Photo Source: Delirium Nerd
Spoilers!
Following the break up between the Joker and Harley Quinn, Birds of Prey (and the Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) shows what it’s like to be your own person after years of being dependent on someone. With the help of Cathy Yan (director) and Christina Hodson (screenwriter), the movie filled with strong heroines would make it to theaters.
Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), also known as Harleen Quinzel, manages to accidentally put together a team made up of Black Canary (Jurnee Smollet-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), and a little girl named Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) after Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) and his accomplice, Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina), decide to chase down the young girl for their own evil agenda.
The movie is a pretty accurate depiction of your typical romantic comedy. “A woman trying to overcome a recent break up with the help of her friends” is a common trope within film. However, Birds of Prey puts a comic book twist on it. In order to find happiness, Harley had to blow up one of her enemies, steal a famous diamond, and form a team of bad-ass heroines. Just the normal stuff.
To a common movie-goer, Birds of Prey looks like a fun movie with fun characters. It looks like it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes people gravitate towards the film. A story about strong female friendship is sure to get some traction.
I would have to say that the main focal points for Birds of Prey would have to be the styling for Harley, the cinematography, the fight scenes, and the soundtrack is a huge bonus. However, that is the extent of everything good about the movie.
Now, if you’re a fan of comic books and hate it when movies do not stick to the original, maybe Birds of Prey is not your thing. Known to some avid comic book lovers, Cassandra Cain was raised with little to no love or warmth to prepare her for life as an assassin. Due to a lack of social skills, Cass would stay mute for the rest of her life. Also known as Black Bat, Cassandra Cain would join the Wayne family under Batman himself and become an iconic character within the DC Universe.
With that information, it is pretty understandable why some people would be upset with the character choice. In Birds of Prey, Cass is seen as an amateur thief with foster parents. She can, in fact, talk and she has no sense in fighting skills. This inaccuracy has thrown people off and therefore, there is a mix of reactions.
It is not just the way the characters are depicted in the movie – the pacing of the movie is pretty awkward. However, it is very “Harley” so to speak. Characters such as Huntress and Black Canary also had a lot of depth that was not explored as much as I would like.
Considering that Birds of Prey is part of a larger, more successful company, it is not getting as much traction as its counterparts. Coming in with an $81 million opening weekend, it is not nearly as successful as other movies, such as Aquaman with $1 billion and Wonder Woman with $800 million total profits. Despite the low numbers, the movie has gotten some positive remarks, earning themselves a 6/10 on IMDb and 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. I would have to agree with the 6/10 rating. I understand the appeal to casual movie-goers, but the pacing and the adaptations of some characters ruined it for me. Points for the killer soundtrack though.
5.5 out of 10 shields.
By Diego Medina (Broadcast Director)