Birds of Prey Review

        We are nearing the recent entries of DC Films as of now. I had a bad feeling for Birds of Prey. Since it had the longest subtitle such as “and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn”, I had a feeling that the movie might be a Deadpool-esque film. Not because of any notion that the film would be a failure with its cast. I guess because of the continuous bad runs of the films Warner Bros. was just putting out. Good sometimes, but the anxiousness of hoping it’s good but ultimately being let down. Finally seeing this one and well, here’s what I think. SPOILERS will appear in the review. 

1. Story

        Harley is now narrating this film, she explains how she had a troubled childhood and meeting the Joker. Based on the subtitle, Joker and Harley Quinn break up. She tries to be independent but is roped into a predicament that involves Gotham City’s main mobster. Played by Ewan McGregor, Roman Sionis runs a club that Harley frequents at. He is after a priceless diamond that has encoded within it, financial data that can give him total control of the city. 

        In the midst of that Renee Montoya, played by Rosie Perez, knows that Roman is running a racket, but is mostly put down by her associates. In between the story, Harley cuts in and uses flashbacks to get the audience up to speed with the diamond. Such as showing who Dinah Lance is played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Helena Bertinelli played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Even before that, we see a pickpocket Cassandra Cain steal the diamond and bonding with Harley.

        As far as stories go, it got a bit annoying with the narration that Harley was giving throughout the film. Sometimes, it would be in an inopportune time and moments where we’re seeing what’s happening and her interjecting with what’s going on. I’ll elaborate more on her character. Just wanted to point out that I feel that she hijacks the movie when it’s called Birds of Prey. I feel that the studio didn’t want to name the movie after her and just slap on the title to be a potential hit. 

2. Harley Quinn

        Margot Robbie does a good job portraying the anti-hero. She can make her voice sound like the Brooklyn-esque accent that the character is known for. Although, with her carrying a movie, I don’t have that much investment for her. Sometimes she can be a bit grating and not really know how to properly break the fourth wall. You’ll know what I mean when I talk about a comparison. Just as a narrator who has to interject is annoying. Like, I know what’s happening I really don’t want your interjections to ruin a scene which can be viewed without any narration. 

        I feel as though director Cathy Yan was told to keep the aesthetic from David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. By having a trashy look that looks like you’re seeing a film through a glass of urine. I really don’t like Harley’s look and I find it backwards that for as much as she wants to be independent, she doesn’t do a good job. I get that she cuts her pigtails but why keep a shortened one and continue to go by Harley Quinn. You know, the name her boyfriend gave you to keep up with the clown schtick?

3. Pacing

        This is another thing that kept getting annoying was the pacing of the movie. I felt that the flashbacks would be brief and not derail the whole movie. No, they do exactly that. Why on Earth would you stop the film and rewind to a part that could’ve been shown without having to break that fourth wall? I completely understand that it’s Harley’s film or the Birds of Prey, but it’s mind numbing to know that the direction of the movie is so dysfunctional that I had to draw lines in my notes to signal where we stopped and where it connects. 

        Now, I don’t want to be a film doctor and offer suggestions on how to fix a film, but wouldn’t it be wise to cut down on the info instead of having to rewind and see another angle or keep the story concise that no one would be bothered by having to go back to be caught up with what’s going on? I feel that the whole film is just on autopilot in terms of investment since it’s chaotic like it’s main character and it’s really hard to be able to care with what’s going on. 

4. Whose Movie is This?

        I don’t have proof if Warner Bros. wanted the film to be a Harley Quinn movie or have her be shoved into a Birds of Prey movie but I will attest that it’s my theory. It’s odd that for most of the movie the focus is on Harley and gradually as the film goes on, we are introduced to the other female characters that make up the team. I think Dinah Lance should’ve spearheaded the movie since it’s called Birds of Prey. 

        You want to know the ironic part about this? During its time in the theaters, Warner Bros. chose to rename the film Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. So that people can see the film more instead of thinking that it’s a different DC film that happens to include Harley Quinn. Usually I would dunk on the studio for its ineptitude, but it’s on them for plastering Harley’s face in a film that’s suppose to be a team film. 

5. “Deadpool”

        As I watched this film further, I think it wants to be a Deadpool film. You got Harley Quinn talking to the audience, assemble a team, bond with a kid, and have an eccentric personality. Marvel’s character traits is peppered in this film. I feel as though Harley was given a chance to be like Marvel’s anti-hero by being a wildcard and getting a chance to star in her own film. I think Deadpool works is that he already has a following. When people lined up to see the films, everything that Ryan Reynolds did was exactly what the fans expected. 

        Here though, I feel the movie tries to be as comedic and have the certain fourth wall breaking moments that the Marvel film has. Except, you can’t inundate the film with constant narration and lazy fourth wall breaks. I feel the film would’ve worked if it just played it completely straight on Harley getting caught up in a situation and unintentionally setting up a team. Or just name a film Harley Quinn instead of an established team in the comics.  

6. Overall

        With the constant complaints that I have with this film, I really don’t hate it. It’s just okay that I’ll probably forget about it. I will not say that this was meant for me since I don’t believe that any film is exclusively for someone. It tried to have a strong independent message, but I think it failed at that. The biggest problem is that it tries to be its own thing but it ties itself with Suicide Squad. This is Cathy Yan’s second movie and it would’ve been great if she had the chance to direct a movie her way instead of just kowtowing to the studio. 

Birds of Prey gets a three out of five.