BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN (2020)
Tagline: Prey for Gotham!
(Action, Adventure, Comedy) [R]
Psychologically speaking, vengeance rarely brings the catharsis we hope for.
This is the follow up to SUICIDE SQUAD, only this time we are just looking at Harley and the rest of the gang is off doing whatever. This guy Roman (Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor) ends up getting a diamond stolen from one of his men by a pickpocket named Cassandra Cain (played by Ella Jay Basco). He is willing to do anything to get it back, but she swallowed it. Harley tells the tale of how she ends up running into Helena Bertinelli (the Huntress played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead best known for SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD), Black Canary, or Dinah Lance (played by Jurnee Smollett probably best known for the TV show “Lovecraft Country”), and Renee Montoya or (Question) played by Rosie Perez (probably best known for WILD AT HEART) as they all realize they need to work together to take on Black Mask’s army of villains.
So I think the biggest problem DC fans probably had with this thing is that they were expecting DC comics and not a separate creation all it's own using the comic characters. For me, this is a credible complaint in this regard. We don’t’ really get the typical comic line up for BIRDS OF PREY in this movie. Granted the team has had several member changes over the years. Typically we get Barbara Gordon or Batgirl, Black Canary, Lady Blackhawk, and Huntress (at least lately) but that isn’t as much the issue as it is the look. DC has done a pretty good job with making their characters look like they do in the comics, even in the ARROW TV series, but as much as I like Mary Elizabeth Winstead her outfit for this movie is rough. Black Canary’s would have been better if she wore all black etc. For me the casting was okay, but yeah, I can see where comic fans didn’t like this part of how this film was put together. One thing NO ONE seems to have an issue with is Harley Quinn being played by Margot Robbie. She kills this role and to be honest anyone else playing her right now seems like a major step down. By the way, at least 2 more films with Margot as Harley Quinn are already greenlit.
Another mixed reaction element of this film is that there were so many nods and “near nods” to the comics that the movie almost burdened itself. If someone was ever going to make a movie out of ANGELWOLF, I would fully expect them to get it right on the details if they were putting in details. If they weren’t going to, then at least they aren’t teasing fans. I think this movie might have done too much of that. For example, in the past, Harley has had 2 hyenas named Bud and Lou. For some reason in the movie, they gave her a hyena, but named it Bruce? What the crap? Why even bother if you weren’t going to put that in right. Again, this doesn’t bother me, but it’s bugs the crap out of source material gurus.
Where this film is a huge success is in the director’s chair. The way this story is told is freakin brilliant and very BOONDOCK SAINTS like. My hats off to Cathy Yan on this, because she took an otherwise straight forward simplistic plot and made it a blast with disjointed storytelling, and utilizing Harley Quinn as the spacey narrator was a touch of genius. The whole thing gave this a very “female DEADPOOL” feel and I really like that about this movie. Cinematically and atmospherically it's very well shot.
Speaking of DEADPOOL, this movie is gritty and brutal in the violence department but not gory if that makes any sense (with the exception of maybe 1 quick scene). It’s definitely not for kids that repeat every cuss word they hear because this movie is loaded with bad writing in that department. The plot isn’t bad but the over-use of profanity is just a bit much.
I get the overzealous bashing of this movie from even a DC fan's perspective but I think it’s a bit much. I am more of a MARVEL guy, but of the DC movies I have seen, this one definitely did not disappoint me. If you are just looking for a really fun and often funny over-the-top gritty action flick, this should fit the bill. I found it to be really cool, edgy, and for the most part pretty out of the box.
I give this thing a 5 out of 7. I am glad I bought it.
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