A genuine disservice to Black Mask.
Jesus. This is as bad as Suicide Squad honestly. Harley Quinn was way better in that movie, and here it's just all over the place, with rough story-telling, bad acting from pretty much everyone (the cop and Ewan McGregor especially), the same dumb exposition, and marketed as if Deadpool and Deadpool 2 were the style they went for. I wasted my money so you can save it.
Summary:
All Women = good, all men = bad
Forced Diversity
Forced feminism
Awful cast
Boring and uncecesary
Actual proof that source material doesn't matter as long as every race is represented and women are depicted to be "strong and independent"
This movie has a lot of energy and is fun but not as funny as I hoped. Margot Robbie is great and Ewan McGregor is having fun but the rest of the cast has nothing to do. The action is really well done. The plot is ok, I dug Harley's narration. I thought the title cards for all the people's introductions and crash zooms were a little much. Overall a good movie and a much better use of Harley Quinn.
Here's the thing about this movie: Margot Robbie is fantastic as Harley Quinn. She is what makes the movie worth seeing, and another film devoted to her character would not be unwelcome. But as a whole, the film is scuppered by a weak script, and some misguided casting choices for some of the characters. The aesthetic is overly realistic too, so the comic book character of Harley Quinn seems a little out of place. It's not a bad film - there is fun to be had - but it fails to live up to its potential. I will watch it again, and my opinion might change, but for now, consider me disappointed.
[8.4/10] Birds of Prey is made of cool. It is the epitome of over-the-top fun. It is what Suicide Squad should have been. It is the movie that Harley Quinn deserves. And it is the dayglo-colored, adrenaline-soaked, no holds barred action movie we’ve been waiting for.
It also manages to take itself just seriously enough without taking itself too seriously. There’s legitimate subtext to the script, about the warm but toxic security of associations with toxic meant, about the hardship of freeing yourself from the green or black-tinged tentacles of it, and about the invigorating feeling that comes from hard-won self-dependence and assurance, not to mention sororal support in lieu of abusive co-dependence.
And yet it’s also a movie where Harley Quinn charges her way through a police station with a glitter bomb-packed shotgun, the heroes conspire to get a teenager to defecate a diamond, and the most heartbreaking loss in the whole film comes in the form of a glorious, glutinous breakfast sandwich. As legitimate as Birds of Prey’s themes are, as effective as its few moments of straight emotion are, it is not afraid to have all the fun, which is refreshing in the oft-grimdark confines of the DCEU.
It’s also an enjoyable frenetic, tangle of different threads and characters. The hunt for a diamond isn’t the only thing that leaves this movie indebted to Snatch. The interconnected storylines, the mass of characters with their own goals and puzzle piece roles in the broader whole, and explanatory jumps back and forth (and sideways) in the timeline to show how it’s all linked carry that same, crazy crimeland energy. At the same time, there’s a touch of Kill Bill to the proceedings, between the woman scorned theming and non-linear revenge plots.
But Birds of Prey is a thing unto itself, due in no small part to the incredible performance from Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn at the center of the picture. Robbie’s appeared in two awards season films in the past six months and earned her share of nominations for them, but this easily tops both of them. Her version of Quinn is profane-to-the-core yet relatable, dangerously reckless but easy to root for, uproariously funny and subtly pathos-ridden. She’s a tat-buzzing, baddie-blasting, pigtail-sporting Bugs Bunny on wheels, and Robbie’s level of depth and charm to a character who could otherwise come off as just a cartoon is a revelation.
She’s flanked by an array of other great performers who keep the film just as well-cast and colorful. Chief among them is Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis aka Black Mask, his most scenery-chewing and terrifying role since Trainspotting. Birds of Prey unleashes McGregor’s outsized talents, making his sleazy, abusive crime boss the energetic anthesis of Quinn and the representative of all the toxicity she’s trying to flush out of her life one way or another.
Those top notch performances help hold the film together when it jumps at (nigh-literal) breakneck pace between a cadre of different stories and, more to the point, kinetic and eye-catching fight scenes. Arguably, the movie goes to that well one too many times, as it’s easy to find yourself saying, “Wait, didn’t we just do one of these?” the next time the punches and mallets and crossbow arrows fly.
And yet, the film adds such an enjoyable flair to these sequences that it’s hard to complain. Birds of Prey earns its R rating in many of these scenes, not shying away from various images of limb torsion, bone cracking, and joint smashing. Far from the risk of falling into gruesome “If it’s gory, it’s mature” pitfall, the film approaches these scenes with an air of irreverence and unreality that makes each its own colorful, kinetic romp, untethered from the dull realities of physics or anatomy.
Despite the quick cuts deployed, these set pieces slow down to show the members of the titular group, Quinn in particular, kicking ass. Rather than an undifferentiated series of thudding fisticuffs, there’s memorable fight choreography here, with flips, kicks, and jams that play as distinctive rather than the same old superhero stompfest. Flanked by a near-endless series of amusing and smile-worthy needle drops, each throwdown drips with style and joie de vivre.
That fits nicely in a film that isn’t afraid to break its own reality for the sake of the audience’s pleasure. Harley breaks the fourth wall on the regular, narrating the events and holding the viewer’s hand through some of the more knotted linkages between different pieces of the story or just depositing some of the movie’s hilarious comic asides. But director Cathy Yan also has no qualms about setting the stage with an animated introduction, breaking for a fever dream rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” or capping things off with a Clown Princess of Crime-appropriate pugilistic jaunt through amusement row.
