is that really it though? Maybe. I’m seeing a lot of people like Stuckmann etc complaints being the storytelling and how its so chaotic and scattershot because of how Harley is. And as someone whose seen the movie i concur it can come off as sloppy pacing. I think thats a big sticking point for a lot of people. Thats why im surprised mainstream critics arent picking apart that aspect more.
I think here’s also an element here of “film as a visual experience” vs “film as a storytelling medium,” mixing with a bit for he dichotomy among some comic fans caused by the different characters and the different types of stories that would favor them.
It’s also important to keep in mind that it’s a critically approved film without necessarily being a critically adored film.
I think most professional critics are viewing the film in this light: “A visually delightful mad-cap adventure that’s a throwback to old grindhouse films with an anarchic side to it!” which the film would succeed at pretty easily, even if that’s a somewhat limiting premise to *some* viewers.
But I also think that some comic fans aren’t necessarily being picky for picky’s sake, as much as they know the characters enough to know that the BoP don’t really fit the story that well, aren’t maximized to their potential as they would in a different type of movie, and find the dissonance between the Harley part of the film and the BoP part offputting.
I mean, I’d be down for a grindhouse BoP film, or a grindhouse Cassandra Cain film... but here, their just supporting roles to a Harley centered story, creating a break between fans who find that their Harley film is interrupted by a lackluster BoP story, and some BoP fans finding their BoP movie held back and halted by a Harley Quinn movie.
I think it’s a film comfortable in its directorial vision, which goes a long way. But that directorial vision is a bit more “artsy” than necessarily mainstream,a or comic book fan tastes.
