Birds of Prey

[osprey_archer]

I have gotten waaaaay behind on movie reviews; I watched Birds of Prey all the way back in May, but it has languished in review limbo ever since.

Partly this is because I was distracted by current events, but partly it was also because everyone else loved this movie and… I didn’t like it that much. I think I’ve just reached my limit on anti-hero stories.

Harley keeps meeting up with people that she’s wronged, and by the time we got to the guy with the clown make-up she goaded the Joker into tattooing on his face, I was like, “That’s pretty awful, I am actually super on board with the idea that someone needs to stop Harley Quinn. Probably not the clown make-up guy with his chainsaw, and probably not Gotham PD because they are clearly worthless, but… someone?? If only this canon had some kind of kind-hearted cape-wearing vigilante who would… oh. OH.”

But of course “someone needs to stop Harley Quinn” is emphatically not the point of this movie, and it’s not much fun to watch if that’s what you’re thinking every time we find out about Harley breaking another guy’s knees for funzies.

Comments

[ancientreader]

Spouse and I noped out of this movie during an early torture sequence (family hanging upside down, man's face ... you probably remember). It wasn't fun OTT comic-book violence; it was just pointless cruelty and we both hated it.

[missroserose]

Yeah, I dunno. This one didn't resonate with me either. I get that Harley's meant to be a reaction to the world around her, and God knows Gotham City isn't intended as a wholesome and happy environment, but...well, maybe that was my problem with the whole thing. Fun girl-power moments ring pretty hollow when you live in a world so sapped of kindness or basic humanity.

[osprey_archer]

I'm glad I'm not the only one. The online response that I saw was so rapturous that I felt like a fun-monster when I watched the thing and I was like "I can tell this is a well-made example of the thing that this is, but I'm not really enjoying that thing."

[osprey_archer]

Yeah! I was watching that part and I was like "Everyone promised me a fun girl power superhero romp and this seems... not like that...?"