Despite the freeform insanity and deliberate sense of Quinn telling a shaggy dog (or hyena) story, writer Christina Hodson’s script is surprisingly tight. Each of the five avian avengers has a reason the villain would want them dead and why they’d want to respond in kind. The chaotic connections between them pull into focus at just the right time, and often with a funny line to seal the deal. And the shifts in tone work wonderfully, veering from heightened reality insanity to the legitimately disturbing to unexpectedly piercing pain and believable camaraderie.
In short, Birds of Prey is just a joy to watch. It boasts inventive action, style out the wazoo, and one hell of a central character. Far from reducing her to a trope, or letting the film built around her descend into the standard sturm und drang of grim cape flicks, it embraces her comprehensible chaos, and the fun but equally crazy world and players that surround her. Take a step back, Mr. J; Harley is emancipated and, god willing, plenty of heroes, villains, and ambitious-to-entertain comic book movies will follow in her red and blue footsteps.
I feel like I've just watched a movie made by and for 12 year old girls.
No script to speak of, it's all over the place. Acting is mediocre, I don't see anyone standing out. Robbie was the best but seldom got more then two lines to build something up. The rest simply tries to hard and it feels forced. As does the humor with punch lines telegraphed from start to finish. The action scenes were the usual stuff with, at times, cool soundtracks. A poor mans version of Deadpool.
If that was supposed to be some kind of pilot for future movies I think I'll pass.
They definetely destroyed Harley Quinn as character...
Because she wasn't bad enough in suicide squad movie.
Read a comic or something before doing shit like this because using all the “feminist" bullshit they did they didnt manage to get enough money at theaters and they deserve this fiasco.
Absolute garbage, if I wasn't a comic fan I wouldn't waste my time on this, this was even worse than suicide squad
Cathy yan you did such a horrible job.
I am so sick of films like this getting comments of 'all men = bad' as if for decades women haven't had to put up with the role being reversed. They also seem to forget that the main character is Harley Quinn. She is far from being a saint, she's an anti-hero and she's not wearing her good girl pants in this one.
Not particularly smart, surprising or anything we haven't seen before but relentlessly fun, great diverse ensemble and finally a DC movie whose colour palette that doesn't look like the film stock was fished out of a bucket of sick.
Terrible audio mixing, especially toward the end - they kept bumping the music volume down before every grunt or one off line, and then bumping it back up. extremely jaring.
Pretty decent fight choreography for a western movie, but it's still full of nonsense. it's clear none of the actors have any martial training.
Amazing fight environments. I'm an absolutely sucker for for fights in the rain, so that was nice. The funhouse was a great environment too, tons of movement and lights and visually interesting stuff.
I just didn't really care about the plot. I'm not incentivized to care about Harley. and none of the other character's motives are really explored.
Canary deux ex machina being super powered is a weak get out of jail free card.
The cinematography is great. all the shots are super clean, visually interesting, and not jump cutting every .0003 seconds to avoid showing me how bad everyone is at fighting. i wish i'd seen it in HDR
I don't like how it ends with Harley trying to have an empowering "I can do it moment" and then immediately biffs it and gets saved by a 12 year old, it's a really lackluster ending to her arc, but it plays Kesha's Woman like the ending was some sort of BAMF moment for her.
AND THEN AFTER SHE RECOMMITS TO EVIL TRICKY TRICKS SHE FUCKING GIVES THE MONEY BACK TO HUNTRESS???!?!
This is one of those "I'm an independent woman and I need no man" type of movies with circus de soleil kind of action..
Only DC can take a complicated character like Harley Quin and make her simple and stupid. As well as take all the fun out of the character at the same time. Terrible film.
Overhyped and so boring.
3/10
"Luckily for me, I have all my best ideas drunk."
Loved the hyena pet named Bruce. Also Harley has a certain flair for telling a story her way.
God awful. horrible writing, atrocious acting, laughable fight scenes, cheesy, blatant feminism, snoozeville story that I could barely make it all the way though, and to put the Liberal cherry on top; the usual anti-white racism tossed in for good measure. Little Asian girl loves to "rob rich dumb white people". Let that same "joke" be said by a white guy about any other race....
7 out of 10.
And just like that, they bonded together?
I really tried to like this movie but it sucked.
I'm clearly not who this film was aimed at.
Undercooked, unfunny, cheap looking, hammy.
Like everyone else who drew breath in the cinema at Suicide Squad, I thought Harley was the best thing about that film.
That doesn't translate here.
This was a turd. Worse than Joker even...
2/10
What the fuck did you do to Black Mask, WB...?
I have no idea what I just watched but I am going to have nightmares for years to come from the torture of having seen this movie.
She needs the joker for a reason...
The action is pretty fun, although I felt like the film got a bit ruined towards the end with that girl power stuff. Other than fun action, I'm not sure what else I can compliment this on.
For me this was one of the few really fun super hero (or in this case villain) movies of the last few years. I really liked that it's about the characters and their problems and not yet another saving of the city/world/universe. I liked Harley's overall wackyness but especially her narration and the title cards for all the characters reayll got me. Speaking of which, there were a lot of strong females and very little male gaze. The more I think about it, the more I like it.
There was a lot they could have done with this movie. The best option would have been not to make it.
