Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)

Let's get something straight for the record. Birds of Prey, though it serves as a spin-off of the celluloid abortion known as Suicide Squad, is not even close to being as bad as it's predecessor. It's watchable, at least for it's majority. It even has some sort of awareness of how unwanted Suicide Squad is, as it blows off Jared Leto's cringe-inducing Joker rendition by portraying him as an albatross around Harley's neck, and barely a blip on the radar of her own special insanity. As a result, BOP assuredly, though awkwardly, steps out from the rubble as something of its own. Unfortunately for everyone involved, no matter how much they tried to scrub it off, the Suicide Squad stink lingers on. To make matters worse, this film couldn't have premiered at a more inconvenient time. The DC cinematic universe has changed forever with Joker, proving that superhero movies can stir and spellbind the filmgoing public without being flashy and action packed. Joker isn't just good, it's 11 Oscar nominations good. Birds of Prey now just feels irrelevant. Almost as if it was shelved for three years. Hey, it wouldn't have been the first film release of 2020 to feel older (see The New Mutants).

As for the substance, Birds of Prey has something to prove. It wants to be a female Deapool. It's wants to be cartoonish and whip-smart, but woke. It's struggles to be either. Without a doubt, Margot Robbie is the star of the show. She's a lightening rod, and a badass. She was born to play Harley Quinn. Everyone else is just along for the ride, and it shows. The other female fatales are tragically forgettable. I can't even remember all of their names. Girl power is a group effort, and if you can't do that, than just keep Harley as the sole focus of your movie. Not to mention, every character here, besides Harley, is one-dimensional. Most especially, our villain, Black Mask. He's a misogynistic prick. That's it. No depth, no backstory, none of that. He's a cartoon bad guy. Maybe that was the point. But again, for a film so "progressive", it's so stuck in the past. Even as a comedy, it's lopsided. The jokes land, especially when they have to, only to disappear and then reappear unexpectedly. Deadpool worked, because it kept firing jokes at a rapid pace. That's what BOP needed to do. All in all, it's just ok. It really didn't have to be, though. Too bad, puddin'! Three out of Five Stars.