Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey may be better than Suicide Squad, but it still lacks any personality or purpose. It is completely written and directed by women—which is fantastic for such a large film—but the final result is a studio product with no heart or dedication to anything memorable.

From a distance, the story is very simple and understandable, so why does the presentation of the story overexplain every point to the audience as if they were 5-years-old? Once a beat is introduced, it has to be re-explained three times throughout the film, and not only through references, but through loud graphics and text on screen, which is further driven home by the consistent narration by Harley Quinn. This film acts as if you are mindless, so it forcefully spoon feeds you each detail over and over again until after an hour-and-49-minutes later you can finally leave the theater. The plot is obnoxiously overbearing, yet it also still feels boring. I was never invested in the story, no matter how hard the film tried to pull me in. Also, a common complaint of superhero films is how bland the color scheme is, so this film literally explodes with color—to the point where it is meaningless. None of the color stands for anything other than rainbows and glitter. Every aspect this film attempts to rely on cranks it to 11, drowning the audience in the process rather than attempting to stand for anything. The characters are equally shallow and bombastic.

I do not like the character of Harley Quinn. Yes, they develop her more in this film, and even highlight her strengths as a fighter and a psychiatrist, but it never sells why we should be following her story. I did not like her in Suicide Squad, and I do not liker her in this film, because she takes the wheel of a potentially intriguing story and drives it off a cliff with her name written all over the steering wheel. This is not a Birds of Prey film, this is a Harley Quinn film. The best elements of the character development and collection of new superheroes are smothered by her need to be the center point on screen. Huntress and Black Canary are awesome, they have strength and variety in the small screen time they have. On the opposite side, though, the detective was so lazily written it felt added on—there is a running gag that she says old cop show one-liners, which makes it easier for the writers to just give her dialogue instead of thinking about her development. All of these characters are only hinted at through the whole film before finally coming together at the very end. It is solely Harley Quinn’s story, which is not what I paid to see.

For a film so focused on giving the beaten down women of Gotham City the spotlight, it still ends the climax with a damsel in distress. How could it go out of its way to hypocritically write a ‘damsel in distress’ story? It somehow does it, where a girl is held at gunpoint by a misogynistic, undeveloped, male antagonist. I do not know why this film is getting such praise for being so predictable and generic.

Has Warner Brothers been beating Disney at representation in their films the past decade? Laughably so. Yet, what do they have to show for it? I am holding out hopes for Wonder Woman 1984, but I am still unconvinced that the studios are truly giving women their say in filmmaking. This film has female creatives all over the poster, but why does it feel so lifeless? There are sparks of greatness found in the small details, but they are fleeting. There are hilarious jokes that only women would think to write, but they are lost in the noise of Harley Quinn’s rampaging narration and an overused, forgettable plot.

Overall, I must admit the action sequences are solid, the color is entertaining, the CGI Hyena is outstanding, and the small moments of character are fantastic. All of these aspects are either bogged down with overexposure or buried under false intentions. With massive tone shifts, obnoxious exposition and narration, and uncontrollable momentum jerking the audience back and forth in every scene, this film fails to even be the easygoing entertainment it so desperately wants to represent. If you want to see women kick men in the balls for two hours, this film is the mindless popcorn flick for you. If you want anything meaningful about women gaining control through their trauma or rage towards the male society, this film panders so hard towards that desire that it makes it comical. If you want a worthwhile superhero story with women, this film is a waste of your time.

Story Rating: 3/10

Character Rating: 4/10