7,5
exactly what the DCEU and the superheroe genre in general needed
So, I was told and given the impression that this was a “man hating feminist” movie. I didn't come away thinking so. I feel like this was just a very poorly executed film that has come out in a time period when the extremist end of the feminist spectrum is very apparent and rampant out there; so a lot of people are looking for signs of it, and if you're looking for problems you're going to find them. One can be extreme on either end. I was also told that the characters were purposely made less attractive, but I also didn't really agree with that. They may have looked a bit more relatively normal-ish, but they were still plenty attractive in general. All that said, it's absolutely not a good movie.
Suicide Squad actually had potential but I'm not sure that this one ever really did. The story kind of sucks. It's like a really bad, unrelated sequel to an already bad movie. I think it's possible that they could have made it an empowering female film where Harley picked herself up after the break up and kicked ass at thriving without the Joker, but nah; I didn't really come away feeling that. I admit that I don't know a lot about the actual history and break ups of Harley and the Joker, but as obsessed as she was shown to be with him in the previous film, I found her reactions to the break up to be a bit weak. The egg sandwich thing was vaguely amusing I guess. The movie tried really hard to be funny, but it just wasn't. There was that scene at the end where they just sat around eating tacos and awkwardly complimenting each other. That was so cringey.
Even worse was the Black Mask character. He made a horrible villain. He would have made more sense as a very intelligent, cunning, and calm, but intense man. Not some whiny brat who lost his temper so easily and said “eww” about everything like some preppy, popular high school teenager that's portrayed in so many other movies; yet he took great pleasure in having people's faces sliced off. I kept thinking it was Ewan McGregor playing him for just a split second, but then not. I finally had to look it up. How?! What was that sorcery? And why? I was disappointed to learn it was indeed him.
Oh, and the wardrobe sucked! The only thing I remember genuinely liking about this film was when Harley Quinn was shooting off color bombs and confetti. That was such a nice break from seeing red spurting everywhere and bloody bullet holes in people.
I was really looking forward to this, but it was a let down.
It was wacky, fun & lots of action with a good cast. But, the storyline was weak, with a poor script that even top actors struggled to pull off.
I’m not really sure what the point of it was, except for the film makers to make money from a spin-off.
Shame, there was so much more they could have done with this.
I think I’m being generous with a rating of 6!
Meh. Ok. Fine. Bland. Forced.
What a piece of dung movie. I usually enjoy this genre and had pretty low expectations. The acting was abysmal! The plot? WTF was this whole mess even about? Yes, it was 'colorful', yes, it had good music. But the rest was just awful!
A good watch. But I expected more. Alright,
Well it didn't suck, I just don't have the desire to finish a 6/10 flick let alone rewatch it ppphhhfffrrrttt git!
It's ok, the voice over narrative is off-putting but otherwise entertaining.
This movie makes me kind of sad.
After watching some off-mainstream reviews I feared it would be some diversity over story bullsh*t.
Having seen it, I'm a torn.
It is very fun for the most part, catching what makes Harley/Joker storys great. Their absolute madness combined with great fight-scenes.
The characters don't whine how unfair the world is treating them while having top jobs (well, Quinn whines for one of the characters, but its not that bad, one can simply ignore it).
BUT: All men are misogynistic assholes. Even the side-characters with one line spend the line being a sexist asshole.
When will film-makers understand, that those kind of scripts don't make women look strong, it just makes the writer look spiteful.
Kind of like a 50ies movie in reverse (I can't really watch them either for the same reason)
And btw: If someone gets a promotion and you don't, that person didn't steal it - it never was yours to begin with.
Happens to men as well...
Birds of Prey (formerly known as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey) is the latest addition to the DCEU, starring Margot Robbie as the wacky and violent Harley Quinn. After her breakup with the Joker, Harley finds herself the target of Gotham's scum and villainy, including the charismatic lunatic Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), AKA Black Mask. To escape with her life, she must retrieve and return a priceless diamond to Sionis. Although the movie is marketed as Birds of Prey, it is primarily focused on Harley's story and development, while the other characters, Huntress (Winstead), Black Canary (Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya (Perez) feel somewhat sidelined. The action scenes are visually stunning and filled with color, confetti, and madness, but the screenplay is lacking in depth and the story feels light. Overall, Birds of Prey is a fun and entertaining film that allows Harley Quinn to shine, but could have delved deeper into the characters and their motivations.
Birds of Prey (anteriormente conocida como Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey) es la última incorporación al DCEU, protagonizada por Margot Robbie como la alocada y violenta Harley Quinn. Después de su ruptura con el Joker, Harley se convierte en el objetivo de la escoria y la villanía de Gotham, incluido el carismático lunático Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), también conocido como Black Mask. Para escapar con vida, debe recuperar y devolver un diamante de valor incalculable a Sionis. Aunque la película se comercializa como Birds of Prey, se centra principalmente en la historia y el desarrollo de Harley, mientras que los otros personajes, Huntress (Winstead), Black Canary (Smollett-Bell) y Renee Montoya (Perez) se sienten algo marginados. Las escenas de acción son visualmente impresionantes y están llenas de color, confeti y locura, pero el guión carece de profundidad y la historia se siente ligera. En general, Birds of Prey es una película divertida y entretenida que permite que Harley Quinn brille, pero podría haber profundizado en los personajes y sus motivaciones.
