copyrightBirds of Prey Review Margot Robbie repeats in one of the best roles that DC has left us in recent years
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If birds of prey were to be defined simply (and the fabulous emancipation of Harley Quinn), it would be the opposite pole to Todd Philips' Joker. Yes, we knew that the Oscar-nominated film for Best Film is totally independent within that Worlds of DC Cinematic Universe that Warner Bros is building and this is a sequel to the so vilified Suicide Squad (that of David Yesterday, that of James Gunn it is not yet known very well nor what it is
Judging by the trailers, anyone who is waiting to know what happened to Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) will already know very well that the film directed by Cathy Yan is a festival of colorines, eccentric costumes and glitter. In essence, we are facing a reimagining of the homonymous group of DC Comics, which has generally been led by Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress. Here Batgirl only has her real name Cassandra Cain (we'll see in the future) and the undisputed leader (improvised) is the former Joker.
Precisely from the rupture of this toxic relationship certified in Ace Chemicals the whole plot arises. It is a good way for DC Films to get rid of Jared Leto's Joker, who will not continue to be part of future projects and that only appears (and not even face) with a flashback taken from Suicide Squad. Now Harley Quinn is no longer the Princess Payasa of Crime, she has lost all protection she had among the mafia circle that respected her and is in the eye of the hurricane for all those she has wronged.
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One of the hallmarks will be Harley Quinn's resource as a narrator. To a certain extent, the same Deadpool effect is attempted, with some attempts to break the fourth wall included. Obviously, Harley Quinn is the star, getting to reconcile a little with those who love their aesthetics in the comic by introducing the skates and the mallet that were missing in Suicide Squad. The role played by Margott Robbie is the little that was saved from the burning of its premiere in DC, so that all the weight is given to her despite the fact that she teams up with Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Forget about coral cast.
Of course, if a villain comes out, another comes into play (and we already know of the particular Game of Thrones of gangsters in Gotham). Now Black Mask / Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) and his right hand Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina) control the cotarro. Of course, we will not find a representation too faithful to their comics counterparts. Yes, Sionis still wears a black mask in about 1% of the time on the screen he has and Zsasz cuts himself all over the body every time he gets a victim, but there it ends all coincidence, to the point of looking like simple cartoons that They have not been taken seriously for this production (and it is a shame).
For this film it has been decided to erase all traces of fearfulness and Zacksnyderian dark tone. On this occasion the dynamic between master and servant is histrionic, dawning, brushing the line that seems to have even a romantic relationship (which would be even worse than Joker / Harley's). The third in this obsessive-compulsive triangle is Dinah Lance, the name of who ends up being the new Black Canary. Singer of the club of Sionis, ends up having to be his sidekick by obligation, although his morality does not agree with it.
When deciding who the best characters are, we find Robbie Harley Quinn's sure bet, for the weight given to the character and how it shows a new face of independent leader. However, if we were to stay with a revelation character, it would be Jurnee Smollett-Bell. The adorable Denise Frazer of Forced Parents had not had a role with such exposure in adulthood, just a few television appearances in series such as True Blood, The Defenders or Grey's Anatomy (and will be the main protagonist of the next Lovecraft Country). It's great. Perhaps it stands out for being the second with more time on screen and for being the most settled in reality in the midst of this cocktail of madness, trauma, alcoholism and estrogen.
Obviously, one of the messages that the tape tries to contribute is an empowering one. Few groups of antiheroines (which is what these 5 really are) or superheroines we have seen adapted to the cinema, where still, despite the resurgence in recent years, we have to settle for applauding a specific scene of Avengers: Endgame as the closest We've had of it. In this sense, Birds of Prey fulfills its objective. The group of women is great, being convincing in their salvation after being persecuted by the thugs of the villain on duty, demonstrating combat arts of the most diverse.
If you remember, Chad Stahelski, director of John Wick and former stuntman was hired to supervise and direct the action scenes of the film, which Cathy Yan already used to provide the tone and scenery. The mix of scenes with camera angles and Stahelski's good work give rise to very spectacular fighting and persecution from the visual point of view, without falling into the excessive use of CGI that ends up abhorring as in Batman v Superman or Justice League . We do not know how they were at first, but of course their final finish is 100% satisfactory, knowing how to get the most out of each of their abilities.
Pros
Harley Quinn as narrator is sometimes thunderous.
Jurnee Smollet-Bell, the great revelation.
Light and with good rhythm.
Cons
Cartoons of two villains like Black Mask and Zsasz.
The cast is nothing coral and Quinn ends up overshadowing others, especially the Black Canary.
The verdict
Although it might seem that it was going to be a complete disaster because of its poor fit with the rest of the tone of the Worlds of DC Cinematic Universe, this Joker pole opposite Todd Philips manages to surprise and entertain in a film of duration like those of yesteryear , which passes quickly and, despite the detours of Harley Quinn as a narrator, is quite straightforward in a plot not original theft to the villain looking for the jewel.
The action scenes supervised by Stahelski know how to make the most of the strengths of the different combat styles of each of the components of this peculiar group that we will see if it has continuity, since only Harley Quinn has a guaranteed presence in the future of DC .