Category: Comic Book Movies

Here we go again folks, Memorial Day weekend has made me bold and here is another review of yet another thing that some people might call a “movie”

Wow, just wow what a shit show that was.  Let’s see what we have here

1. Gratuitous violence
2. Non-sensical plot
3. loosely based on original characters.

Just about what I expected from this movie really.  No wonder Warner Bros renamed the movie towards the end of its run, though I don’t think it really stuck.  The IMDB entry still has it at its original title “Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn”  That should tell you a lot bout this movie right there.

This is a live-action cartoon if that makes any sense.   All kinds of breaking of the 4th wall (I always get a kick out of that if its done right), funny drawings etc.  

What it got right:

1. Harley Quinn- No doubt about it, Margot Robbie has that character down.  Just like Hugh Jackman was born to play Wolverine, she has captured the essence of the character to the point that I can’t imagine anyone else doing it.  Now mind you I don’t get why this character is so popular, as anyone that knows me enough knows I am not fond of glorifying super-villains.  Yes Harley Quinn is a super-villain in case you forgot, no matter how you dress her up; she is a stone-cold killer just like the Joker and that shouldn’t be celebrated.
2. Roman Sionis\Black Mask – Ewan McGregor’s overacting aside, Black Mask is an evil son of a bitch just like the rest of them.   Really old spoilers, this character killed himself a kid sidekick just like the Joker killed Jason Todd back in the day.  

What the movie got wrong, in my opinion:

1. Renee Montoya – This was incredibly maddening to me to say the least since this is one of my favorite characters.  At her least, Renee is a top-notch cop, at her greatest, she was the 2nd Question by Greg Rucka’s hand and in this movie she was kind of a half-assed joke.  Sad really
2. Cassandra Cain – Once again, one of my favorite characters.  In the comics, Cassandra is one of the greatest martial artists in the DC Universe.  Someone that could stand up to Batman in hand to hand combat.  the 2nd Batgirl later called Orphan after a reboot or two.  A serious bad-ass and one of the most original characters to appear in the Batman mythos in years reduced to a punk kid pickpocket in the movie.  Seriously disappointing.
3. Huntress – This one is probably the closest of them all.  The origin is down, but they made the lady kind of an idiot it was sad to watch
4. Black Canary – Also close, but no cigar  This is obviously taken from the failed reboot of the character where she ran around as a singer in a band.  I read one issue of that and hated it.    Still she could kick ass she had powers like the comics, so there is that.  Nowhere near the world-class martial artist that she was in the comics or in other TV shows she has been shown in.

So bottom line, it didn’t fill me with hate as the Joker did, I just didn’t care for it all.  A total waste of time and money in my opinion.  I can see why WB is going to spend so much on the Synder Cut

For me however, when I think of the Birds of Prey, this is what I think about. 

I guess I should be glad that they didn’t have a half-ass, Barbara Gordon in the movie too.

Maybe WB should stop making comic book movies altogether and save us the trouble.

I am going to go on a bit of a rambling rant here, and there is probably going to be spoilers and bad language sprinkled about so you are warned.

When I first heard that movie was being made I knew that this was the kind of bullshit I was going to see and I had made a decision that I was going to refuse to watch it out of general principle just like I do any movie with Adam Sandler or Will Ferrel. I wish I had stuck to my guns on that, but curiosity and all the praise and awards it received got the better of me.

I have never liked comics that feature a villain without a hero, and I certainly hate movies that take comic book concepts like this one and bastardizes things from the comics to where they are only a pale comparison of the source material.

Not since the movie Event Horizon have I been so angry that a movie existed after watching it. A movie so disturbing that it makes me question the sanity of everyone involved in making it. Why the fuck would anyone want to make a movie like this?

I am angry that I watched it. So angry and disturbed by it that it took me a while to get to sleep after I watched it. So angry and disturbed by it that I woke up several times in the middle of the night (to go pee actually, because I am old) remembering how disturbing it was.

I am angry that I was so disturbed by the events of the film that I couldn’t enjoy Joaquin Phoenix’s acting. The man is a brilliant actor, but the movie got in the way of it

I am angry about the 8 shots from the 6 shot gun. Angry that I was glad that those shots were used to kill those assholes on the subway.

I am angry about the scenes with the “Bruce Wayne” character and the implied violence on an innocent woman and her child.

I am angry that the trope that it might just all be in Arthur Fleck’s head and none of it happened at all. I read that online somewhere trying to figure out if I was right about the 8 shot gun, and I might not have thought that otherwise.

I am angry that this movie is so celebrated by some and was nominated for so many awards, and won the ones that it did. I have always thought that movies are the highest form of art and this movie is a stain on the art form.

Of course, this is just my opinion. Ever since I worked in movie theaters in college I have always thought movie critics didn’t know what the fuck they were talking about. they have their opinions and I have mine.

With this in mind this movie has taken the place of Event Horizon of my most hated movie. The only positive thing to come out of watching this is that I was so disturbed and angry from the experience is I am finally breaking a long dry spell of not being able to write because I felt compelled to get my feelings about this horrible film out of my system. So there’s that