3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)’:
Margot Robbie clearly has a whole lotta fun with Harley. And she definitely owns it. I certainly had fun watching her.
Overall, it was fairly entertaining, but I feel like there was a pacing issue. It took a while to get to the point. And when it got to the point, I’m not sure I cared. The story and the supporting characters were ultimately both kinda meh.
The fight scenes were fun, but they almost felt a bit too choreographed. More like a dance than anything. To me, these characters weren’t kicking ass, they were hitting their marks. If that makes sense.
What a stupid fucking movie. We really deserve a better Harley Quinn than Margot Robbie. (and before you say I hate it because I'm a man, I like to remind you this whole movie is based around Harley breaking up with the Joker instead of showing the awesome character she is).
A bit like Tarantinos Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill. Of course, it is Margot Robbie who gives the whole the right atmosphere.
wow i loved this! margot robbie was born to play mrs quinn
idk it just slaps and i kinda dig it.
I actually enjoyed Birds of Prey more than Joker.
Where the latter is a one way street, with a clear and well known destination and absolutely zero surprises on the way there, Birds of Prey is silly, with some amusing twists.
Sadly only the first half really shined, giving Robbie/Quinn plenty of opportunity to develop some details and character depth. Once when the team is united, there was no room left for any further character development for any of them.
This movie was just too all over the place to really enjoy.
Just don't watch it
Not a single "good" man in this movie
"WOOO! Who's having a good time?"
This movie has a lot of fun and memorable moments! I think they could've marketed it better because trailers really didn't get me too hyped but the movie ended up being entertaining. Also the soundtrack is pretty great!
This is worse than Catwoman and Elektra.
First of all...Margot Robbie will forever BE Harley Quinn...theres no doubt about that at all. But this movie will be forever remembered for being just...meh.
The actors did a good job...with the little they had to work with. The story is not up to par with the wealth of good stories from the comics, and many of the lines are so bad I visibly cringed several times during the movie according to my better half. I sure hope Christina Hodson will do a better job with The Flash and Batgirl...but I've not got high hopes.
Cathy Yan did a decent job directing, but she also needs to pick it up and get going. This is too tame and weak. This is not what Harley Quinn, nor the Birds of Prey, is supposed to be.
...and don't get me started on the costumes. I have never seen a movie with worse costumes than this one. And before you go off on me, no...I don't mean that Harley should prance around in hotpants the whole movie, but whatever it was that ALL of the characters were wearing, it sure as HELL wasn't costumes. More like something thrown together from ruined clothes Goodwill would send to recycling.
I really wish I could give this movie a better rating, as I love a lot of the comic series from DC and would love for the movie universe would thrive, but when the result is this mediocre, I really can't.
DC continues their trainwreck of a film universe with Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). When Harley Quinn’s enemies come looking to settle the score with her after she’s dumped by the Joker, she makes a deal with a crime lord named Roman Sionis to retrieve a stolen diamond in order to square things; meanwhile a club singer named Dinah Lance teams up with a rogue cop to protect a young pickpocket who stole the diamond. Starring Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez, and Ewan McGregor, the cast isn’t too bad, but it’s not all that impressive either. And the plot is all kinds of convoluted and puts its girl power/emancipation theme ahead of good storytelling. Still, the action scenes are fun and exciting, and the soundtrack brings a lot of energy to the film. An entertaining mess, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is yet another mediocre effort by DC.
I stopped watching after the second "men are bad" bs. Please don't go this way, Hollywood.
An oversized film that is not even funny. There are many shots. a lot of screaming and a lot of loud music, but they are useless, as if the noise was used to cover the imperfections. It's a very "sui generis" adaptation of the comic, with a messy script and mediocre directing work (the action sequences are disastrous). The feminism of the film consists in gathering a kind of Charlie's Angels but without Charlie.
Crazy Crazy movie. OK overall.
Birds of prey
+ Margot Robbie has really fallen into the harley quinn role.
+ feels like part of a wider DC universe
+ fun
+ some really good action scenes
+ great soundtrack
+ Enjoyed ewan mcgreggor role
+ DC fan boy bias
Really bad movie in a long time 2/10
Margot Robbie is brilliant but this character is off the wall (everything is in hyperbole in a screechy, high pitched, New York accent). Much of the storytelling is done inside out (flashbacks to establish the backstories of the ladies). The supporting performances by the Birds of Prey are good and the casting is perfect. Lots of violence and gore, although, I thought the fight choreography is spectacular, especially in the final sequences (I realize this is a minority opinion). All in all, the movie was loud and chaotic, the writing and dialogue left a lot to be desired but the characters were interesting. I give this film a 6 (fair) out of 10. [Super/Anti-Heroes]
Margot is an amazing Harley Queen but the leader can carry all, the movie turns into a teenager movie with a regular vilian, awesome and cool action shots, but at the end it leaves you empty.
The title should be Harley Quinn and very little Birds of prey, good action scenes, Harley Quinn well, the rest not so much. For some reason all men are bad and dumb
Birds of Prey is like DC and Warner Brothers answer to Deadpool. It’s just as violent and off the wall. With Margot Robbie owning the Harley Quinn character. As well as owning every scene she is in.
