Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is an ill-advised attempt to transform Harley Quinn into Deadpool. Unfortunately, one of the things that the filmmakers failed to capture is Deadpool's ability to be funny. It also wasn't the best idea to produce a movie set in Gotham City without including its most well-known citizen: Batman. The Dark Knight's absence could've been offset by the appearance of the Joker -- especially given that Harley was initially conceived as his love interest and sidekick (and the fact that every movie featuring him has been a hit).
One of the many missed opportunities here is the fact that Harley's birth name wasn't retconned into something less ridiculous than "Harleen Quinzel". At the very least her surname could've been changed to something more -- human -- like Quinlan, Quincy or McQuinn. And her first name could've always been Harley; her parents could've simply been bikers.
Following the lowest opening weekend of any live-action DC film adaptation since Jonah Hex, Birds of Prey seems destined to go down in history as another in an increasingly long line of high-profile movie flops. But it's not all bad. The movie's one stand-out is the relatively unknown (to the general movie-going public) Black Canary. Though a BC solo film without at least an appearance by either Batman or the Joker may not be such a great idea. My advice to Harley Quinn fans is to ignore Birds of Prey altogether and to just rewatch Suicide Squad.
Originally Posted 4/29/20
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