Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
BIRDS OF PREY - Warner Bros
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), directed by Cathy Yan, is arguably the strongest visual ode to new-wave DC comic books. Yan and Co. succeed at getting the hustling, zainy gravy train of the DC franchise back on track with a mixture of east-Asian inspired cinema and the aesthetic bravado of Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever. Nevertheless, even when Margot Robbie as the titular character and Ewan McGregor as the over-the-top villain greatly impress, with the production design equally outstanding, Yan and her film cannot entirely break out of the comic book prison-system.
Four years have passed since Margot Robbie's debut performance as Harley Quinn in David Ayer's much-troubled Suicide Squad, while her return cements the fact that the actress is undeniably the strongest and most entertaining thing to come out of that much-maligned disaster. Robbie here is nothing short of delightful: the charisma, the charm, and the overall bravado the actress brings is exceptional. The actresses screen presence is particularly influential and its over the top angle makes much of the film – specifically Robbie's character – as outlandish as ever. The film does not drown in forced bizarre behaviour, even if many moments do not quite hit the comedic heights intended.
More frustrating is that the entire supporting cast’s talents are pretty much wasted. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is incredibly underused with a character that is more or less a bloated cameo rather than a dynamic character. Ali Wong has a two-scene cameo that adds absolutely nothing, aside to cause more of an issue that is mentioned in the paragraph below. These are two magnificent actresses in their own right, but are given zero screen time to act like it. Absolutely wasting their talents and time, the production that has either no idea what to do with them or cannot quite fit them into the features trajectory. Both reasonings as equally as underwhelming as the other.
BIRDS OF PREY - Warner Bros
Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis in the characters live-action debut is a particular highlight to observe. The power the actor controls in his scenes, in regard to emotional range and pure presence alone, is not only captivating but disturbing and chilling in each and every turn. The issues arrive not only with the character's sexuality but the more significant grave problems of the modern-day blockbusters fail to realise and highlight an unsexual queer coupling.
Birds of Prey, unfortunately, is one of many features to queer bait in order to convince the LGBTQ community that it is on the team, supposedly empowering the cause. However, it showcases no such activity or participation to highlight diversity on screen. In the same vein as Rise of Skywalker's utterly pathetic one-second inclusion of a gay couple embracing, Birds of Prey has a blink, and you will miss it under the impression that the titular character is bisexual. Still, no such inclusion is to be found throughout the running time. A disappointing and sadly relevant issue that plagues not only the modern blockbuster is the over-sexualisation of the female form in comic books since their conception, and Birds of Prey does not pull its weight.
BIRDS OF PREY - Warner Bros
What makes this sentiment all the more damning is that writer Christina Hodson adds weight and layers of emotional and sentimental impact with real-world and profound consequence, notably sexual assault, gaslighting and gender oppression throughout the feature. These incredibly strong and powerful themes may seem slightly too much on paper for the intended target audience, yet director Cathy Yan and writer Christina Hodson implement these elements with a touching delicacy and power. They are never overpowering, but thankfully never underused. Nevertheless, by letting itself down with its queer representation, all this feels hollow, and more disappointing.
There are positives to highlight such as the production design from K.K. Barrett, which is nothing short of superb; there is life and vividness to each and every frame. This is not the dreary and depressing Gotham we have seen countless times beforehand. It is a living breathing entity that even Christopher Nolan failed to highlight in his The Dark Knight trilogy. The costume design by Erin Benach also looks brilliant on-screen with prowess and unique individualism.
Nonetheless, the film and director Cathy Yan cannot break out of the comic book system. Nothing here is visually impressive, with a lacking and underwhelming CGI background infested finale, taking precedent once again in this genre. It looks terrible, unenthusiastic, and dissonant to the tale the viewer has been led. The multiple fight scenes of hand to hand combat are essentially the same scene regurgitated in different backgrounds with more villains; nothing has a unique impact or striking iconography, and in this world, that is a concern.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is released February 5th 2020
