Black Mask is a bipolar narcissist as his mood swings happen at any moment with violent outbursts that get more extreme and brutal as the film moves along.
Director Cathy Yan is extremely talented. I love her use of zooms in this film as well as a couple of slick POV shots. The way she shoots the action is impeccable too. Seriously a lot of these action scenes pop in ways that haven’t before in DC films. Part of that is the R-rating, which certainly helps, and the other is Cathy knows when to get out of the way and shoot the action choreography in great ways so that you can see everything. Speaking of the R-rating and Cathy’s direction, this brings a certain danger and grit to Gotham (excluding Joker as that’s its own thing) that these big-budget DC films have been missing since Nolan stepped away.
Look, Birds of Prey works more often than it doesn’t. With a much, much better script this would’ve been a home run for sure. But still having Renee Montoya and Cassandra Cain in a big-budget live-action movie is unexpected. Never in a million years reading these comics would I have thought that these two characters would grace the screen. The same goes for having a potential Birds of Prey franchise.
------------------------------------------
America from 9:00 on: https://youtu.be/GUwLCQU10KQ
|
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
Pass The Popcorn
