Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

(breaking it out into its own discussion thread...)

I'm seeing it tonight.

Reviews are running surprisingly positive, mid-80s for both critics and audiences at Rotten Tomatoes.

But...


I predict this movie is going to bomb HARD.

Why?

I just got tickets at my local cineplex. The nice auditorium with the reserved seating and the recliners. It's opening weekend.

There were NO other tickets sold. I had my pick of all the seats.

It isn't an anomaly. The local IMAX has exactly two tickets sold for a 9:45 Friday night showing.

I want to see it, but our nightmare weather won't cooperate.

If you were a true fan you'd get there.

I'm sure it's a good film, I just don't have any desire to see it.

Honestly, I just hate Margot Robie playing the character in the same way I despised the Leto Joker.

Kaley Cuoco's animated version (and frankly, she herself) is a way better evolution of the original.

I've never heard of this movie. Is it a comedy or musical or what? It's not playing at the nearest theater to my home.

Dude, don't even get me started. I feel bad for you though because that's got to be a shit ton of snow.

I have not heard of this film. So it will bomb.

(No outright spoilers, but some discussion below might give hints about plot points in the film.)

Well, it's...not great.

To be sure, it has some positives: it moves along at a pretty good pace, there are a few laughs, some of the fight scenes are pretty good, and Robbie is appealing in the lead.

The plot is pretty straightforward: Harley Quinn, having lost the protection of the Joker when their romance ended, is coercively tasked by vicious crime boss Roman Sionis to retrieve a diamond, inconveniently stored in the digestive track of teenager, which leads to a crisis of conscience and a team-up with other female heroes.

The first part of the story is told in multiple overlapping flashbacks that some might find difficult to follow. The movie eventually settles down to a linear sequence.

The titular Birds themselves? Eh, okay. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is crazy and chaotic; Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) is a singer getting by in a bad world; Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is on a mission of vengeance; and Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) is a good cop plagued by relationship issues. Beyond Robbie, none seem particularly well-cast. In particular, Montoya should be younger.

Ewan McGregor as Sionis/Black Mask (though he only dons the mask for the final fight and there's no explanation why) is waaaaay over the top and his character--presumably gay but not explicitly stated IIRC--is like a sadistic Liberace, flamboyant but ruthless.

The fighting scenes are well-shot, but raise some believability issues. I can believe Harley Quinn, former paramour to the Joker, might have fighting skills, and Huntress (there's a funny running gag about her name) has trained her whole life in Batmanesque fashion, but should sixtysomething detective Montoya and lounge singing Black Canary really be able to beat up wave after wave of tough henchmen? I guess you suspend disbelief and go with it.

Two figures loom over the entire story: the Joker and Batman. The Joker is mentioned many times but does not appear; it not only seems like an unfulfilled promise of the screenplay--the story is about Harley's recovery from her breakup and the consequences thereof--but it also seems inconsistent with the screenplay's suggestion that the Joker is frequently on the scene in the Gotham underworld where this film takes place. Batman and his alter ego, Bruce Wayne are name-dropped once, but the Gotham underworld makes no mention of him, and thugs seem to operate openly without concern. Had I written this, I'd have some punk claim he got away from Batman a few nights earlier by shooting him in the leg, then have a TV report about Bruce Wayne having broken his leg skiing or somesuch. Voila, absence explained.

The supporting cast is fine. Chris Messena's Victor Zsasz (Sionis' brutal right hand man) is fairly chilling. Steven Williams plays--shocker--a stern black police captain. And there's comedienne Ali Wong as an assistant district attorney, alas devoid of any of her trademark humor.

It's dissonant that Harley can simultaneously be so bad-assed and yet so easily compelled into service for a bad man. But this film requires the female characters to be victimized one way or another by men. There isn't a positive male role in the film; even the one you think will be, turns out badly. Women gotta do this for themselves! This kinda puts the film in my "bad feminist film" category: the one where the female leads are simply reacting to problematic men as opposed to a "good feminist film" where the female characters proactively take on the central dilemma (Alien, Silence of the Lambs, Wonder Woman).

