Birds of Prey

[Palanan]

So, is no one talking about this?





On the one hand, it's a spinoff of a spinoff, a movie about a villain's sidekick.

On the other hand, Harley Quinn sans Joker is the better half of that pair. I'm normally not a fan of DC movies, but this could be fun.

[random11]

I'm not surprised they put Harley Quinn in the front of the trailer, being the one of few things good in Suicide Squad, I just hope they remember in the movie itself that there are more characters.
I also hope they remember WHY Harley Quinn was one of the good things there (aside from fan service).

[Rynjin]

I'm lukewarm on the movie. I was actually kind of excited pre-trailers but the insane over-focus on Harley over the other Birds of Prey kind of puts a damper on things. Making a single character the narrative focus in a piece that is meant to be an ensemble picture is just wrong.

[Magic_Hat]

I'm not surprised they put Harley Quinn in the front of the trailer, being the one of few things good in Suicide Squad, I just hope they remember in the movie itself that there are more characters.
I also hope they remember WHY Harley Quinn was one of the good things there (aside from fan service).

Oh boy! Then does this mean it's part of the DCEU or whatever that cinematic universe is called? With Joker I was hoping maybe they would do more stand alone films independent of each other. Guess not. The days of just simply making one film and having it be good are long over. Now every film has to be a small puzzle piece of some large narrative no one cares about.

[Zevox]

Eh, for now whatever interest I thought I could have in the movie was killed by the trailer. Partially I'm sure it's the excessive focus on Harley, who like basically all of the Batman family of characters I'm not a big fan of, but there's also just nothing else about it that was catching my attention either. Literally the only other character in it that I might recognize is the woman with the crossbow, whom I assume is Huntress even though she looks quite different from the only version of the character I've seen before (from Justice League Unlimited), and she does nothing. But beyond that, even the tone and style of it just doesn't strike me as particularly fun, or like something I'd enjoy watching in general.

I don't know, it's just a trailer, so I shouldn't judge it too harshly I guess - even for movies I end up loving the trailers often do nothing for me, such as with Endgame. Maybe future trailers or word of mouth when it releases will change my mind. But well, DC's overall track record still isn't great, even if Shazam was a distinct improvement over what came before, so I'm still more inclined towards skepticism than not by default with them.

[Mechalich]

I'm lukewarm on the movie. I was actually kind of excited pre-trailers but the insane over-focus on Harley over the other Birds of Prey kind of puts a damper on things. Making a single character the narrative focus in a piece that is meant to be an ensemble picture is just wrong.

It's completely unclear how much of that is marketing versus the actual movie. Harley Quinn, and specifically the Margot Robbie version of Harley Quinn, is vastly more famous than any of the other characters in the lineup. Outside of dedicated comics or DC CW fans no one knows who Huntress, Black Canary, or Black Mask actually are. Personally, I find the presence of Ewan McGregor as the villain to be particularly encouraging. DC has struggled with villains (even in their better movies that particular area has been rather lackluster), but McGregor's very talented and also knows how to handle this kind of film. So we can hope the marketing has been stilted a bit.

[Wraith]

I think I agree with the consensus of what has been said so far.

Making the trailer into "The Harley Quinn Show" is both a smart and unfortunate move - Margot Robbie was the best part of Suicide Squad so it's a really strong way to tie the movie in.... But Suicide Squad wasn't very good, so tying Birds of Prey so directly to it is going to cause inevitable unpleasant comparisons.

I thought Suicide Squad was merely 'okay', due to having an interesting premise and some very good actors, but also had several big problems which spoiled everything else. I expect Birds of Prey to be similar, to be honest.

Admittedly the movie isn't aimed at me - I personally am 'over' the Harley Quinn hype. Like Deadpool, which was a decent movie, she's been everywhere since and I'm finding the promise of 2 more hours of her to be exhausting.
If that's just a dishonest trailer and Huntress and Black Canary get a decent amount of screen time, that would be great to see. Euan McGregor is always a pleasure to watch and I'm glad to see him.

I think I'll wait for more reviews before I rush to full judgement, but the prospect of 2 hours of lolrandom humour and silly costumes from Harley? I can't say that I'm eager to see it.

[Traab]

Eh, for now whatever interest I thought I could have in the movie was killed by the trailer. Partially I'm sure it's the excessive focus on Harley, who like basically all of the Batman family of characters I'm not a big fan of, but there's also just nothing else about it that was catching my attention either. Literally the only other character in it that I might recognize is the woman with the crossbow, whom I assume is Huntress even though she looks quite different from the only version of the character I've seen before (from Justice League Unlimited), and she does nothing. But beyond that, even the tone and style of it just doesn't strike me as particularly fun, or like something I'd enjoy watching in general.

I don't know, it's just a trailer, so I shouldn't judge it too harshly I guess - even for movies I end up loving the trailers often do nothing for me, such as with Endgame. Maybe future trailers or word of mouth when it releases will change my mind. But well, DC's overall track record still isn't great, even if Shazam was a distinct improvement over what came before, so I'm still more inclined towards skepticism than not by default with them.