Kind of a mess, but also some great action and cinematography
chaotic and violent in the absolute best way!! we already knew margot was going to be great, this movie just proves even more that she was born to play harley. rosie, mary, chris, ewan, and ella were perfectly cast. JURNEE FUCKING SMOLLETT-BELL YOU GUYS!!!! SHE IS INCREDIBLE AS BLACK CANARY I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!! I NEED A SEQUEL OR SOLO MOVIE NOW!!
everyone that says this movie is bad, is boring and doesnt know how to have fun because i had A BLAST
also, those fight scenes were INCREDIBLE
I can see why this didn't do well. The narration in the beginning felt out of place and the birds of prey only showed up with about 15 minutes to go. The movie needed much more of the last 15 minutes throughout and a lot less of the background stories of everyone.
It’s fun! Margot Robbie is great as Harley Quinn. The story is alright and Harley’s narration is fun. The action is good and pretty entertaining. It isn’t written that well though. Overall it’s a good superhero movie with a tarrintino vibe.
( 7 out of 10)
THE WACPINE OF ‘BIRDS OF PREY’
WRITING: 7
ATMOSPHERE: 7
CHARACTERS: 6
PRODUCTION: 9
INTRIGUE: 6
NOVELTY: 6
ENJOYMENT: 7
The Good:
Margot Robbie fully embraces her take on Harley Quinn, playing it slightly differently from Suicide Squad but still capturing that childish, bonkers personality.
Unlike the majority of films set within the DCEU, Birds of Prey utilizes splashes of colours and clever graphics to extenuate its bonkers story elements.
There are some seriously cool-looking action sequences in this one. Director Cathy Yan has a fine time directing them and they stand out as the strongest parts of the film.
Friends of girl-powered and diverse action films with a killer soundtrack and beautifully choreographed and shot action sequences will find plenty to like here. Birds of Prey is the Deadpool of female-led superhero flicks the way Wonder Woman is the Captain America or Thor of superhero flicks.
Fortunately, for a film that is technically a sequel to the atrocious Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey is both funny and entertaining, even if it's far from flawless. Above all, it's inventive and doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes it a fun ride.
The climactic battle sequence is one of the most bonkers, fun and badass sequences I’ve seen in anything ever and it's made better by a killer soundtrack.
The Bad:
In a bizarre mix of comic book movie, chick flick a Deadpool-esque comedy, Birds of Prey feels like it’s just trying to tick all the boxes and please as many different audience groups as possible instead of focusing on just telling a good story.
I like Ewan McGregor but I find it difficult to take him seriously as Sionis/Black Mask in this film. He's not very suited for the role, even if he plays him confidently. His demise is pretty funny, though. My biggest problem with Black Mask is that he is more of a joke than a real villain.
The entire first half of the film feels like one overlong piece of exposition, meaning that the main story doesn't start until way into the film.
The film introduces supporting characters The Black Canary and Huntress at a very slow pace, and then barely uses them after their introductory sequences.
Margot Robbie is so great throughout the film that the rest of the cast is mostly overshadowed and never reach their true potential. It doesn't help that characters like Huntress and Montoya are pretty one-dimensional.
The Ugly:
All scenes without splashes of colour.
WACPINE RATING: 6.86 / 10 = 3.5 stars
Never in my entire life I wanted to be beaten by women this much.
I still hate Red/Blue Harley. I much prefer Red/Black. That said I like her costuming MUCH better in this movie than Suicide Sqaud. Somehow between the costuming and the framing there's a LOT less "Look how sexy and skimpy Margot Robbie is dressed like a slutty Harley Quinn". I'd only seen one teaser video and I thought Harley looked stupid in her outfit. However on screen it worked a lot better than I thought it would. A lot of my biggest issues with the movie are weird shots and framing and the uninspired soundtrack. I mean I like Barracuda but I wish the score had more signature to it. Just generic pump up music and generic heartfelt music etc etc etc. The soundtrack need not be filled with covers of songs done better when they aren't slowed down RnB remixes or acoustic pop remixes. The James Brown joint (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H77fRz1rybs) was okay but honestly why not go full girl power out there. Why not give me a Spice Girls cover like maybe "Viva Forever". That would be interesting and in a movie with (level of violence) a little girl getting her face sliced and then ripped off maybe some of that creative energy could be spared to the music choices. I mean I hate Ariana Grande but women love her maybe a version of "Dangerous Woman" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnyBfSXdcTQ) would have been more fun and interesting or maybe Amy Winehouse who has choice jams beyond "Rehab" such as "You Sent Me Flying" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfZj2h1t0Jc) or "I Heard Love is Blind" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMM3HqKw9JA) and she has tons of club remixes for the fight scene rehash.
But there are inspired sequences in Birds of Prey like when Harley breaks into Gotham PD. It's a fun romp even if some of the physics completely break verisimilitude. The Breakup with Joker was great. Not seeing Joker was fine, and then roller derby. I liked how no one at roller derby really cared about Harley's level of violence. They just considered her weak for going back with Joker so many times. The eponymous Birds of Prey don't really have the character work that Harley has but they don't really need it.
When Huntress came on screen i didn't like her. I wasn't feeling this dark comedy take on Huntress but very soon I was flipped on that as well. Rosie Perez is still cute. Ali Wong was fine. I still don't see Ewan McGregor, man that guy's face has changed a lot. But everyone is good. The character are fun. The ones I complain about are the guys actually Zsasz was kinda odd, Black Mask is still confusing as a character. I don't know him, I don't understand why he has his mask or when he wears it. I thought it might be related to his gloves but we never really learn. Harley was mostly good. I think her best fight scene was when she had a bat though. That was some creative, interesting fighting that felt like Harley's character. It fit. I wish it was edited better with longer and/or wider shots. But uninspired fight scenes are a staples of action movies now and Harley Quinn is of no particular exception to this.
