The Cassandra Cain thing did not go well. I suppose that is what one can expect when you take a girl raised to communicate entirely through body language and honed in the fighting arts to the point where she is deadlier than the Batman and retcon her to be a chubby teenage pickpocket. Birds of Prey failed in so many ways, but it succeeded in the only way that matters: it entertained.
I will probably take my kids to see Fast 9 and groan all the way through. I fully expect it to suck. I had fewer expectations for Birds of Prey and yet all but two failed to be met. I expected to be as engaged by Margot Robbie in this role as I was by Penelope Cruz in Sahara. In both cases you can register the joy of the moment on their faces as they slide into a role they enjoy playing. It was wonderful to watch her having fun with it.
The acting outside of Robbie was barely worth noting. Some performances were actually cringe worthy, yet somehow that didn’t impact the movie. The soundtrack was on point, and while I had no expectations in that department it was pleasing.
I did expect the film to have visual appeal. It did. The movie is shot well. The scenery, while limited to a handful of set pieces, is extremely colorful and fun.
So, looked cool, sounded great, loved Robbie. What more can you ask for in a movie? Plot, dialogue, etc. but this is definitely enough for this film. Still, no sequels please.