DC's Underwhelming Attempt at Female Empowerment | Birds of Prey Review

Birds of Prey, the latest installment of the very tumultuous DC Extended Universe, was directed by Cathy Yan, from a screenplay provided to her by Christina Hodson. It acts as a sort-of spin-off sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. The film made its debut in theaters on February 7, 2020.

Margot Robbie reprises her role as Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad. Newcomers to the cast include Ewan McGregor, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Messina, and Ali Wong.

Here’s my brief synopsis of the film:

Some time has passed since the events of Suicide Squad, in which circumstances have led Harley Quinn to break up with longtime toxic boyfriend The Joker. Now that she’s without the protective shield that is her ex-boyfriend’s reputation, she struggles to get a break from violent reprobates who seek revenge against her. But an opportunity comes up when she meets a young girl who’s the target of Black Mask.

This review is the transcribed version of the YouTube review linked above; that video is just a little bit longer than 6 minutes. Regardless of the way you take in my opinion, I hope you enjoy my thoughts on Birds of Prey!

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The 2010s were a tough time for Warner Bros and their DC Comics movies. Sure, you could argue that Christopher Nolan ended his Batman trilogy really well in 2012, but things got, shall we say... turbulent after that.

Early on, the whackjob executives working for Warner Bros thought that being the edgy, too-cool-for-school kid on the block would mean that their movies would be received well. Given how Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman turned out, that probably wasn’t a good direction to take. But then they decided to just save face, take fewer risks, and more directly copy the Marvel routine with their next few movies. Wonder Woman was mostly received well, but otherwise, they ran themselves into the ground with Suicide Squad and Justice League.

Ironically, the moment they decided to go fully insane with Aquaman was when they really began to develop a niche. That movie may be completely bonkers and stupid beyond reason, but the fact that it is knowingly stupid and was produced with flashy visuals resulted in something legitimately fun. Clearly, that worked since it’s the only film in the franchise to cross the $1 billion threshold so far. Shazam would then go on to receive strong acclaim from both audiences and critics, but surprisingly, it didn’t end up being quite the box office juggernaut Warner Bros. probably hoped for.

Why do I bring all of this up in relation to Birds of Prey? Well, I think it’s good to know the road that DC took to get where they are now.

They’ve tried over and over again to replicate the same success Marvel has found with their properties, but it wasn’t until recently that they’ve done things that people have actually responded to. I believe that is what’s allowed DC to be confident enough to make something so unorthodox, so unapologetically left-wing, and relentlessly goofy. It’s a series of creative risks that I can appreciate, and even though Birds of Prey hasn’t been doing too well at the box office, most people seem to be on board with it.

But did the movie work for me? Uh, not really, I think?

(Photo Source: IMDb)

The least I can say is that it is, in fact, a better movie than Suicide Squad. Perhaps that’s just what happens when you have an actual editor piece it all together as opposed to a marketing firm. But more than that, Birds of Prey is confident in what it wanted to be: a celebration of women giving their male oppressors what they deserve. From that perspective, this is probably where the movie excels the most.

Harley Quinn is the poster child of this approach, for seeing how she tries to navigate her post-Joker lifestyle is interesting. I wouldn’t exactly call it engrossing since the movie is trying to make us emotionally connect with someone who willfully murders people. Yet on some level, it manages to make Harley’s circumstances understandable and even relatable.

The psychological and emotional damage left in the wake of her relationship with the Joker is explored in an entertaining opening sequence, particularly with the use of a stylish animated montage. To top it off, Margot Robbie once again nailed her performance, further cementing her as the ideal casting choice at this fan-favorite character. Even though I sometimes found her to be more annoying than funny, Margot Robbie did a great job at remaining true to her character’s source material while continuing to carve out an interpretation unique to her.

And despite how characterization is quite thin across the board, each of the key actresses gets their own opportunities to shine in special ways. My personal favorite among the troupe had to be Mary Elizabeth Winstead, but honestly, I love seeing her show up in practically any movie she can get her hands on. In any case, seeing them all come together in the film’s third act is satisfying enough. Witnessing their action unfold with carefully-planned wide shots, enjoyable fight choreography and competent editing certainly helped.

Anyone who buys a ticket solely to see these characters whoop some masculine butt should hopefully get their money’s worth. However, herein lies the problem that pretty much breaks the movie: it all happens too late.

There are some pleasurable action scenes throughout the film, sure, but it’s all flashy for the sake of it being flashy. If you’re looking to get any kind of dramatic or even emotional satisfaction out of the action scenes, then you picked the wrong movie. I can forgive a blockbuster for just wanting to be fun for a good portion of its runtime, as long as the payoff is good. The failing of Birds of Prey is that the buildup kills any momentum towards that climax.

(Photo Source: IMDb)

I knew the movie’s pacing was in trouble as soon as Harley Quinn started going, “well in order for ya to know what happens next, we gotta go back and explain some things.” Moving back in time to introduce a character or provide some exposition happens at least several times in the film, and it always ruins the story’s sense of pace whenever it does. The first 75 minutes are comparable to watching a lame infomercial that constantly goes “alright in a few short minutes we’re going to show you how our product works, but first, a word from our sponsor.”

I’m all for non-linear storytelling, but Birds of Prey executes it in the absolute worst way imaginable because it wastes the audience’s time. Even when the plot moved forward, I found myself at a massive disconnect since the film did very little to convince me that I should keep watching.

The writers’ ideas for characterization added up to essentially telling us who characters are, establishing their motivations, and then forcing them all to work together perfectly in the final act. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the villains Black Mask and Victor Zsasz, who are little more than soulless, women-hating fearmongers. Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina do what they can to enliven the material they were given, but I otherwise got nothing out of their very bland villains.

What everything ends up amounting to is, well… nothing, really. The entertaining moments are fun, but they have no foundation to be meaningful beyond simple pleasures. For a movie to already be so brazen and bold with its approach and then drop the ball with its storytelling is really disappointing. I should have left the theater feeling riled up and vindictive towards the evil men of the world, but rather, once the credits started rolling I just wanted to go home and crawl into bed.

Don’t expect much from a movie that tries too hard to be cool and results in an even more immature riff on Deadpool. Some will appreciate the simple joys it offers in small doses, but I imagine that Wonder Woman 1984 will really be the female-led superhero film to get people talking when it releases later this summer.

SCORE: C

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AGE RECOMMENDATION: Birds of Prey has a fair share of offensive content, but not enough to really get concerned about. Expect to hear many F-words and other profane words used by both men and women throughout the film’s runtime. Some moments of shocking violence also happen from time to time, with the more egregious examples being a man exploding due to a grenade blast, a family being executed by gunfire, chewed-up human remains being fed to a hyena, and a man holding the skin outline of a person’s face. Normally these would be horrifically gruesome in any movie, but they are obscured just barely enough to where they likely won’t be that disturbing for even teenagers. (15+)