With every new movie that comes out there are going to be those that defend it and those that attempt to vilify it for their own reasons, but Birds of Prey (I won’t be typing out the whole title or we’ll be here all day) is one of those that a lot of people might look at and try to reason just why it could be good but why it could also be better. Harley’s solo run, well, almost solo, away from the Joker is something that a lot of people have been waiting to see for years since the toxic relationship that the two of them had was something that was hard to fathom considering that the Joker was horrible to Harley every chance he was given and she kept taking it and coming back for more. The fact is that he’s always been entirely too possessive of her, especially for being able to ditch her so easily when he feels the need. There are definitely folks in this world that get off on the kind of relationship that the two of them had, but it’s apparent that the writers figured it was time for Harley to finally go her own way and split from the Joker for good apparently. The only problem is that despite being a great character, Harley on her own still has to establish her identity and this movie kind of muddied that up quick, fast, and in a hurry.
Some people actually don’t like Harley Quinn for various reasons and this movie didn’t manage to change that, while those that do like her are still divided since after Suicide Squad a lot of folks were a bit confused as to what was going on. The character isn’t horrible, the story is pretty messed-up since it indicates that Harley is a willing victim/accomplice to the Joker, who treats her like trash a lot of the time, and took way too much time to get out from under his influence. The only problem however is that once she was out, deciding who she was and what she was about almost felt like a freestyle effort that was doomed to fail since there wasn’t any real cohesion to her life even when she met the other ladies in the movie. It felt as though the writers were making up the story as it went along, which is kind of interesting at times really since it leaves the audience wondering just what’s coming next. Unfortunately when the story isn’t given the proper respect by the writers it ends up turning into something that a grade school student might dream up, complete with plot twists and gaps in the story that really don’t make sense but speak the inexperience of the storyteller. DC has been great at this lately since some of their movies have left a lot of people wondering just what’s going on in the writing room when the story is being fleshed out and how the editors and the writers are missing so much when it comes to plot points and issues with the story that could be fixed so easily.
Part of it is the fact that a lot of movies will not stick to the source material either because they want to do something different or they believe that they can make it better. This is true in some cases, that a live action movie can surpass a comic book, but it’s still fairly important to stick to the source material if only because it’s less confusing and like it or not, catering to the fans is what helps a lot of movies to make the money that the producers are seeking. If there’s one point of irritation with many movies it’s the thought that catering to the fans is not as important, which is kind of like a chef saying “I don’t care what they want, I’m making what I want to make”. That’s great and all for the people making the product, but if the people they’re selling it too don’t want it then there’s no way they’re going to pay for it, and like it or not, that’s how a movie survives and hopefully thrives. The fans are at times a lot more important than the movie they’re watching since their money is helping to pay for the budget that was put in place for that movie.
Birds of Prey is yet another ‘girl power’ movie that features an empowered female lead that is out to show the world what she can do. Great, grand, wonderful, it’s fun to watch women be empowered and take charge, but it’s usually better to have a solid story to bolster that empowerment so they have a firm base to stand on. Eliana Dockterman of Time has something else to say about the movie. Otherwise the whole “I am woman, hear me roar” act gets lost in the mix pretty quick.
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