To say that the production of the DCEU has been contentious would be an understatement. While Man of Steel was clearly intended to capitalize on the success of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, which featured a darker tone and more ambitious themes, director Zack Snyder clearly didn’t have the nuance that had made the Batman reboot such a success. The later films in the universe continued to disappoint both fans and critics, with 2016’s Suicide Squad singled out as a particularly low point.
However, the film did gain nearly unanimous praise for the casting of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Most audiences agreed that even if they weren’t fans of Suicide Squad, they were interested in future installments featuring Robbie. Thankfully, Warner Bros. recognized the star power that had with Robbie and developed the standalone spinoff film Birds of Prey, which was initially subtitled and the Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn.
With Dead Pigs director Cathy Yan at the helm, Birds of Prey was set in the aftermath of Suicide Squad where Harley has broken up with the Joker (Jared Leto). The film explores Harley’s friendship with a new group of women anti-heroes, including Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Dinah Lance/Black Canary (Jurnee Smollet-Bell), the Gotham City police officer Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), and the young pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Ewan McGregor co-starred as the infamous Batman villain Roman Sionis, also known as “Black Mask.” Despite low box office turnout (as the film was released right at the beginning of COVID-19 related shutdowns), Birds of Prey stands as the strongest film in the DCEU thus far.
R-Rated Action and Humor
While Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League received subsequent R-rated director’s cuts upon re-release, both films were initially theatrically distributed with PG-13 ratings. This set a confusing tone for the DCEU, as it was clear that they were intended for a more adult audience; the edits required to tone down the R-rated content made both films more confusing. However, Birds of Prey was unafraid to tackle an R-rating after the success of Deadpool, Logan, and Joker. The film proudly embraced its older viewers with ridiculously graphic violence, crude sexual jokes, and frequent crass language. While some may have felt that this was too drastic of a tonal shift, it fit perfectly for such a zany character like Harley.
Considering her background in horror films, Yan was the perfect filmmaker to take on the film’s mix of violence and action. The excellent choreography created more grounded, small scale fight scenes that featured intimate hand-to-hand combat. If the success of the John Wick and Mission: Impossible franchises had proven anything, it’s that audiences appreciate practical stunt work. The brutal R-rated fight scenes between the newly formed “Birds of Prey” and Black Mask’s criminal gang were much more enthralling than the CGI-ladden destruction of Metropolis in Man of Steel. The freedom to include more crass language also made the film funnier; similar to Deadpool, Birds of Prey allowed Harley to break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience, lampooning cliches in the comic book genre. Her comments about the Joker were particularly amusing considering that many viewers were not fans of Leto’s interpretation of the character in Suicide Squad.
The Most Engaging Characters
Harley Quinn is one of the most legendary characters in the history of the DC Universe. Many fans view Batman: The Animated Series as the definitive comic book adaptation; Harley’s debut in the show turned her into an instant fan favorite. While Robbie did her best in Suicide Squad, she was clearly the only engaging character in a mostly lackluster team up. However, Birds of Prey allowed Harley to connect with a more dynamic group of allies. Each of the members of the “Birds of Prey” has different motivations for joining the team. They each have their own loyalties, so it was interesting to watch these various colorful characters test and suspect each other throughout the story. While previous DC films failed because they attempted to launch too many characters at once, Birds of Prey did a great job at balancing the screen time among the ensemble.
Even if Robbie stole the show, many of the other anti-heroes were interesting enough to warrant their own spinoff. In particular, Winstead was able to add depth to Helena, who has become a vigilante searching for her family’s killers. While Birds of Prey is generally light-hearted, Winstead was able to give the film an edge by showing how Helena’s traumatic childhood shaped her cynical outlook on life. Her grimness was the perfect way to counterbalance the more broadly comedic characters like Cassandra and Harley.
A Change of Tonal Pace
An issue that both the DC and Marvel universes have faced in the later years is a lack of experimentation. Despite hiring talented filmmakers with strong track records, both franchises tend to produce films that conform to the same formulas and tonal standards. With each film designed as a building block that will set up a future installment or a new storyline, there’s less room for creativity. The best comic book movies in recent years have been those that felt like something new, and Birds of Prey was clearly not interested in catering to the franchise’s mythology. Despite the brief references to past events in the other movies, the film largely functions as a standalone installment; even those that hadn’t seen Suicide Squad could watch Birds of Prey.
The film embraced a self-aware attitude with a nonlinear structure reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s films; the cross-cutting between different characters’ perspectives helped the film feel even more zany. However, the inclusion of some darker elements like the threat of Sionis’ criminal organization made the film grounded in some legitimate stakes. Unlike the Deadpool films, Birds of Prey wasn’t a complete parody of the comic book genre. Unfortunately, the film suffered from simply being released at the wrong time; the film largely underperformed at the global box office due to the early COVID-19 related shutdowns. It’s lower global sum is sadly a product of unforeseen circumstances.