I went to see "Birds Of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" on opening weekend, but it took me a week to really gather my thoughts about the film. If I was to describe the film in one word, it would be "campy." That is not necessarily a bad thing being a story surrounding characters that came out of comics, but I was very hyped to see the film and that can work against you sometimes.
Don't get me wrong, I love Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and I can never see anyone else playing that role now, just as much as Frank Gorshin will always be The Riddler in my eyes. My significant other even knows that Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is my "pass," but she has to be in costume. Since I saw the film, I hear that Warner Bros. is changing the name of the movie to "Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey" due to some confusion among audience members. While Harley narrates the film, the Birds Of Prey don't really get together until the end of the film.
Director Cathy Yan and Writer Christina Hodson do try to fit in background stories for The Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya, but there really is a short timeframe to gain any empathy for either of them. Mary Elizabeth Winstead does a good job portraying Helena Bertinelli (a.k.a. The Huntress) as a badass. Jurnee Smollett-Bell left some questions in her role as Dinah Lance (a.k.a. Black Canary), but this was more because of the script and not her take on the character. I definitely wasn't used to seeing Rosie Perez in a role such as the one she played here as Renee Montoya, but I did understand her pain. I loved Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, the supposed victim in this whole mess.
With Harley Quinn no longer connected to The Joker, there is a big target on her back. While the women were very much shown as strong characters in the movie, the primary men were all scumbags. I read where some people blamed this fact on the disappointing box office from the first weekend, but this is Gotham City after all and we should be used to this kind of portrayal, especially within the crime element. I do have to give props to Ewan McGregor and his portrayal of Roman Sionis (a.k.a. The Black Mask). He was everything a Gotham crime-boss should be. I had images of the first Mad Max film running through my head when I saw the appearance of Victor Zsasz, played incredibly by Chris Messina.
DC Comics hasn't had the same success as Marvel when it comes to producing movies, but when all is said and done, I really enjoyed this film. Harley, if we ever do get the chance to meet, leave the hyena at home.
