Birds of Prey * * *
I know, I know, it's a film derived from a comic book franchise, so I've only myself to blame if I hated it. However I had been led to believe this is different, rather like Deadpool and Joker, and to be fair, in a way it is.
It features Harley Quinn who was a character in Suicide Squad, a film so execrable I could not bring myself to review it, because it would mean I'd have to think about what I'd sat through. Actually I'll do it now: "Suicide Squad is shit. No stars at all", there. Now back to this review.
In the above mentioned "film" Harley Quin (played by the very busy Margot Robbie) was the one somewhat interesting character. This film is kind of a spin off featuring Harley Quinn - and some other gals she teams up with.
In Birds of Prey no one has magic powers or super strength (so it earns a star for that). All the goodies are women and all the baddies are men. On reflection I don't think there was one honorable male character in the whole film, which is rather cheeky and provocative; but I kind of liked it for that.
Yet Harley Quinn is a terrible character too if you think about it. She is someone hugely pissed off with the world and uses that as an excuse to vandalise, brutalise, sabotage, steal, assault, lie, kidnap, and commit a host of other dreadful crimes - including littering for heavens sake! However, such conduct can make for good entertainment, if conveyed in the right spirit of comedic irreverence, which is what director Cathy Yan attempts to do...(another star for that)
In the main Yan succeeds even if her style is somewhat derivative and imitative, with flashback retrospective biographies and freeze frames mid action so that text can be splashed across the screen as each character is introduced. (The type of stuff Tarantino was doing 20 years ago)
Harley Quin is a bit of a loner but she likes it that way. She probably hasn't got much choice, after all, she is a socially inept psychopath. As the story unfolds other women with grudges connect with Harley. They too have been bullied, threatened or damaged by "The Black Mask" a rich and powerful evil man played with relish by Ewan McGregor. Toward the end these women realise the best way to defeat their shared nemesis is to join forces - hence in the final quarter of the film they become a collection known as the "Birds of Prey". (Do you feel a sequel coming on?)
There are fights, explosions and shooting aplenty. It's amusing enough but somewhat vacuous, which might just be exactly what everyone wants it to be - so another star for that.
It features Harley Quinn who was a character in Suicide Squad, a film so execrable I could not bring myself to review it, because it would mean I'd have to think about what I'd sat through. Actually I'll do it now: "Suicide Squad is shit. No stars at all", there. Now back to this review.
In the above mentioned "film" Harley Quin (played by the very busy Margot Robbie) was the one somewhat interesting character. This film is kind of a spin off featuring Harley Quinn - and some other gals she teams up with.
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| Only 3 stars?! I'll deal with you later, Flip! |
Yet Harley Quinn is a terrible character too if you think about it. She is someone hugely pissed off with the world and uses that as an excuse to vandalise, brutalise, sabotage, steal, assault, lie, kidnap, and commit a host of other dreadful crimes - including littering for heavens sake! However, such conduct can make for good entertainment, if conveyed in the right spirit of comedic irreverence, which is what director Cathy Yan attempts to do...(another star for that)
In the main Yan succeeds even if her style is somewhat derivative and imitative, with flashback retrospective biographies and freeze frames mid action so that text can be splashed across the screen as each character is introduced. (The type of stuff Tarantino was doing 20 years ago)
Harley Quin is a bit of a loner but she likes it that way. She probably hasn't got much choice, after all, she is a socially inept psychopath. As the story unfolds other women with grudges connect with Harley. They too have been bullied, threatened or damaged by "The Black Mask" a rich and powerful evil man played with relish by Ewan McGregor. Toward the end these women realise the best way to defeat their shared nemesis is to join forces - hence in the final quarter of the film they become a collection known as the "Birds of Prey". (Do you feel a sequel coming on?)
There are fights, explosions and shooting aplenty. It's amusing enough but somewhat vacuous, which might just be exactly what everyone wants it to be - so another star for that.
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