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“If you want boys to respect you, show them you’re serious. Shoot something, blow it up!”
This one has been a LONG TIME coming Forrest Miller, Conan Neutron, J. Andrew World and Harley Quinn stand-in Kristina Oakes are joined by Mckenzie Wilkes of the Austin Danger Podcast and the Criterion Connection. We are talking about Birds of Prey! or Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) if you aren’t into that whole brevity thing.
Cathy Yan doesn’t get enough credit for making one of the most exciting, creative, fun, filled with heart, well-done comic book films of the last 20 years. Folks also do not give credit to how FUNNY this is, bright colors, unreliable narrator narration and at the heart of it a good story about autonomy, codependence and overcoming toxic relationships that never forgets that the first job is to entertain. So many films try *SO HARD* to be important, that isn’t Birds of Prey, it’s just bright color, wacky entertainment that gets real *JUST ENOUGH* for the right kind of person.
We opine and agree that smaller scale stories like this are real opportunities for unique characters to shine and to get a filmgoing experience that isn’t just a loud and noisy blockbuster. Such as the clearly Neurodivergent (but also brilliant!) titular character of this film. The directorial choices like each person who hates her being introduced with a “Name/Grievance” graphic, excellent stuff.
Also wanting a Bacon Egg and Cheese? Relatable.
To be clear, this shares more DNA with Deadpool than with most of the DCU, but is a breath of fresh air for the same reason. Comic book stories for adults being told with an R Rating. It’s wonderful that “trying anything” also includes letting a younger female director give something like this a go, because it works.
Fabulous queer-coded villains, incredible badass ladies.
Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis/Black Mask is absolutely delightful, just eating it up, funny but not falling into quippy tropes. Definitely one is reminded me of his dual roles in Fargo.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is such a consistently good player in all she does, it is shocking she doesn’t have a bigger career. And Margot… Margot Robbie. What a treasure! Without Birds of Prey (and then the Suicide Squad) we do NOT get Barbie. it’s like seeing Margot Robbie with her version of the Comedy/Tragedy masks.
Leaning into the whole like hyper-pop comic stylization angle makes this really work and the
amazing fight choreography in this helps. The Fun house fight scene!
All in all, a good and deeply entertaining movie that is very funny and other than THE SUICIDE SQUAD, perhaps one of TWO really good ones for the mostly dismal, confused and desperate DCU so far. Would have been a banger to see in a packed theater, it is a shame that it got lost in the COVID direct to streaming era because it’s better than most folks give it credit.
DC might not be doing great when it comes to regular Superhero Films (apart from Batman stuff) but they same to have “morally ambiguous Villain/Anti-Hero” route down better than the MCU does.