I only spotted canary due to the vibrating wineglass in that one scene. Yeah, huntress was the only one to stand out even a little. When your trailer makes it look like harley formed the birds of prey out of random tourists she grabbed from a nearby bus trip and thus unimportant, its a bad sign.

[Magic_Hat]

I think I agree with the consensus of what has been said so far.

Even me?

Admittedly the movie isn't aimed at me - I personally am 'over' the Harley Quinn hype. Like Deadpool, which was a decent movie, she's been everywhere since and I'm finding the promise of 2 more hours of her to be exhausting.

Them's fightin' words!

[Wraith]

Even me?

In that it's not significant or important in the 'bigger picture'? And that it's tied itself to a franchise that wasn't very good to begin with and will therefore probably suffer a result? Sure.
I'm not saying we don't need Margot Robbie to be Harley Quinn any more, I like her just fine, but having it follow directly on from Suicide Squad has very much sucked out my excitement compared to what it could be.

Them's fightin' words!

My favourite comic book movie is Dredd, followed by Ant-Man. I am not a credible source, nor am I a role-model for good taste and high culture, and I have never claimed to be otherwise. Nonetheless, I stand by that statement - it was decent. As in, "just okay" rather than "good". Come at me, bro.

[JoshL]

This might be a fun movie. I do like Harley, though I will always be partial to the animated series version. However, I think I would be more excited about it if it was Birds of Prey 2. Sort of how almost every X-men movie turned into the Wolverine show, Harley is a character that can easily be overused, and it should be about, you know, the Birds of Prey. On the other hand, Black Mask and Victor Zsasz are two of my favorite batman villains, so I'll probably watch it.

[Magic_Hat]

In that it's not significant or important in the 'bigger picture'?

What is the "bigger picture"? Creating a ridiculously huge movie series where each film is forgettable and only serves to hype up the next "big" film that is itself forgettable and again only serves to hype up the next "big" film like a destructive mobius strip wiping out all art and creativity from our world?

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but with a whimper

[random11]

I think the best option is to take the same character (actress and playing style), but not waste time explaining if it was before or after suicide squad, how she escaped, or mentioning it at all.

[Magic_Hat]

I think the best option is to take the same character (actress and playing style), but not waste time explaining if it was before or after suicide squad, how she escaped, or mentioning it at all.

Like what for Marvel with the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 3?

[random11]

Like what for Marvel with the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 3?

I honestly don't remember what they did there, but my answer to any valid comparison will be "sure, why not".

Of course it doesn't guarantee a good movie, but it gives it a better chance since it doesn't need to waste time connecting it to another movie.
It also has an advantage of being a spinoff and not the main lead characters of the cinematic universe.

There will always be people complaining about why it doesn't fit the timeline of movie X, or how it contradicts the ending of movie Y, that's unavoidable in big franchises.
But if the movie is good on its own then these problems will be classified as nitpicks and mostly ignored.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by random11
I think the best option is to take the same character (actress and playing style), but not waste time explaining if it was before or after suicide squad, how she escaped, or mentioning it at all.

Not mentioning Suicide Squad is always the better option.

As for timeline, it seems this is most likely a direct sequel, since she mentions she's broken up with the Joker.

[Traab]

Not mentioning Suicide Squad is always the better option.

As for timeline, it seems this is most likely a direct sequel, since she mentions she's broken up with the Joker.

It probably is but she has tried to leave the joker more than once.

[Magic_Hat]

My favourite comic book movie is Dredd

Oh, that's a good movie!

...followed by Ant-Man.

How do you have that film ranked higher than the Dark Knight and Logan?

Anyway have fun with with the DCEU or whatever it's called. Someone contact me when Mr. Myxlplyx or Bat Mite appears in one of these films.

[Wraith]

How do you have that film ranked higher than the Dark Knight and Logan?

The Dark Knight is undoubtedly one of the best comic books movies ever made, in terms of art and prestige and all the rest of it. It's superior to Ant-Man in every way except humour, and I say that being a big fan of dark, cynical humour.

But I *like* Ant-Man more. Fight me.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Wraith
But I *like* Ant-Man more. Fight me.

You know, I’m with you on this one.

I’m generally not a fan of DC movies, and the Batman movies in particular take themselves very, very seriously.

Ant-Man had a climactic fight sequence on Thomas the Train. Now there’s a movie with no pretensions whatsoever. I just like that.

[Deja Who?]

I can't flipping believe they're leaving Oracle out of the Birds of Prey movie.

[Bartmanhomer]

I'll watch that movie when it comes out. Who knows it made turn out to be a good movie.

[Traab]

I can't flipping believe they're leaving Oracle out of the Birds of Prey movie.

Maybe they just dont want to try and cover the somewhat involved path that took barbara gorden from batgirl to oracle without giving her a movie of her own? I mean they COULD but trying to do that is how you end up with original suicide squad. A nice 30 second backstory info dump then move on to the other six characters that need to be introduced in the same way.

[Dienekes]

Eh. Just saw the trailer. Gonna miss it myself.

I have issues with using Harley sidekick to a serial killer followed by a genocidal maniac Quinn as a symbol of empowerment. And nothing from the trailer looked like it was going to take a more nuanced look at her beyond hot girl is badass.