Harley Quinn Dumps Joker for Deadpool's Fourth Wall

Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was easily the best thing, if not the only good thing, to come out of the atrocious "Suicide Squad" (2016), so "Birds of Prey" is bound to be better merely by subtraction of everything else from that movie, including her breakup with the unseen Joker. Although both pictures spend considerable time on establishing new characters, "Birds of Prey" does a better job of it than the ridiculous, video-game-like expository freeze frames of "Suicide Squad." Robbie is a blast in the role again, and the action scenes are fun. Neverthless, it does rehash a familiar formula from another superhero series, that of "Deadpool," and hardly diverges from the usual superhero fare despite the promise of "emancipation," let alone the fine-to-pop-art inspired drawings for the poster and credits, and the novelty of an all-female team of warriors. Any feminist message seems flippant, given that the plot revolves around the women chasing after a diamond--and even that is reminiscent of another all-female team, with the jewelry heist of "Ocean's Eight" (2018). But, hey, they usually don't release supposedly-serious superhero flicks in February; as long as you're not expecting anything more than an amusement-park ride or junk food--both of which literally occupy conspicuous space within the movie, with Quinn's quest to eat a breakfast sandwich and the climactic battle in a funhouse--"Birds of Prey" is readily consumed and amusing.

Albeit, It's tiresome how much the same these comic-book moving pictures are, but it's to be expected given the amounts of money poured into the genre and the great number of them being produced. Another female-led iteration, "Captain Marvel" (2019) cobbled together pieces from the origin stories of Iron Man and Captain America, for instance, along with the retro humor of "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014). "Wonder Woman" (2017) was something different--until its generic third act. And, it's the same with the men, too. "Shazam!" (2019) remains DC's most mimetic movie to date of the MCU formula. Few films are truly original, though, so I appreciate when, at least, filmmakers copy from good movies. In "Birds of Prey," we get the fourth-wall-breaking winking at the camera and direct address to the audience from "Deadpool" (2016), along with that narrator (in this case, Quinn) rearranging the plot while she's telling the story. Less original still, we get another character with a generic gangster revenge quest and a hardboiled detective that's so hackneyed that other characters point out how hackneyed it is within the movie. Ewan McGregor hangs around in a nightclub again with a perfomer who sings better than him, à la "Moulin Rouge!" (2001). Robbie even fights and skates to the same song, "Barracuda," she also did both to in a montage from "I, Tonya" (2017). As well, there's a more direct reference made regarding the diamond plot to "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953), as Quinn imagines herself in Marilyn Monroe's part after being knocked around at one point.

That Robbie's Quinn doesn't take things seriously and just enjoys herself helps--encouraging the spectator to do likewise. The fight choreography and editing isn't bad, either, although I believe I heard the sound-effects department getting too carried away with some noises merely for kicks and twirls regardless of whether they hit anything. An R rating allows for more carefree and violent fun, as well as a cocaine-enhanced fight sequence involving Quinn--although, it could've and arguably should've gone ever further. Plus, this is a gal who spends more screentime consuming alcohol than she does eating, and when she does have food, it tends to be junk such as sugary cereal and that elusive fatty sandwich. Placing the climax in an amusement park, too, besides being congruent with Quinn and Joker's clownish backstories, is an apt metaphor for the picture at large. "Birds of Prey" reflexively knows what it is and gives fans what they expect.