The funniest part of the movie was everyone staying to the end credits scene to get trolled. It was beautiful. The guy in front of me was literally upset "I wasted 3 minutes of my life for that". I say stay for it though just for the giggles. Birds of Prey is something the DC universe needs more of. Fun. It's dumb, there's scenes that don't make any sense. Bad guys standing around waiting to be hit but in the end.. it's just got fun. Genuine fun like Wonder Woman had genuine sincerity (as opposed to constant sarcasm). Well worth the price of admission even if it doesn't have Oracle.
This film is epic! It's fun, i love the mix of different personal motives and the disregard for moral "right and wrong", the cartoonish style of acting from margot robbie was awesome and i loved it! People said it had "forced diversity"???? and "forced feminism"??? what?? Just because a film has more women characters than men does not make is forced feminism, it just makes it a refreshing change to the usual, and i thought it was great!
The funny thing is, the best parts of this “women-only” production were shot by a man, a guy from John Wick who was invited for reshoots. All good fight scenes are his.
If you hate this movie, you hate women. There's no way this is worse than some crap that gets praised, like Venom. Even that POS Justice League has its fans.
Dear lord what a fun ride it was! Damn, should have seen this one in the theater while I could.
To be honest it started out incredibly weak: characters clashed with realistic looking world around them. Flashbacks for stuff that happened 2 minutes ago (Ok, 10 min ago, but still!). Predictable plot and visual gags. Timeline shift that broke the flow and took me out of the movie at least twice. Too much music etc.
BUT the more ridiculous situation got the better it all started mix together. When she fought with the power of cocaine lol I finally accepted that I'm watching Roger Rabbit (or super faithful adaption of the character one can argue) with straightforward plot - I had a blast. Characters started bounce of each other just right: jokes, dialogue, music, gags, set designs, fights all of it started to felt right.
But then it got even better when Huntress showed up. Oh, boy I wish they would make a solo movie with her. That actress just stole the movie and that's despite Harley being great in it too. They even managed to keep movie together after the mood shift Bruce. Mexican standoff was fanfuckingtastic along with the chase and that damn ending)
tl;dr Movie made surprising comeback at 40 something mark and turned out to be not just "good bad film" but legit good one.
In an age of superhero movies with a Feige-approved tone, Birds of Prey is a breath of fresh air. It swings for the fences. Is it always a home run? No, but it hits more than it misses. The action is on point and clear, with a crisp line of sight and progression. The characterization is solid, particularly with Winstead's Huntress, McGregor's Black Mask, and Robbie's Harley. Winstead owns every scene she's in, alternating between badass and endearingly awkward with so much ease she begs for more screen time. McGregor is both entertaining while being a complete dirtbag, his misogyny all too true to life but never glorified or sexualized for the audience. And Robbie does an admirable job of anchoring the film.
The film falters somewhat in rarely being as funny as it wants to be, outside of Huntress, but the tone is fun enough and the action and visuals distinctive enough to make it a blast anyway. For mostly the better, every shot feels like Cathy Yan's vision, and the entire project bleeds her, the writer's, and Robbie's passion, something too lacking in hero movies these days.
What stuck out most to me was one scene of Black Mask's cruelty. Where most films would've lingered on it, the camera gratifying as much as it condemns, Yan keeps the focus strictly on the pettiness of Mask, the reaction of his victim, and the horror of the witnesses. It doesn't linger, but it doesn't make light. It's true to life but it's not gratuitous trauma porn. It serves a purpose, and it is so rare to see in any movie. That's the feeling that makes Birds of Prey most worth seeing. For a fun time through a distinctive lens, it's more than worth your time.
The movie has very strong energy, Margot as Harley still fits perfectly and you can tell the character means a lot to her, Mary and Jurnee did amazing as Huntress and Canary despite the short stick they were given in terms of screentime. The fight scenes are well done and well choreographed and the soundtrack features a lot of strong females in the industry.
One thing I wish they'd have done is during the scenes with mercenary's coming after Harley would be if we were able to see some of the D-List villians that DC has hidden away.
Like sex on the beach, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, but at least it was easy to fake it.
The action was better than the talking and fortunately there was a lot of action, plus the soundtrack was amazing. Hell, it's no Suicide Squad but...
Not sure on the hype here. Lots of nothing.
A quality film, with very notable moments and a simple but effective story. However, having watched the Harley Quinn series, which is spectacular, some elements of the film seem similar, but the series approaches them in a more brilliant way. As a result, during the film, I ended up referring to the series, which addresses similar aspects in an even more captivating way.
The only thing that confused me was a scene where she breaks into the police cartel; this scene could have been more intense, with some blood, perhaps, but possibly they avoided that to keep the character in a more positive image.
Because this is a DCEU movie, some scenes are cartoonish. The Huntress character is deliberately ridiculed, and the cop (who is presented as being good at her job) also seems straight out of a comedy. The fate of Black Mask is further proof that this really is a comedy.
You almost forget that the story takes place in Gotham. I know, I know, once again, this is a DCEU movie, so you have to forget Nolan's Gotham.
