By: John Hall, Editor-in-Chief
Following in the footsteps of many comic books to silver screen adaptations is the movie Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). A mouthful to say the least, the film is a continuation of the canonical story of Harley Quinn, portrayed by Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad). The film follows behind the events of the 2016 film Suicide Squad, with the relationship between The Joker and Harley Quinn ending and permitting all enemies of the titular protagonist to make attempts on her life.
The cast well supports Robbie, as her character joins forces with disgraced police officer Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez, White Men Can’t Jump), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sky High), and Victor Zsasz (Ewan McGregor, Star Wars prequels). They support each scene with a unique kind of vitality, with some characters having stronger arcs than others. The weight of the script that they follow appears shallow on the face of it; however, this follows the trend of most comic book adaptations in recent times.
The plot of the film weighs down heavily as the screenplay takes its time to gear up to presenting the audience with a reason to care. Most of the first twenty minutes of the film are characterized by Quinn mourning the loss of her relationship. Quinn tries to do her best to show herself better off without her beau and, in the process, draws a spotlight on herself that is unwanted. To avoid being killed, Quinn is faced with a task that, if she can complete it, will provide her the freedom she needs from her previous life. This task becomes all but impossible as other persons in the background complicate life for Quinn.
Harley Quinn has taken a slight evolution from her comic book portrayal.
By the time the actual plot of the movie shows its head, audience members are slightly disoriented as the opening was drawn out in a way it didn’t need to be. Also suppressing the flow of the film is the back and forth explanations of what happened before the film. The screenwriters could have found a more creative way to accomplish telling the back story, without sacrificing space in the 109-minute run-time of the film.
Against a backdrop of 82-100 million dollars for the film’s budget, Birds of Prey collectively made only about 150 million as of Feb. 18, 2020. The film was expected to bring in much more; however, initial reviews by critics gave a mediocre to negative views. These negative ratings stand, despite movie aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes certifying the film “fresh” with critic and audience scores of 78% and 79%, respectively.
A lot of the flack the Birds of Prey film has received has been from its all-female cast who have done a phenomenal job on screen.
Most views are centered on the all-female cast, the strong female leads who demonstrating their prowess, and not needing males to carry the film’s success. At no point during this film is the audience inundated with anything that becomes preachy at the end of the female characters. No implications are given that women are superior. However, the audience does see a chauvinistic character in Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask. Black Mask himself is a very flawed character that is squeamish and petty as an individual and lacks the empathy any real person has, making him a typical villain.
The completely negative reviews related to the film are unwarranted: Birds of Prey is a beautifully shot film with an action-packed pace. However, with a very limited script, it’s not perfect. Nonetheless, this film deserves to be seen by comic book enthusiasts and general moviegoers alike. Birds of Prey receives a 3.5 out of 5 paws.
Margot Robbie shined on screen as she reprised her role and gave the comic book character life on the silver screen.
