What would have surely been one of the top ten longest movie titles of all time recently just changed its name to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. Regardless, here is my full review of the latest DC movie.
FACTS FIRST
- Reported Budget: $84.5 million
- Domestic Opening Box Office: $33 million
- Worldwide Opening Box Office: $81 million
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics/Audience Score: 79% / 80%
- Cinema Score: B+
- End Credit Scene: Yes (See Spoiler Section)
NON-SPOILER REVIEW!
Director Cathy Yan and Producer/Lead Actress Margot Robbie bring the latest installment of the DC universe to theaters with a R rating. The movie isn't a hard R like Deadpool or Logan. There is some language and lots of violence (though not much blood or gore). This could have easily been a PG-13 rating and stayed largely the same movie.
The story follows Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie) after her breakup with the notorious clown prince of crime, the Joker. She narrates portions of the film, filling in backstory on characters and places. Harley eventually becomes the target of a wealthy Gotham crime lord named Black Mask (played by Ewan McGregor), leading her to enlist the help of fellow female powerhouses: Black Canary (played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Cassandra Cain (played by Ella Jay Basco), and renegade cop Renee Montoya (played by Rosie Perez).
Full of color, spectacle, and bombastic performances by Margot and Ewan, the movie doesn't cheat you on entertainment value. Where it might mislead is the "Birds of Prey" part of the title. This is largely a Harley Quinn film; while the rest of the ensemble is obviously a part of the movie, I left the theater wanting more of their stories and team up moments.
In regards to some of the more technical aspects of the film, the movie itself looks very similar to Suicide Squad. It can be dark and gloomy at times with Harley providing the burst of color and personality. If you remember, Suicide Squad, somewhat controversially, won an Oscar for Makeup and Hair in 2017. We're only in February, but I wouldn't put this movie in the awards hunt for any Oscar category.
OVERALL RECOMMENDATION
Since the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight series, DC has struggled to consistently produce quality movies. Sure, standouts like Wonder Woman exist, and Aquaman made over one billion dollars, but these tend to be outliers. Movies like Batman v Superman, Justice League, and this particular movie's predecessor, Suicide Squad, have all fallen well short of expectations.
That means there are a lot of viewer assumptions and preconceived opinions to hurdle. However, it also provides for a lower bar of excellence to clear. Ultimately, this movie achieves what Suicide Squad should have been: a grounded, street-level look at the city of Gotham while simultaneously poking fun at itself.
My Rating: B-
This movie is definitely worth a look, but you could probably wait for Redbox or streaming.
SPOILER REVIEW!
Bruce the hyena was awesome! That's it. That's my spoiler review.
In all seriousness, Bruce the hyena does provide the most emotional moment in the movie; when Harley's apartment gets half blown up, Harley grieves for what she believes is her dearly deceased pet (fret not! Bruce lives!).
As for the rest of the movie, we learn very early on how Harley is dealing with her breakup from the Joker (not well). We also learn that by dating the Joker, she had a certain level of invincibility which has now completely diminished. The rest of the movie is then a cycle of people attempting to harm Harley, only to have Harley find some inventive and chaotic escape. Except when it comes to our main villain - Black Mask.
Black Mask is introduced as a caricature of a villain. He is eccentric, seemingly aloof, and really hates snot bubbles. Yet there is a dark, controlling, malicious side to him as evidenced by when he believes a woman is laughing at his failure to strike a deal. He then makes her dance on a table as her boyfriend is forced to rip her clothes off of her in the middle of a crowded night club. This is the first time where female direction shines through by showing just how disturbing this male driven humiliation can be.
The Black Mask is after a particular diamond that was once owned by a prestigious mob family in Gotham and is the key to their fortune. Harley is forced to find the diamond (which was swallowed by Cassandra Cain after stealing it) or meet the unenviable fate of having your face carved off by Victor Zsasz (played by Chris Messina). This is a much better premise than that of Suicide Squad, where they needed to somehow inexplicably beat a supernatural witch.
Through Harley's adventures of trying to get the diamond, she begins meeting those who inevitably become the Birds of Prey. This is where I begin to have some issues with the movie. The characters themselves are fascinating, but we barely spend any time with them. Huntress gets the worst end of screen time; she only has brief and sporadic scenes through the first two-thirds of the movie.
Cassandra Cain is also a point controversy, as her character gets reduced to a young, but skilled, pickpocket. Cassandra has appeared as Batgirl in comics, making this quite a demotion in abilities. If I had to edit down the film, it'd be the scene of Harley walking through the police station, blasting officers with canisters of confetti in order to free Cassandra. It goes on for a bit longer than you really need.
The final fight scene is excellent, taking place in an abandoned amusement park full of fun and quirky obstacles. Each member of the team is FINALLY allowed to showcase their full abilities in a team setting. Cathy Yan creates a nice, unique break in the fight so Harley can give Black Canary a hair tie.
The end credit moment in this movie isn't a "scene." It's a Harley Quinn voice coming over the Warner Brothers logo. She acts surprised that you're still here in the theater, then decides to make it worth your while by telling you a story about Batman. However, the story gets cut off halfway through her first sentence, leaving you desperately wanting to hear the rest.
Overall, this runs into some of the problems that Suicide Squad has in regards to building a team. in my opinion, Guardians of the Galaxy has been the prime example of how to construct a team from a bunch of virtual unknowns. This may be why DC decided to hire James Gunn to direct The Suicide Squad coming out in 2021.
I think the poor box office is indicative of low audience expectations heading into the film due to the lack of success elsewhere in the DC movie universe combined with an unnecessary R rating. Lots of Harley Quinn fans are teenage girls who are unable to see it on their own. Despite Harley being a character of questionable moral integrity, it is important for those girls to see a team of strong, independent women fight for equality and respect in a male dominated world.
DC may have beaten Marvel to a full length feature film involving an all-female super group, but even in the minimal time Marvel dedicated to their heroines in Infinity War and Endgame, there was a higher emotional impact, done in a significantly more organic way.
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