The first half was boring, the second half was kinda interesting with few jokes that made me chuckle. Liked the characters, didn’t feel a female centric team for the sake of it. Overall it was a 5/10, they tried to create a movie like Deadpool but the Suicide Squad approach stayed. At least the music and cinematography in some scenes were good like with the Suicide Squad.
:heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart: - Margot Robbie absolutely steals the show. Absolutely loved the action-packed, funny, and wacky film.
my rating system works:
10:heart:- Masterpiece :100:
9:heart:- Excellent
8:heart: - Amazing :ok_hand:
7:heart:- Great :sun_with_face:
6:heart: - Good :thumbsup:
5:heart: - Average :head_bandage:
4:heart: - Bad but watchable :octagonal_sign:
3:heart: - Bad :sob:
2:heart:- Awful :face_vomiting:
1:heart: - Bull Shit.
This movie is a mess. However, it’s a fun mess and encapsulates perfectly the chaos and unpredictability of Harley Quinn and Gotham as a city. It took me a bit to get into this movie but once I did, I had a good time.
I think what the movie is weak at is character building - It mostly relies on the acting and the charm of the characters as they are, and that works most of the time but that’s what it ultimately misses in going beyond just an entertaining movie.
However, I want to congratulate this movie on such a strong and stylistic showcase of Harley Quinn. From the general vibe, this is great. And I had a good time once the action and the music in the second half kicked in properly.
And it empowers women too with Harley’s development in this but also how women are presented here. On the flip side, it’s also obvious that men are portrayed badly here - However, I didn’t mind it as much as, let’s say, Captain Marvel. Because this is a charming movie as it is. And men are not a group that is systematically and socially oppressed or treated inferior, so I can live with men being the bad guys here.
And, I enjoyed Black Mask. He was creepy and very threatening, with some disturbing scenes and the scene at the bar, which I found quite scary. The entire cast played their roles well in general but even then, Margot Robbie and Ewan McGregor stood out.
7.5/10
my wife my wife my wife my wife my wife and our newly adopted thief child
Seriously? I find it difficult to envision how anyone invested in this production.
The expectation wasn't high so I was able to enjoy the movie. Had a few laughs.
First of all I want to say that i am new in the anime genre so maybe my opinion is not the best At the start i was doubting my choose and God i was wrong Let's start with the characters All of them have unique character traits,traits that aren't forgettable like telepathy or seeing people's dreams etc Although some of the characters didn't have much screen time like Kotori's friends although this thing didn't bothered me that much The anime doesn't have a story until the last 8 episodes although I won't say that there isn't a continuity The animation is what made the animes famous and i will not say that i didn't enjoyed it The balance between comedy and drama is very good The humour isn't a gross one which is good Sure there are some cliches like that one girl likes the boy that other girl likes but it didn't bothered me The music is very catchy especially the intro music and the people that made the soundtrack knew what they were going for because the music hits right in the heart The action that is showed in the anime makes you didn't pay attention to other things and be really invested into the story a story that is sad, humorous, dramatic and a lot of other emotions Overall i will give da capo a 9 out of ten
Really, the best fighter in the comics, Cassandra Cain, is reduced to being pretty much a helpless victim type. In the comics Cain could beat any of the other ladies in this group. She even beat her mother, Lady Shiva, a person that Batman was never able to beat. She was pretty much Batman's surrogate daughter for a while.
It's an empty, forgettable movie. Unremarkable in every aspect. I mean, I guess Margot Robbie is great in the role, and she shines here just like she did in Suicide Squad (another "meh" movie).
This one was a little better than SS (maybe because my expectations were way lower this time), WW84 and the original Justice League, of course. But that's not saying much.
Terrible audio mixing, especially toward the end - they kept bumping the music volume down before every grunt or one off line, and then bumping it back up. extremely jaring.
Pretty decent fight choreography for a western movie, but it's still full of nonsense. it's clear none of the actors have any martial training.
Amazing fight environments. I'm an absolutely sucker for for fights in the rain, so that was nice. The funhouse was a great environment too, tons of movement and lights and visually interesting stuff.
I just didn't really care about the plot. I'm not incentivized to care about Harley. and none of the other character's motives are really explored.
Canary deux ex machina being super powered is a weak get out of jail free card.
The cinematography is great. all the shots are super clean, visually interesting, and not jump cutting every .0003 seconds to avoid showing me how bad everyone is at fighting. i wish i'd seen it in HDR
I don't like how it ends with Harley trying to have an empowering "I can do it moment" and then immediately biffs it and gets saved by a 12 year old, it's a really lackluster ending to her arc, but it plays Kesha's Woman like the ending was some sort of BAMF moment for her.
AND THEN AFTER SHE RECOMMITS TO EVIL TRICKY TRICKS SHE FUCKING GIVES THE MONEY BACK TO HUNTRESS???!?!
The great cinematography and mostly entertaining content make it worth watching, but it's hardly a work of art.
Birds of Prey starts off with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn updating us on her progress and state in the world. In other words a huge exposition dump. So far so dull. For me the character of Harley Quinn is annoying and pointless even before this film and the only point for her in the previous films was teeny-tiny shorts and lingering shots of bottoms and legs plus she was a sort of water-downed evil.
