After missing the mark with a team up film, DC has just released an anti-superhero female lead squad that doesn't quite hit the mark at the box offices but scores big in the reviews. Prior to this films release, critics and fans alike were worried that Harley Quinn and team weren't going to live up to the newly high solo film standards set forth by Aquaman (directed by James Wan) and Wonder Woman (directed by Patty Jenkins). Projected to only gain somewhere north of forty (40) to fifty (50) million dollars once opening weekend concludes, the studio saw this as a huge opportunity if it fails to garner its budget back. Birds of Prey features the return of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn in the aftermath of 2016's Suicide Squad that sets ups an adventure that will revel DC films that come before it (recent films, non-Christopher Nolan). She is not alone in any of this. Quinn is joins forces with Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya in order to save a young girl from the likes of Black Mask and his evil underworld crime syndicate. Quinn will never forgive Joker for what he has done to her, so she Emancipates herself from him. Soon she will realize that everyone is gunning for her now that she isn't under Joker's protection. Quinn V. Gotham As we [Audience] are taken on this wild, out of control and destructive ride, the film itself does fall short on making this film perfect. Following Harley Quinn's actions to that announces to the world that she is no longer with Joker, every criminal her or Joker disrespected in anyway, seeks her out for revenge. This feels like the film is going in a different directions in a way, this doesn't feel like a typical DC film. Cathy Yan directs a DC film that puts us right on the streets of Gotham, following our protagonist and antagonist to one final battle that doesn't disappoint. Taking the chains off of Harley Quinn and removing the Joker from this film might as well be an adrenaline shot to the arm. As the film carries on, the writer feels like it needs to take you on a Tarantino style ride in order to catch you up the rests of the film. It really feels much like a Deadpool film (4th wall breaking and colorful language), but with a DC twist to it. Overall the writing for this film is pretty good, it drags on way to long and some scene's feel rushed (in the moment). As for the backstory of these characters, it might be the first time we get a strong and descent story for these well-known comic book characters. Christina Hodson brings out each backstory of the Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya to quickly mix with Harley Quinn's issues together. Quinn plays very well with Canary and Montoya but really falls short on her play with Huntress. Overall, the Huntress seemed kind of shoehorned into this film as just another character with a normal revenge background that DC loves to mess up more times than none. Slumming it at the Box Office Despite a great film, Harley and team couldn't break any box office records nor break the project numbers the DC was hoping for. Birds of Prey is far from a bomb of a movie nor is it a major hit from DC. With all the internet unloading all its negativity about this film, it is much needed film for the DC cannon in the current plans of the DCCU. Birds of Prey tells a great action story; however, with all the marketing and strategy that DC throw out, fans just didn't pile to theaters to see this film (like a Marvel film). As of this writing (March 2020), Worldwide gross is 189 million dollars with the majority of this from international gross. DC was not very happy with this out come at all. They thought with a known face and character, with a Rated R rating, they could capture lightning in a bottle, just like what Deadpool did for Fox/Marvel. They were wrong! Only making a little more than double their filming budget ($84.5 Million) [not including marketing], making this the worst opening since 2010's DC adaptation of Jonah Hex. Birds of Prey is a good movie, its exactly the kind of unconventional offering that DC should be producing and it’s what the internet claims it wants from Hollywood in a commercially viable DC/Marvel Package going forward. Birds of Prey name changed? During the Birds of Prey run, the internet was in a tail spin of rumors that DC and its production company was forced to change the Birds of Prey movie title to "Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey." This is completely false. The Studios nor the DC Company itself changed the name. Theater chains like AMC Theater, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark changed the title of the film to drive ticket sales after the opening weekend disappointment. According to Online ticket-seller Atom Tickets Alisha Grauso states that the title change is "apparently for display/search purposes only for vendors and theaters and not an official title change from the studios." They did this to increase ticket sales for this film and easy to find film for audience to come and see. In Conclusion Overall, Birds of Prey, is a pretty good film that a DC fan should see no matter what. With a good story that centers around Harley Quinn and her DC friends taking on a great villain in Ewan McGregor's Roman "Black Mask" Sionis and his evil organization. Despite some draw backs, much like some DC films, the fans and audience a lot came out and gave this film a 78% Certificated Fresh from Rotten tomatoes. Even though, the overall gross of this film isn't a major hit, it does give fans what they really want in the DCCU, a comic book film from pages to screen that fits well in the DCCU cannon. In our opinion, some characters like Huntress should've been replaced with Catwoman or even poison ivy and give them more development time in this film, would have been better. Whether you are a DC fan or not, this film is a must see for a fun filled adventure with popular secondary characters that grow up in the shadows of The Dark Knight and Man of Steel that would spark the fire for future films to come (connected or not). IMDB Rating: 6.6 of 10.0 stars https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7713068/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 Rotten Tomatoes: 78% Certified Fresh https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/birds_of_prey_2020 Roger Ebert (Rogerebert.com) Review: 3 out of 4 stars https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/birds-of-prey-and-the-fantabulous-emancipation-of-one-harley-quinn-movie-review-2020 Birds of Prey Trailer: |
Brandon
Films have been in my blood coming into the new millennium. As a little kid, I was always fascinated about films and how they came to be. Inside the last decade, I turned my attention to reviewing these films, for the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Archives
March 2020
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