Our J.P. reviews the latest film in the DC Extended Universe. Starring Margot Robbie, how does he feel about “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).”
BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN)
Warner Bros. Pictures
- Opened wide: Friday, February 7, 2020
- MPAA Rating: R for “strong violence and language throughout, and some sexual and drug material”
- Directed by Cathy Yan
- Produced by Margot Robbie, Bryan Unkeless, Sue Kroll
- Written by Christina Hodson
- Based on Birds of Prey by Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Chuck Dixon
- Harley Quinn by Paul Dini, Bruce Timm
- Starring Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor
Studio Synopsis:
You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the mafia
princess? “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.
Margot Robbie (“Bombshell,” “Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood,” “I, Tonya”) returns as Harley Quinn, alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“10 Cloverfield Lane,” TV’s “Fargo”) as Huntress; Jurnee Smollett-Bell (HBO’s “True Blood”) as Black Canary; Rosie Perez (“Fearless,” “Pitch Perfect 2”) as Renee Montoya; Chris Messina (“Argo,” TV’s “Sharp Objects”) as Victor
Zsasz; and Ewan McGregor (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” the “Trainspotting” films) as Roman Sionis. Newcomer Ella Jay Basco also stars as Cassandra “Cass” Cain in her feature film debut.
Directed by Cathy Yan (“Dead Pigs”) from a script by Christina Hodson (“Bumblebee”), the film is based on characters from DC. Robbie also produced, together with Bryan Unkeless and Sue Kroll. Walter Hamada, Galen Vaisman, Geoff Johns, Hans Ritter and David Ayer served as executive producers. Joining Yan behind the scenes was a creative team comprised of director of photography Matthew Libatique (“A Star Is Born,” “Venom”), production designer K.K. Barrett (“Her”), editor Jay Cassidy (“American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”) and editor Evan Schiff (“John Wick Chapters 2 & 3”), and costume designer Erin Benach (“A Star Is Born”). The music is by Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”). Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a LuckyChap Entertainment Production, a Clubhouse Pictures Production, a Kroll & Co. Entertainment Production, “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).” Opening in theaters and IMAX, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
J.P.’s Take:
DC is going for the gusto with this ambitious grind house styled superheroine exposition titled “Birds of Prey,” subtitled “And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn.” This is done to emphasize the struggles Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) faces as a newly single sociopath, after being booted by her “puddin” Mr. J, a.k.a The Joker. And what does a heart broken villainess do after being dumped? Well, hell has no fury like a woman scorned.
Now left to her own devices, the adorable yet deranged Harley vents her frustrations in the most chaotic form. Being that this film is a vehicle for the villainess to run amok in the city of Gotham, it supposedly serves as a radical new voice in the “female empowerment” movement.
To set the stage, Harleen Frances Quinzel was once a scholarly psychiatrist whom (literally) fell “madly” in love with her patient named the Joker. Sense being dumped by the “mad one” himself, she wants to the world to know how pissed she truly is about it. This, of course, leads to some pretty destructive behavior in the likes of blowing up buildings, beating people like drums, and drinking like a fish. Having no protection by her beloved “pudding,” it also means she’s fair game to the folks she and Joker have slighted. After all, she’s a villainess and once the love interest of Gotham’s most feared criminal mastermind.
This is a DC outing that’s come out of left field for me. Upon viewing the cinematic equivalence of a fun house, my expectations weren’t in clear view just yet. Granted this wasn’t the deep dive character study as seen in the dramatic film “The Joker,” it’s quite the opposite in the sense that it’s executed like a fever dream. Amidst the colorful glittery costumes and flashy well-choreographed fight scenes, the “girl power” narrative gets lost in translation. Not that I’m deaf to the culture of abuse and exploitation, it’s something I despise in fact. However, this film isn’t exactly the right conveyance for such deep subject matter. The back stories of each of the characters are too thin and don’t allow viewers to sympathize with its on screen victims. Consequently their actions are seen as knee jerk and not totally plausible.
Other issues stem from an overstuffed subplot about a famed mob family diamond, which is coveted by the impish immature villain who calls himself Black Mask, a.k.a Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). The diamond is said to bring great fortune, of course, and therefore the quest to find it is imperative.
For the most part, Margot Robbie, who reprises her role from “Suicide Squad,” stayed true to Harley Quinn and, in my opinion, she would have done better in a solo release rather than a superheroine team-up.
As for the rest of the cast, despite my knowledge of the characters, they weren’t necessarily vital to the story.
- Jurnee Smollet-Bell is an alternate version of Black Canary, a.k.a Dinah Lance, for which she puts on a mellow-dramatic performance. I don’t fault her as she did her best given the material she was saddled with.
- Rosie Perez is Renee Montoya, who plays the role like the movie itself states, “like a cop in a bad 80’s movie.” Not especially terrible just a bit campy.
- Ali Wong is Ellen Yee and she provides a subtle comical affect with a touch of sass which I liked.
- Ella Jay Basco is the orphaned pick-pocket Cassadra Cain, whom felt like the typical troubled youngster. She has a smart mouth and a pension for thievery yet she wasn’t quite as effective as needed.
- Chris Messina is the conniving and creepy Victor Zsasz. The first two words of that sentence says it all about his character: he also seems to be the side kick grunt to other villains in the DC universe. Messina actually gives the weirdest performance of his career with Zsasz.
- The film’s only villain Black Mask, played by the lively McGregor, is only as threatening as a teenager throwing fits when he doesn’t get his way. No competition for the truly diabolical baddie Joker. Yet, McGregor does give quite an electrifying performance as the impish sadistic villain.
Although “Birds of Prey” is wildly entertaining with excellent fight scenes and zany costumes, it, unfortunately, provides little in terms of a gut wrenching story. For a movie that took 1 hour and 49 minutes to set up, the end result was less compelling overall.
Essentially “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” tries to compete with the male-centric action flicks. Sadly, it only screams girl power kicks butt a little too loudly. Unfortunately, I’m over it, and I became deaf to its message. It just seemed to me like it was trying to say if the guys can get away with blowing stuff up and spill blood and beat down criminals, why can’t the ladies? Further, I felt the so-called victims whom the characters portrayed, were underrepresented.
