Birds of Prey Review

Birds of Prey

Dir: Cathy Yan

Starring: Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco, Chris Messina, and Ewan McGregor

When you think of iconic superhero villains it doesn’t take very long to recognize the clown prince of crime, The Joker. Immortalized throughout cinema by actors like Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto, and Joaquin Phoenix, The Joker is chaos, carnage, comedy, and cream cosmetics wrapped into one complicated bad guy. 

Perhaps it’s time to clear some space for another villain, or even better a villainess, painted in the vein of The Joker. Harley Quinn made her first appearance in the DC Comics movie misstep “The Suicide Squad”, but Harley, played by Margot Robbie, was the highlight of the entire film, even overshadowing a new performance from Jared Leto playing The Joker. 

“Birds of Prey” or “Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” lets Margot Robbie loose with a zany, messy, comical, clumsy comic book movie that relishes in its cinematic mayhem. What transpires is less a superhero quality and more a straightforward action film with a group of tough-as-nails ladies standing up to a world dominated by loathsome men. 

Harley (Margot Robbie) has a story to tell, one that only she can tell, and it involves bad breakups, murderers, new friends, and a lost diamond. Harley is moving on from Mr. J (her pet name for Joker), trying to make a new path in Gotham City but not realizing how many bridges she has burned while living freely in love. Now, she’s a wanted woman, specifically by a new bad guy in Gotham named Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor).  Harley, being hunted by every person she wronged while dating the Joker, is forced into finding a young pickpocket named Cass (Ella Jay Basco) who has stolen something very valuable.

“Birds of Prey” is an R-rated romp in overindulgent style and over-the-top comic book antics. It’s cluttered in parts, specifically during the chaotic back-and-forth storytelling style where Harley narrates her version of the events leading towards the finale, but also exceptionally fun, like when Harley unleashes her fighting flair with a baseball bat or chats cute with her pet hyena. 

Margot Robbie seems tailored for the role of Harley, she composes a playful sensibility from the beginning, almost shedding the villain quality completely in favor of a powerful woman who will not be told what to do and how to live. Whether giggling maniacally, screaming obscenities or spouting big intellectual psychology comments, Ms. Robbie completely owns the character. 

The supporting cast helps the sloppy narrative. Rosie Perez, tough and showing wonderful attitude, plays an underappreciated cop who is chasing all the loose ends perpetrated by Harley. Jurnee Smollett-Bell is a welcome addition playing a lounge singer with a powerful voice and Mary Elizabeth Winstead does a great job of being nervously awkward as a crossbow-wielding assassin. Ewan McGregor plays the big bad with a confident quirkiness, while it doesn’t always work it seems Mr. McGregor is having lots of fun with the role.

The film, at times, feels too deliberately wacky and purposefully cartoonish, but the madcap quality does have its benefits in keeping the tone very lighthearted and focused on creating something of a crazed carnival of scenes. This movie feels like an appropriate transition, or side story, for the DC Films brand that has composed a more serious atmosphere for their superhero stories. 

“Birds of Prey” thrives best when Harley has a team to work around and with. Margot Robbie holds the film together even when it becomes too frenzied for its own good. Still, the charm of the eccentric characters, the amusement park of hectic action, and the playfulness found in almost every scene make this a must-see for comic book fans.

Monte’s Rating

3.00 out of 5.00

Wonder Woman Review

 

Wonder Woman 

Dir: Patty Jenkins

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Brenner, Elena Anaya, and Eugene Brave Rock

While walking into the anticipated screening of director Patty Jenkins' film "Wonder Woman", two women were walking a few steps in front of me and one of them proudly said, "We finally have a superhero we can call our own". It's a pertinent comment because this "Wonder Woman" film is a huge step in the right direction for female fronted superhero films but also the DC Extended Universe, which has seen a string of disappointing superhero/antihero films with "Batman v. Superman" and "Suicide Squad".