In this film written by Christina Hodson and directed Cathy Yan we at least get away from the leering sexuality of the previous portrayal but if you are looking for an interesting feminist point of view from the story and characters, you are not going to get it. The male characters are all repugnant from the get-go which did not bother me but just seemed a bit sledge-hammery if I am honest. What we ended up with was female super-villains-heroes or whatever they are doing exactly what their male counterparts did in the other films. You could replace every main character with a male character, and you would not notice it. So, from my point of view utterly redundant. I wanted the film to say something different, open my old, jaded eyes. It did not.
Probably the most disappointing aspect for me though was the acting in the film was spotty at least. Mary Elizabeth Winstead just looked like she was acting and was thoroughly unconvincing and Rosie Perez probably turned in her worst showing since I can remember. At one time it is said she was every bad cop-movie cliché which I am guessing was supposed to be ‘on’ and ‘meta’, but she was and it was wearisome.
The Huntresses’ real boyfriend, Ewan McGregor, turns up as the main villain Roman Sionis who apparently is called the Black Mask although he only dons it for ten minutes and I am none the wiser why he does. McGregor makes a good show of being over-the-top insane and so camp he should be a holiday park in Wales but if it were not for his thorough bleak and blank unpleasantness, he would to all intents and purposes be a yaa-boo pantomime baddy.
Therein lies the rub. I think, I do not know because the Comic Book World is not mine, DC is supposed to be darker than Marvel. This film was, but there is a big clash of styles in all this. Bright jokey situations, smart-Alec and sharp-witted quipping protagonists, and bloody murder, slaughter, torture and bystander slaughter. Unless you have got something fundamentally wrong with you these do not really mix. They really do not. It is jarring.
There was something nasty in the dark corners of this film, something unpleasant, mean-spirited, it liked being there and it was never far from the surface. I did not enjoy the spectacle just because of this.
The sets seem Gotham City-like, grubby New Yorkesque, and Harley Quinn is bad-ass and uncaring enough to litter, the CGI is quite poor for a modern film, particularly the hyena, and worse still I am sorry to say the exciting fight scenes look choreographed and seem clunking and slow much like a large portion of the dialogue which is full of really heavy and awkward exposition at times.
The story is about the hunt for a lost diamond. That is it. The titular group Birds of Prey are in the film for five minutes at the most and there seems to be no real driving reason for them if I am honest.
Overall Birds of Prey is underwhelming and unnecessary. One more comic-book film like this and I think I will be done with this category altogether. At the moment Shazam is holding the fort for all ‘DC films’.
Not good enough.
Bring back Zach Snyder DC because this is garbage.
The film is basically an action movie with the women protagonists fighting against men. It was entertaining, it was fun to watch, and definitely enjoyable. It's far from being without issues, however. It's actually better to watch it with no other expectations than cool fighting scenes and explosions, all made better because of the feminist message sprinkled all over the movie.
The plot itself was bland (can't really expect a super-complex plot from a superhero/villain movie). Most of the characters didn't have depth to them, and Black Mask seemed annoyingly cartoonish to me. Gotham, yet again, felt like just any other city, without any real character. The narration felt off and useless most of the time.
Still, I loved the fighting scenes, and Harley's moves reminded me a bit of playing with her in the Arkham games, which is always a plus. The violent feminity of Harley was interesting to see, and the feminist theme was present everywhere. While I don't think it was subtle (at all), it was well done in that aspect, not caricatured, and it was entertaining.
All in all, this is a movie with a lot of problems regarding characters and plot. It's also an engaging and upbeat action movie that deserves a watch.
The histrionic main character is fine, but he misuses himself and the comic gets boring at times.
Sh*t indeed, but just turn off your thoughtful mind and enjoy some colorful entertainment
This was a horrible film, made me like the justice league film way more then i should of..........all the characters are horrible......i did like the amusement park and breakfast scene....but they made black canary, Cassandra Cain, huntress horrible
movie is too long. i prefer suicide squads.
The egg sandwich scene and the huntress riding the guy down the tunnel were probably the two best scenes in this movie.
Although that entire funhouse actually was a lot of fun.
Water-fights and roller-stunts are not going unappreciated either. Might also want to mention that I liked how they didn't picture Harley as some dumb-witted brat, but gave her more of the brains she actually has.
So I guess as far as action goes, the film is pretty all right, but otherwise not very strong.
Best character: Bruce.
"Hair tie?" real life problems, addressed. I like that. :joy:
Side note: Ali Wong is in this? A joke inside a joke.
Ella Jay Basco is fucking awful actress
Interesting that the weakest girl shown in this movie, Cassandra Cain, is actually the best fighter in the comics, and could probably beat any of the other ladies in a one on one fight. Her actual mother, Lady Shiva, is one of the few people that Batman has never been able to beat.
guess I will like to see it when comes close to my place in palakkad kerala
Basically boring, has nothing going for it. Thinking back over it, it feels like a mediocre filler episode of Arrow.
Also, in what horrendous universe is that Cassandra Cain? She could have been literally anybody else without altering the story, why did they have to call her that? There's nothing in there to hint this as being an origin of her Batgirl story so WHY NOT CALL HER ANYTHING ELSE??
not the greatest movie. there are flaws in the action scenes. they tend to not live up to the background music. loved the Quinn sarcasm and humor. Ramona Flowers!!!
if you watch this movie and think of it as a panel in the comic, it becomes more enjoyable.
Shout by kokoroBlockedParent2020-04-03T13:50:47Z
Spending $85,000,000 to produce this shit should be punishable by law, it's celebrating the void,