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doomonfilm · 4 years ago

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Thoughts : Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)

After the colossal misstep that was Suicide Squad, and the ensuing wave of speculation over the future of the franchise and whether it deserved an immediate pressing of the reset button, the news of a Harley Quinn and Birds of Prey vehicle did not land with the gravitas that D.C. expected. While Margot Robbie did shine in the role of Harley Quinn, many found themselves facing the fatigue of underwhelming D.C. movie after underwhelming D.C. movie. The one thing nobody seemed to expect, however, was for Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) to be good.

Four years after the events of Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) finds herself free of her relationship with the Joker and forced to make due on her own. After a run-in with the driver of Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) that leaves the driver crippled, Harley befriends Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), the singer in Sionis’ club. The following morning, Lance saves Harley from an attack, which impresses Sionis, and he immediately assigns Lance as his new driver. Harley blows up an Ace Chemicals plant in an effort to make a statement about her breakup with the Joker, but her action does not divert GCPD from their investigation of mob killings committed by the Crossbow Killer, who goes by the self-applied name The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). GCPD Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) attempts to use Lance as an informant, but Lance turns the offer down, only to eventually fall in line when young pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) interrupts a diamond theft plot. With the streets after Harley, Sionis kidnaps her and attempts to use her to recover Cain and the diamond, but upon finding out that Lance has tipped off Montoya, Sionis enacts a plan to not only recover the diamond, but put the entire run of women out of commission in the process. As the opposed forces find themselves targeted and closed in upon, the women form an unsteady alliance to protect themselves, and in turn, put all of their previous motivations and alliances into question.

Birds of Prey presents a much more refined use of techniques attempted in Suicide Squad, and the techniques find a focused application with a centered protagonist model and supporting characters on the wings (no pun intended). On top of these visual techniques that apply to film, there is a very specific and efficient use of comic book framing, visualization and tropes that keep the events of the film tethered to their origins. The way that the creators of the film are able to mix aspects of buddy comedies, redemption story movies, break-up vindication films, whodunit affairs and, of course, comic-book films presents the viewer with a highly entertaining mish-mash of stimulation.

Rather than try to force the world to bend to the whims of the Suicide Squad story, director Cathy Yan opts for folding a D.C.-based story into a broader world story, which works much better. Lots of the action that centers around Harley Quinn is wonderfully entertaining, leaning on mostly non-lethal applications until more lethal fare is called for. The story also manages to tell Harley Quinn’s tale without having to use the Joker as a foundational element, opting instead to use his absence as fuel for the plot rather than harping on him not being around and making it about him in the process.

As expected in a comic-book film, there is an extremely vivid use of colors, specifically pastels of varying richness that pop out against the mostly muted backdrops. The way that the story blends past, present and future events through a mix of flashbacks and timeline melds keeps the story interesting while straying away from a fixed linear narrative, while also allowing for key bits of information to show up when they will play the best, rather than in chronological order. The soundtrack is not only full of earworms, but the song selections do a much better job of punctuating character mentalities and motivations than film of this nature normally does. Overall, Birds of Prey is a much more focused, balanced and well-executed movie than Suicide Squad, as if the previous recipe had too many ingredients, while this same recipe has found harmonic ingredient balance.

Margot Robbie infuses some Bugs Bunny energy into her performance, from her mannerisms and line delivery down to fight choreography. Rosie Perez mixes aspects of the straight-man role with a designation as the main character that drives the narrative forward with subtle balance. Mary Elizabeth Winstead leans into her role as the protagonist while managing to let a layer of insecurity bubble just below the surface. Ewan McGregor is taking delight in playing big while chewing up the scenery and moments, serving for a balanced foe with just as much personality as Harley Quinn. Jurnee Smollett-Bell masterfully reveals the layers of her character with high narrative efficiency, never revealing too much of her character at once, and making the reveals ultra-timely. Ella Jay Basco’s joyful ignorance and disregard for the impact of her actions serves as the perfect chaotic neutral foil. Chris Messina buzzes around as secondary menace to McGregor in a unique interpretation of the muscle role. Appearances by Alli Wong, Dana Lee, Steven Williams, Fancois Chau, Derek Wilson, Matt Willig, and spiritual appearances by Jared Leto and Jai Courtney round things out.

For every stinker that the D.C. film universe has presented, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) finds itself in the rare air of success from the brand. If you enjoyed Watchmen, Shazam!, or saw where aspects of Suicide Squad may have worked under different circumstances, I highly recommend giving Birds of Prey a go.

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