Birds of Prey Birds of Prey General Discussion and Speculation

[brandeezy89]

MEW saying there was no "Ego" on set. All she needed was a wink

 

[shinlyle]

I hate to say guys, the trailer for this did nothing for me. I hated Suicide Squad, and this just looks like it took everything bad about that movie and dialed it to 11. I actually liked Harley in that movie and she was one of the few things I found tolerable about it, but here the entire trailer is just focused on her and everyone else does little to nothing that leaves an impression. Ewan McGregor has barely any dialogue and I couldn't tell you anything about any of the other Birds of Prey in this movie based on this trailer.

Suffice to say my interest is low

Right there with you. I mean...Ewan McGregor plays a character called Black Mask, who is famous for...wearing a Black Mask...and he doesn't...you know...wear a Black Mask. Doesn't bode well. Also, when you call the film Bird of Prey...and Harley Quinn, but you don't showcase...you know...the Birds of Prey...and you can't tell who they are supposed to be from looking at them...doesn't bode well, either.

I let my daughter watch the preview, as she is a HUGE Harley/BOP, Cassie Cain Batgirl fan. She said the Harley parts were okay, but she didn't even see Black Canary or Huntress or Batgirl in it. I informed her who all the characters were supposed to be. She doesn't care about it, now. Then I told her it would probably be rated R, so she couldn't see it. She then went on a "I can't watch a movie with one of my favorite characters in it" rant. Pretty impressive for an 11 year old!

Then I told her about the Harley Quinn animated series and she lit up...until I told her it was rated R, and that they changed the way Harley Quinn sounded (voice and accent). She responded, "Daddy, why do they change characters that way?!"
Welcome to fandom, baby girl. Welcome to fandom...

 

[misslane38]

Right there with you. I mean...Ewan McGregor plays a character called Black Mask, who is famous for...wearing a Black Mask...and he doesn't...you know...wear a Black Mask. Doesn't bode well. Also, when you call the film Bird of Prey...and Harley Quinn, but you don't showcase...you know...the Birds of Prey...and you can't tell who they are supposed to be from looking at them...doesn't bode well, either.

I let my daughter watch the preview, as she is a HUGE Harley/BOP, Cassie Cain Batgirl fan. She said the Harley parts were okay, but she didn't even see Black Canary or Huntress or Batgirl in it. I informed her who all the characters were supposed to be. She doesn't care about it, now. Then I told her it would probably be rated R, so she couldn't see it. She then went on a "I can't watch a movie with one of my favorite characters in it" rant. Pretty impressive for an 11 year old!

Then I told her about the Harley Quinn animated series and she lit up...until I told her it was rated R, and that they changed the way Harley Quinn sounded (voice and accent). She responded, "Daddy, why do they change characters that way?!"
Welcome to fandom, baby girl. Welcome to fandom...

How did she get into Harley in the first place? Most content related to her is rightly rated for teens and older. And Cass Cain's story is pretty brutal for a child given the abuse and violence. It seems she fell in love with these characters in takes that were exceptions, not the norm, for them.

 

[shinlyle]

How did she get into Harley in the first place? Most content related to her is rightly rated for teens and older. And Cass Cain's story is pretty brutal for a child given the abuse and violence. It seems she fell in love with these characters in takes that were exceptions, not the norm, for them.

Batman the Animates Series got her into Harley. It was a cartoon on Fox. Not too uncommon, as it aired weekdays after school. So, yeah, she has been into that since she was younger. Cassie's story is brutal. She's more of a Babs Gordon fan, and got to know that character from (guess what?!) the Batman animated series...which is a cartoon for kids. She liked the look of Cassie from the comic series, and I gave her the comics a year or so ago, and she's been reading then...only to see a version of Cassie that looks like she's from a K-pop video. Also, she liked the idea of a Batgirl who could go toe-to-toe with Batman, not this non-Batgirl who throws sticks of dynamite out the window and doesn't look anything like her comic counterpart, aside from her general ethnicity. Or course, with the DCU, making characters blatantly kill people works, whether the character was against it or not in the first place (looks in the direction of BVS). So Cassie, who refused to kill ever again just throwing a stick of dynamite into another car would be a big deal...were this actually a reasonable version of her that resembled any other version of her, which it isn't.

Like I said, this movie is clearly aimed at people who loved Suicide Squad or who can accept a very loose adaptation of the characters. So...not me.

