It at all times sucks when one thing that’s fairly good and was clearly properly made simply doesn’t hit the best way it looks as if it ought to’ve. That is significantly true in the case of films; consider a movie you noticed that was surprisingly pleasing and the way it didn’t actually get a good shake for no matter cause.
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 preliminary (and funnier) title, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), the movie’s a little bit of a tangled knot. Chances are you’ll bear in mind it first appeared like a solo automobile for Margot Robbie’s Harley post-Suicide Squad 2016, then someplace alongside the road, it additionally could have grow to be one thing for the favored, often women-starring B-list superhero group, after which ended up being…type of each?
Possibly an odd hybrid is at all times what it was fated to be, for the reason that DCEU had a bizarre air about it post-Joss Whedon’s Justice League, and it appeared Warner Bros. determined to simply 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 most important title character was mid-transformation into an enormous identify solo model in the course of the 2010s. After spending most of her lifetime as Joker’s girlfriend (and generally Poison Ivy’s ahem, roommate), DC determined Harley may begin being her personal particular person outdoors of her paramour’s generally exhausting orbit.
And what makes you end up once more like a breakup? No matter else you’ll be able to 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 method the place Robbie’s giving 110% into being Harley as she comes into her personal whereas warding off a laundry checklist 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 few of the earlier DCEU movies, the primary Suicide Squad film has left a protracted 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 artistic regime. Even Will Smith’s Deadshot has left a mark on Squad-adjacent media, regardless of not having proven up within the films in almost a full decade.
When all’s stated and completed, Robbie’s Harley is essentially the most eternal character of the DCEU, and her casting is arguably up there alongside the late Arleen Sorkin when it comes to her significance to the harlequin’s historical past. Let’s face it, Harley in all probability wouldn’t have her personal ongoing present or characteristic 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 to this point, 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 world 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 common ol’ misogyny at a woman-fronted superhero flick, people had been burned by DC films too many instances, and the primary title would possibly’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 devoted 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 acquired 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 separate the distinction 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 shortage of filmmaker enter on this determination, famously ended his longtime partnership with the corporate and jumped over to Common, the place Oppenheimer grew to become 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 completed films.
In some methods, Birds of Prey was fortunate to hit in 2020 and keep away from a probably worse destiny as WB appeared on the verge of lively collapse. Even so, it’s exhausting 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 properly, you’ll be able to’t assist however need extra of their misadventures. As is, it’s an attention-grabbing cultural artifact due to the way it happened and lived… and in addition an important advert for bodegas and breakfast egg sandwiches.
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