When looking at the history of superhero/comic book films it provides an even greater depth to the comment made by two women walking into a predominantly male driven character genre of film. And when you look at the comic book films that promote a female lead, the results are less than favorable. DC Comics "Supergirl" was released in 1984 and starred Helen Slater, Peter O'Toole, and Faye Dunaway. The film was poorly received and felt like a cheap jumpstart for Christopher Reeves' "Superman" franchise which by this time was basically defunct. Marvel's "Elektra" which starred Jennifer Garner at the height of popularity suffered from poorly designed characters and storylines. "Catwoman" starring Halle Berry was a complete mess of a film that ignored much of what turned this character into an interesting hero, though the character was originally a villain. The best example of a female focused comic book film is probably the cult classic "Tank Girl" or the fantastic graphic novel "Ghost World", but both of these films venture far from the realms of the superhero mythos.

Fortunately, Ms. Jenkins has crafted a much better film than the ones just mentioned; "Wonder Woman" focuses on creating a good origin story for the character, something other films in the DC Extended Universe have struggled with. It also does a great job of separating this character from the others around her, primarily separating a woman from a bunch of men, and letting Wonder Woman discover her own path to heroism.

The film introduces Diana (Gal Gadot) as a fearless child eager to take on the attributes of the Amazon warriors around her, a population of women living on an island in the Mediterranean that is shrouded by magic. Diana's mother Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) wants a daughter who minds her royal upbringing while her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright) secretly trains Diana in the art of combat. As Diana matures into a woman it's easy to see she is unlike others living on the island. When a World War I fighter plane bursts through the clouds Diana is forced to save a drowning pilot named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). But Steve isn't alone, he was being chased by enemies who invade the world of the Amazons; this pushes Diana into the world of men in an effort to end a war.

The script is written by Allan Heinberg who works to take the familiar troupes of the superhero genre and infuse it with a story of woman born with exceptional abilities. Instead of taking the journey of other heroes, where powers are received by some kind of accident or experiment gone awry, Diana simply is born into great power. From here the film has the character make the choice to intervene, make the choice to do what others say is impossible and attempt to make a difference in a world near the end of the Great War. Along the way the film provides more interesting character dynamics, one specifically placing Diana into the middle of world she knows nothing about. It's a "fish out of a water" moment that is pretty funny but it is also used to introduce Diana to the faults of the world, specifically the struggles of humanity. Another is playing with the issue of saving lives and taking lives, a problem that has plagued comic book heroes and recently brought complaints against Superman due to the ending of "Man of Steel". Diana's goal is to bring peace by any means necessary, this includes the death of lots of people. The film handles this aspect without over emphasizing the gratuitous nature of the violence.

Along for the journey with Diana is a group of men, Steve Trevor continues on the mission but adds a Scottish sharpshooter (Ewan Brenner), an Indian fast talker (Said Taghmaoui), and a Native American scout (Eugene Brave Rock). These characters play an important role individually, but the film never moves away from the emphasis on Diana. In fact, they actually play very good supporting characters that assist in making Diana understand why humanity is worth saving instead of taking control over the heroics in the film. The big superhero moments are all reserved for Wonder Woman.

Gal Gadot plays Diana exceptionally well, she has the charm and attitude to give her character immediate screen presence. Chris Pine is also good, the moments the actor has with Ms. Gadot create great chemistry for the pair with scenes that are both flirtatious and funny. Also making appearances here are Danny Huston who plays a villainous German army leader and Elena Anaya who plays the appropriately named Dr. Poison. As bad guys these characters are space fillers, a necessary evil for good to triumph over. They are never provided much opportunity to threaten Diana or her abilities, which in turn leads to an eventual encounter that holds no risk. It's a problem that plagues superhero origin stories, mainly that it is difficult to find time to compose a equally interesting villain to engage the hero. 

Unfortunately the momentum isn't kept up all the way through, the third act of the film resembles every boring comic book movie finale that has come before it. CGI bad guy flying here, throwing somewhere over there, and blasting lightening bolts in all directions.  There is nothing interesting about it, nothing that displays the lessons learned on the journey made. Instead it's just there to fill time until the ending. 

While the finale may end on a lackluster note, the beginning and middle parts of the film are well executed with the appealing mix of humor, heart, and spectacle. Gal Gadot completely owns the film with a great supporting group of actors to fill in the spaces around her. "Wonder Women" is the best film the DC Extended Universe has to offer so far.

Monte's Rating

3.50 out of 5.00