 

[misslane38]

Batman the Animates Series got her into Harley. It was a cartoon on Fox. Not too uncommon, as it aired weekdays after school. So, yeah, she has been into that since she was younger. Cassie's story is brutal. She's more of a Babs Gordon fan, and got to know that character from (guess what?!) the Batman animated series...which is a cartoon for kids. She liked the look of Cassie from the comic series, and I gave her the comics a year or so ago, and she's been reading then...only to see a version of Cassie that looks like she's from a K-pop video. Also, she liked the idea of a Batgirl who could go toe-to-toe with Batman, not this non-Batgirl who throws sticks of dynamite out the window and doesn't look anything like her comic counterpart, aside from her general ethnicity. Or course, with the DCU, making characters blatantly kill people works, whether the character was against it or not in the first place (looks in the direction of BVS). So Cassie, who refused to kill ever again just throwing a stick of dynamite into another car would be a big deal...were this actually a reasonable version of her that resembled any other version of her, which it isn't.

Like I said, this movie is clearly aimed at people who loved Suicide Squad or who can accept a very loose adaptation of the characters. So...not me.

Right, so she got into versions that were far from representative of those characters in the majority of their appearances. Plus, BTAS may be for kids (9+), but I'm dubious that its Harley is great for children given the violence and abuse. Regardless, I would think it best she always stick to those types until she's mature enough to handle the more common approach. Hopefully she'll enjoy the movie when she's older. Nothing wrong with waiting. She can watch DC Super Hero Girls in the meantime.

As for adaptation, some of these have had wide ranging takes in all media since their inception. They're all loose adaptations by those standards. As long as the spirit of the characters is there and the message is about female empowerment, I think it's a fine approach.

 

[Aurakles]

Even if Harley had a very small role in the film, she was always going to be front and centre of the marketing (see The Joker in Suicide Squad).

 

[shinlyle]

Right, so she got into versions that were far from representative of those characters in the majority of their appearances. Plus, BTAS may be for kids (9+), but I'm dubious that its Harley is great for children given the violence and abuse. Regardless, I would think it best she always stick to those types until she's mature enough to handle the more common approach. Hopefully she'll enjoy the movie when she's older. Nothing wrong with waiting. She can watch DC Super Hero Girls in the meantime.

As for adaptation, some of these have had wide ranging takes in all media since their inception. They're all loose adaptations by those standards. As long as the spirit of the characters is there and the message is about female empowerment, I think it's a fine approach.

Yeah...because middle school girls LOVE DC super hero girls...which is aimed at elementary school kids.

Harley was represented the same way for probably 20 years. Same costume, same origin, and no adult content. You have to really be reaching for reasons to like this film if you're going to say that Batman The Animated Series isn't "Representative" of the character. In fact, that gave us the first Harley/Ivy team-up. So...yeah. Ironically, Harley is actually pretty comics accurate except for the throwaway costumes and language. Robbie is the one thing about the film I think they have right.

Also, as with BVS and the rest, mature content doesn't necessarily equal "good" content. I'm hoping it'll be something I enjoy, but with Black Mask and Cassie that wrong, I'm not optimistic.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Despite what people say, I'm still excited for this haha. I think Margot is fantastic as Harley and I have hopes this will be a good film.

 

[dhandler01]

Yeah I mean I am not expecting this to be anything amazing, but I bet I will enjoy the heck out of it

 

[TheGuy]

The production design is lit, though.

 

[Greenlite]

I'm just happy to see a director/actress driven R-rated film been pumped out there with the opportunity to become a full on franchise introducing more female character leads in the future, and not having to worry about critical/financial reception too much because this thing's gonna make money with such a small budget.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I wish the trailer did anything for me but between my active antipathy towards Harley and the characters' fanbase in general along with nothing popping as being all that interesting in the trailer itself I don't have high hopes for my enjoying this one.

Which is fine. I don't have to like everything. But the trailer itself left me with a sense of this being generic, lazy and try hard/flop sweaty all at the same time.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

I'm just tired of Harley being the focal point for so many DC properties now.

I get that people like her, and it makes sense that they lean into that. I just don't like her much as a character. And I feel like I'm getting robbed of seeing a good Birds of Prey movie because they think they have to use Harley to sell it.

