[Film] Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn)

[stessier]

I saw it this weekend.

That said, I still had a good time and it's certainly a *unique* DC film. At this point, you can't accuse them of ripping off the Marvel formula, and maybe that's where they need to just focus their efforts. Making these weird little unique superhero/supervillain films that defy expectations. I don't think I'd have a problem with that.

I agree with this. I also think a C/75 rating is about right. It's okay - in some spots very fun. In others, very plodding. I was trying to figure out why Deadpool worked so much better and I think it has at least a bit to do with Deadpool being proactive where everything the characters did in this film was reactive. She talked about what a harlequin is and the whole movie centered around getting away from that while at the same time being defined by that.

That being said, I'd be willing to watch another one under the assumption that the Origin Story is always the worst one in the series.

Edit: Oh, and there were 7 people in my IMAX showing at 4:30 on Sunday.

[Isgrimnur]

[Blackhawk]

Every theater has officially changed the title to 'Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.' I assume it is an emergency effort to get potential viewers' attention.

[Kasey Chang]

Apparently, the name's way too long for the movie displays. Basically, it's SEO friendly name.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/11/2113 ... d-trailers

[Blackhawk]

Just got back from this. I... liked it. Didn't love it.

I'm looking forward to seeing it, but I'm a little nervous about how they handle Orphan. She's one of my favorites from the comics, and what I've seen so far from previews looks like a huge departure.

Oof.

Imagine if they made an Avengers movie, and announced that Tony Stark was going to be a major character, then made him a 20-something Subway sandwich artist who couldn't read couldn't get a date. Yeah, it's like that.

Here's are the similarities between Cassandra Cain in the movie and the established character:

Spoiler:

They're both named Cassandra Cain. That's it.

One is a smartass teen pickpocket who always has a clever comeback.

The other is the daughter of Lady Shiva, raised without speech, reading, or human interaction beyond training to be an assassin, resulting in a young woman who was illiterate, mostly mute, barely able to socialize, and yet able to take Batman in a fair fight.

From a neutral perspective it was a decent film with fun moments. From a fan of the comics, it was a film set in the same universe as Shazam and Aquaman that brought in established characters, then didn't use them as such. Other than one three-second scene*, the film would have been exactly the same, would have worked just as well if it hadn't used the DC universe or super heroes/villains at all. It could have just been an urban action film.

*

Spoiler:

Canary cry

It's a little hard to separate my general enjoyment of the film with my disappointment in their complete disregard of the source material (like, Mario Bros levels of disregard.)

[hitbyambulance]

Anecdotally, there were 6 people in our theater including my wife and I. On a Friday night 7:00pm showing.

i have a friend urging me to see this, but i just don't care. most DC film versions are 'eh' at best.

[Smoove_B]

Available on Amazon Prime to purchase for $3.49 as a digital title. No idea how long that lasts.

[Daehawk]

If they give me $20 Ill take it but not watch it.

[coopasonic]

Available on Amazon Prime to purchase for $3.49 as a digital title. No idea how long that lasts.

Not very as it shows $20 for HD and $30 in 4K for me.

[Zarathud]

My wife liked it and she is not a superhero film fan. She also liked Venom but only as a body horror (and Tom Hardy) flick.

[Blackhawk]

It isn't really a superhero film. It was an urban action film that starred characters who were, with one exception, normal unpowered humans. And the one exception was limited to one five-second bit.

[Isgrimnur]

Wife and I watched it this evening.

I thought it was OK at best, didn't care for the Ewan's turn as the villain. Wife had no background on his character, so was even less involved in his portrayal. Zsasz was at least a little decent.

[AWS260]

I finally got around to seeing this. It's really fun! Approximately infinity times better than Zack Snyder's Justice League, which is the last DC movie I saw. Unlike that endless slab of dour, Birds of Prey is fun and energetic as heck. A breath of fresh air.

[JCC]

So I decided to check this out because I actually expect the new Suicide Squad to be good. I thought this was not great. Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad in the way WW1984 was where I was genuiniely angry at everyone who made it (particularly the writers), but it was just not very good. I don't think I have ever seen Ewan McGregor act so poorly and his character made for a weak villain. It had way, WAY too many characters in it. It feels like the first half of the movie is them introducing these silly, mostly uninteresting characters at us. Just way too much of it where I still can't remember who any of them are or their names.

Having said that, the second half was somewhat entertaining. I didn't finish the movie wishing it hadn't been made or anything. I wouldn't go so far as to call it very funny, but it was at least amusing. But, among my least favorite of the "modern" DC films which I mostly like to some degree or another.

[hepcat]

That was my take as well. I found it pretty forgettable. Wasn’t awful, just wasn’t very good.

[Blackhawk]

They really shouldn't use mob boss style villains when they need a hands-on bad guy. Black Mask is interesting as a mastermind and manipulator.