The film clearly wants to be DC's Deadpool, with f-bombs, unchecked nihilism, comic narration, and fourth wall breaks, but it never gets to that level. We just aren't as invested in Harley Quinn. A bad romantic breakup doesn't make a character, and the one moment where the character does make a change doesn't feel earned.

You'll probably enjoy watching it well enough. I'd say it's about at Suicide Squad level of quality, a good notch or two below DC's latest offerings, and far below the recent Joker. I can't imagine a need to revisit this one much in the future.

6.0/10.

Hmm, you seem to give it the same wavey-hand Campea did.

Yeah, pretty much.

You probably won't hate it, but it's not going to be your favorite DC film...by a long shot.

"inconveniently stored in the digestive track of teenager"
so even the mcguffin is stupid and implausible?
Much like Joker was trying to be Falling Down this trying to crib Deadpool is no surprise.

DC needs to just give up on movies and stick to their off beat TV.
And FFS, abandon the whole miscast Suicide Squad 'verse...

I stand corrected! They are showing this movie at my local theater - I saw the poster for it. But from the poster you couldn't tell if it was a cartoon or actual movie, but of course a fan of the character could I guess. Regardless I saw Jumanji II with my wife. To be clear I watched it accompanied by my wife, I didn't see Jumanji II starring my wife - that would be weird. Side note much cursing for what I would think is a family type of movie! The super hot slammin' body redhead was in it which is always a plus in any movie!

If I'd known Karen Gillan was all it took, I could've gotten Oldfella into Doctor Who ages ago and he might be more amenable.

Hollywood has to get it through it's head that you can make a movie with female leads and be successful but it can't be done when you give the finger to your potential ticket buyers because they are men.

The majority of ticket buyers for a movie like this will be men. Why anger them? Why risk it?

Was Karen Gillan dressed in Doctor Who like she was in Jumanji? Regardless that still wouldn't be enough to sweeten the deal.

Do you like a girl in uniform?

she can "stop and frisk" me anytime she wants to!

No, I demand she remove it at once!

It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be. I don’t want to spoil the movie, but the premise is completely plausible. That’s not the problem, IMHO. I just never care for any of the main characters in this movie but I have to say that after seeing it, it’s made me more curious about them.
Overall, I’d pretty much agree with @Paladin ’s assessment, but I’d say 6.5 - 7.0/10 for me. If you go into it comparing it to Avengers Endgame or The Dark Knight, you will be disappointed but taken on its own, it’s an entertaining flick but ultimately forgettable.

Last I heard, Black Canary wasn't a lounge singer and Renee Montoya isn't a burnt-out senior citizen.

Course, you gotta factor in that Zombie and FF's version of receiving a finger is when the female leads neglect to wash a car in Daisy Duke shorts, and soap up their tits.

You can't argue with the box office on this one.

The movie bombed.

No it's more like female leads with no super powers can beat up teams of men twice their size with ninja skills. That seems to be a popular trend in certain shows and movies. Another one, in particular to NuTrek is female leads talking down to the men, constantly belittling them or being condescending towards them even their own XO. It's like they don't really want equality, but actually want revenge for how men in Hollywood treated them for decades.

It pretty much made its budget back on opening weekend. It will certainly turn a modest profit but probably not the buckets of cash DC was hoping for.

Only in Hollywood can a profitable film be called a "bomb".

Every movie has to make double the budget because of the marketing budget.

The movie is a bomb. Everyone except you and the other delusional fanboi thinks it’s not.

I haven't seen the film and couldn't care less about it. I may watch it on a flight at some point in the future just to kill time.

I'm merely counteracting the usual negativity in this forum by pointing out the simple fact that the film is on track to make a profit, albeit not the smash hit the studio was hoping for.

A "bomb" in the strictest sense is a film that loses money and is a critical failure. So far, Birds of Prey fits neither category.

Lowest DCEU movie opening. One of the lowest February openings. Lower than most R rated hits. Doesn't make up for the budget, not even including marketing. Nobody cares what critics say anymore. It trashes men. No Chinese box office. It's a bomb.

is this movie a CATS level bomb?