Birds of Prey Deserved Its Full, Chaotic 15 Minutes of Fame

It at all times sucks when one thing that’s fairly good and was clearly nicely made simply doesn’t hit the best way it looks as if it ought to’ve. That is significantly true on the subject of films; consider a movie you noticed that was surprisingly gratifying and the way it didn’t actually get a good shake for no matter purpose.

Loads of examples come to thoughts for me, however one of many first is Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. Initially launched on February 7, 2020 below its initial (and funnier) title, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), the movie’s a little bit of a tangled knot. It’s possible you’ll bear in mind it first appeared like a solo vehicle for Margot Robbie’s Harley post-Suicide Squad 2016, then someplace alongside the road, it additionally may have grow to be one thing for the favored, usually women-starring B-list superhero group, after which ended up being…type of each?

Perhaps an odd hybrid is at all times what it was fated to be, because the DCEU had a bizarre air about it post-Joss Whedon’s Justice League, and it appeared Warner Bros. determined to only let these films do their very own factor. Aquaman and the unique Shazam are clear examples of that freedom, however they got here with much less substantial baggage than Harley, whose major title character was mid-transformation into a giant title solo model in the course of the 2010s. After spending most of her lifetime as Joker’s girlfriend (and typically Poison Ivy’s ahem, roommate), DC determined Harley might begin being her personal individual outdoors of her paramour’s typically exhausting orbit.

And what makes you end up once more like a breakup? No matter else you may say about Birds of Prey, it’s clearly having a ball letting Harley grieve, then recover from her fairly explosive break up with Joker. There’ve been loads of franchise films that’ve functioned as tender reboots, however not fairly on this means the place Robbie’s giving 110% into being Harley as she comes into her personal whereas keeping off a laundry listing of individuals she pissed off below her ex’s safety and at the moment are seeking to settle some scores. For as a lot as WB has tried to distance itself from a number of the earlier DCEU movies, the primary Suicide Squad film has left an extended shadow casting-wise, with Robbie and fellow co-stars Viola Davis and Joel Kinnaman getting to stay round longer than most stars below James Gunn’s new inventive regime. Even Will Smith’s Deadshot has left a mark on Squad-adjacent media, regardless of not having proven up within the films in practically a full decade.

When all’s mentioned and executed, Robbie’s Harley is probably the most eternal character of the DCEU, and her casting is arguably up there alongside the late Arleen Sorkin by way of her significance to the harlequin’s historical past. Let’s face it, Harley most likely wouldn’t have her personal ongoing show or function prominently in a number of main video video games if not for her live-action outings.

However good onscreen presence and chemistry with an equally good solid can solely take you up to now, and in Birds of Prey’s case, it didn’t go far. The movie was launched shortly after the covid-19 pandemic was declared a global public emergency, which left film theaters and studios scrambling to determine what to do. WB opted to place the movie on VOD a month after launch, however the movie was broken even earlier than that: together with normal ol’ misogyny at a woman-fronted superhero flick, people had been burned by DC films too many instances, and the first title may’ve been a bit a lot. Worse, it landed simply forward of Sonic the Hedgehog, which gained audiences over as soon as its on-line fanbase bullied the filmmakers right into a extra trustworthy redesign. Issues weren’t precisely in its favor, which is one thing of a pattern with each handful of superhero films this decade—for each The Batman or Deadpool & Wolverine, there’s two or three Blue Beetles or The Marvels that received burned by universe (or its personal style’s) troubles.

The preliminary days of the pandemic broke the film system, and that ache continues to be felt, even now. After Birds, WB opted to split the difference by giving its films simultaneous releases in theaters and its then-new streaming service HBO Max. Whereas comprehensible on the time, and gave films like Surprise Girl 1984 and the 2021 Mortal Kombat some streaming bragging rights, it additionally pissed off a number of filmmakers. Christopher Nolan, dissatisfied with the dearth of filmmaker enter on this choice, famously ended his longtime partnership with the corporate and jumped over to Common, the place Oppenheimer turned a field workplace success and anticipation builds for his tackle The Odyssey in 2026. Audiences have returned to theaters in recent times, however studios nonetheless play some underhanded methods, like insultingly quick (and underpromoted) theatrical home windows or canceling already finished movies.

In some methods, Birds of Prey was fortunate to hit in 2020 and keep away from a doubtlessly worse destiny as WB appeared on the verge of lively collapse. Even so, it’s onerous to not need higher for it—its gleefully violent power stays as enjoyable now because it did then, and its characters all bounce off one another so nicely, you may’t assist however need extra of their misadventures. As is, it’s an fascinating cultural artifact due to the way it happened and lived… and in addition a terrific advert for bodegas and breakfast egg sandwiches.

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