13-year old me would’ve loved ‘Birds of Prey’. Alas, you can’t turn back the clock, and while I appreciate the bubble gum colors, the energy and the fearlessness to add sarcastic comedy to hyper-violent comic book fare – this offering has 50-year old me not quite knowing what to make of it.
‘Birds of Prey’, full title ‘Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn (quite the mouthful, that one), is really just an ambitious showcase for the best character to emerge from the otherwise underwhelming DC Comics near-disaster, ‘Suicide Squad’. Though she’s been nominated for Oscars, THIS is the defining role for Margo Robbie, ’cause there’s just so much chew on here. That’s what happens when great characters get portrayed by great actresses…..pure mad magic.
Harley Quinn is one of most popular characters in the DC Universe, and it’s easy to see why; she has ties to a guy named the Joker, is a bad girl by all definition (she curses, she kicks butt, and there are no small details when it comes to her quirky narration, from her very complicated relationship to “Mr J” to her love of egg sandwiches), but above all else, she’s unpredictable. Though she’s been nominated for Oscars, THIS is the defining role for Margo Robbie, ’cause there’s just so much chew on here. That’s what happens when
…which makes ‘Birds of Prey’ a slight disappointment. For everything this film does right – and it DOES manage to nail a lot of aspects that other DC offerings have certainly not – it’s predictable, it’s a little plodding and….we’ve gone down THIS road a few too many times with this label….it’s rushed. In order to cheer for heroes, we need to get to familiar WITH the heroes, and you just can’t do that with 30-second introductions. It’s fun to follow Harley Quinn on her crazed dash of adventure, but as for the brave women who join her? By the time the credits roll, I’m sorry ladies….we hardly knew ya.
Narrated by Robbie in very, very raw fashion (shades of a female ‘Deadpool’?, ‘Birds of Prey’ is about Harley Quinn breaking up with the Joker (though, aside from some opening animation, we never actually see the clown prince of crime), a crazy villain named Black Mask (a miscast Ewan McGregor) losing a very valuable diamond and getting really, really angry about it, and the individuals within Gotham City that Black Mask has wronged, including Quinn, Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), seeking revenge against the bad guy and his army. In an abandoned amusement park. The only thing seemingly missing is Scooby Doo.
Everyone involved in front of the camera does the best job they can, and director Cathy Yan shows a lot of innovation in the overall style of ‘Birds of Prey’ – but again, did this team learn nothing from ‘Suicide Squad’ or ‘Justice League’ on the dangers of cobbling something together with lightning speed and then sending them off to war? It’s messy, the exchanges are clunky, and it just feels like a missed opportunity.