 

[Micromind]

Harley was seen only in SS, now in Bop and then in second SS movie, that makes it 3 movies, it not a lot of movies. Birds of Prey was never in production, WB wanted a Harley movie but Margot thought including BoP in it so that this movie can serve as their introduction and origin.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

Harley was seen only in SS, now in Bop and then in second SS movie, that makes it 3 movies, it not a lot of movies. Birds of Prey was never in production, WB wanted a

I didn't just mean in the DECU movies. She has her new cartoon. Plus the animated movie from a year or two ago where she basically raped Nightwing.

They've evolved Harley from what she originally was, to DC's version of Deadpool. Who's also overexposed.

End of the day, I"m getting less of a BoP movie than I wanted, because Harley/Margot Robbie has to be DC's selling point.

 

[TheScarecrow]

End of the day, I'm only getting...a BoP movie...because Harley/Margot Robbie has to be DC's selling point.

Fixed that for you mate...

Can I just ask why everyone is embracing a Joker movie which changes SO MUCH about an iconic character, yet they're unwilling to accept a Huntress who doesn't have a mask? Or a Black Canary who has a yellow shirt and dreds?

 

[dhandler01]

Well they didnt all accept it right away it took time. (some still dont) If the film is good people will come around but for now it just doesnt seem right to them. I disagree but I can see their point.

 

[fan4stic]

Fixed that for you mate...

Can I just ask why everyone is embracing a Joker movie which changes SO MUCH about an iconic character, yet they're unwilling to accept a Huntress who doesn't have a mask? Or a Black Canary who has a yellow shirt and dreds?

how is that a fix?

Have you considered that a movie using a character whose backstory generally isn't known for sure, in a story that showcases the concept of him being delusional and telling the story in a potentially vague fashion, would be seen by some fans as representative of the character?

But I'd argue that the Joker movie gets by more by not having the Joker take the role of leading the Justice League or something in the movie.

 

[Micromind]

Yeah just presenting Huntress and Black Canary in comic accurate costumes right from the first time we see them is not enough, they have to start right from the beginning, who were they before they got into crime fighting ? What is their back story ?

Did they got their costumes from someone like Batman ? If no then maybe they first used prototype costumes made from regular everyday clothes ?
This movie just introduces the characters to general audiences for the first time, without giving each of them their own separate movie. Ths movie provides a glimpse of their Origins.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

Fixed that for you mate...

Can I just ask why everyone is embracing a Joker movie which changes SO MUCH about an iconic character, yet they're unwilling to accept a Huntress who doesn't have a mask? Or a Black Canary who has a yellow shirt and dreds?

The argument that we should be glad we're getting anything at all is a ****ty argument. And that's all your "fix" turned my statement into.

I'd rather have no BoP movie than a ****ty BoP movie. This might look like an okay Harley Quinn movie...but it looks like a ****ty BoP movie.

 

[Micromind]

This is more like Harley Quinn and Origins of Birds of Prey movie, it's not The Birds of Prey movie.

 

[Predator jp]

the official Japanese title
"The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey"

 

[harlequinade]

See, they made it better :P

Or at least more honest lol

 

[dennis_3107]

Yeah just presenting Huntress and Black Canary in comic accurate costumes right from the first time we see them is not enough, they have to start right from the beginning, who were they before they got into crime fighting ? What is their back story ?

Did they got their costumes from someone like Batman ? If no then maybe they first used prototype costumes made from regular everyday clothes ?
This movie just introduces the characters to general audiences for the first time, without giving each of them their own separate movie. Ths movie provides a glimpse of their Origins.

Or they could have Batman in Harley role instead, recruit each one of the birds and provide costumes to help him fight Blackmask in Civil War manner... underoos...

 

[TheScarecrow]

The argument that we should be glad we're getting anything at all is a ****ty argument. And that's all your "fix" turned my statement into.

I'd rather have no BoP movie than a ****ty BoP movie. This might look like an okay Harley Quinn movie...but it looks like a ****ty BoP movie.

No that's not my argument. My argument is that this film would never have been made if not for Margot Robbie and Harley Quinn.

We should all be pushing for comic accurate depictions of characters, and I'm not sure anything from Birds of Prey other than purely visual elements has indicated we will not be getting comic accurate versions of these characters. Even then, I have reason to believe the girls' costumes will become comic accurate later on (with their "emancipation" leading them to adopt more theatrical costumes).

Nothing we have seen from Birds of Prey matches the inaccuracy of Marvel Studios' Spider-man films, for example.