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"Harley Quinn" Series On DCU Is What "Birds Of Prey" Should Have Been

Specific Power Ranger

Specific Power Ranger

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,201
Now first of all I don't think Birds Of Prey is a bad movie, It's just uneven. Second part was good but first part was weak. It would have been good if it had been birds of prey all the way through. The chemestry once the cast actually assembled was great, so I do hope they make a sequel.

Now that being said. It squanders some of it's runningtime and the structure is messy and some of the sequences are just unbelievable. It could have been more and it's a shame, especially when......

I recently started watching the Harley Quinn TV series on DC universe, and it starts off with basically the exact same setup as Bird of prey, but it just does an incredible amount in it and really builds on the character and the ensemble cast (it's not the same ensemble she gathers but it could work with the cast from the movie too). It deals with a lot of societal issues in super creative ways and really deepdives into her issues with regards to the joker, but also how she overcomes things and becomes a "better" "badder" person. It's great. Give it a watch if you havent !

It also has bane with his dark knight rises voice being amazing.

 
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jelly

jelly

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
33,841
Yeah it's good but I'm just not sure if there is a real life Harley Quinn, for some reason it's not that annoying in animated shows but Margot even though she isn't emulating it to any great degree is a little insufferable. I really didn't like Birds of Prey, found it quite boring and the storytelling was that awful rewind stuff and very uneven. Have to wait and see what Gunn does with the Squad but there is a lot I just dislike about the world they base it in, exhausting to watch.

I much prefer Ivy, King Shark and Bane than Harley in the show.
 
Poodlestrike

Poodlestrike

Smooth vs. Crunchy
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
13,489
It's good, but I liked BoP more. Just so stylish, and not so much leaning on the cringe comedy like HQ does at times.
 
OP
OP
Specific Power Ranger

Specific Power Ranger

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,201
Bobo Dakes said:
The different formats and mediums make the comparison a bit impossible.
Click to expand...
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I don't know. Move stuff around a bit and the first 4-6 episodes of Harley Quinn makes a great movie. I was mostly comparing because they have basically the same starting point and setup in the beginning.

Like I said, I don't find Birds Of Prey to be bad, but I was disappointed because it was so uneven. Even more so when the birds of prey actually assembled and it was great. If only the whole movie had been that.
 
Penguin

Penguin

The Mushroom Kingdom Knight
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,214
New York
I feel like two very different products and tones, and I personally think boh achieve what they are going for.
 
Dullahan

Dullahan

Always bets on black
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,410
Both are absolutely great. I do prefer the animated show but BoP is highly underrated.
 
Garlador

Garlador

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
14,131
Birds of Prey should have been a Birds of Prey movie.

It's not a bad movie, but the Harley Quinn show is just a much better Harley Quinn experience.
 

Deleted member 11637

Oct 27, 2017
18,204
Everything about Birds of Prey was perfect except the title, haters back off.

I can't wait for Harley Quinn to hit HBO Max, though.
 
kmfdmpig

kmfdmpig

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
19,350
BoP was pretty middle of the road for me. It was stylish but otherwise fell very flat for me.
Harley Quinn, however, is great! I've only seen season 1 so far but I loved it.
 
Pezking

Pezking

Member
Oct 25, 2017
384
BoP is a fine movie, but it really pales in comparison to the current DCU-series, which is better in pretty much every aspect.
 
zoltek

zoltek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,917
Birds of Prey was good, but ultimately forgettable. I disagree that the crew had any tangible chemistry. In fact, many of the others were woefully miscast except for Black Canary.

I will check out the DCU version.
 
Bor Gullet

Bor Gullet

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,399
Birds of Prey ended up being my favorite DCEU film (though that's probably not saying much).
 
Mezentine

Mezentine

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,969
Bobo Dakes said:
The different formats and mediums make the comparison a bit impossible.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't know about that. Its not a perfect comparison but What We Do in the Shadows is a good example of a movie that strikes a similar comic rhythm as the Harley Quinn show. I think a live action film version that has the same irreverence is possible.
 

Deleted member 2802

Community Resetter
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
33,729
Specific Power Ranger said:
Now first of all I don't think Birds Of Prey is a bad movie, It's just uneven.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's a bad movie.

That said sure episodic or cartoons are far easier and cheaper to do.
You can experiment or fail miserably and nobody cares because it's for kids or adult fans.
No need for big budgets/stunts or complex CG.
The whole point of these movies is to showcase these top actors and make it better than the cartoons.
You have a massive budget, hollywood stars, big budget effects
There is a much higher expectation for someone paying $20-30 for a movie experience.
 
Nlroh

Nlroh

Member
Oct 25, 2017
78
BoP was a pretty good movie, and while I enjoy a lot the cartoon show, I prefer BoP and Margot's Harley.
 
hikarutilmitt

hikarutilmitt

Member
Dec 16, 2017
11,406
Anyone asking about needing DCU: the first season is also on SYFY and all of it is On Demand, not edited. That's how we've been watching it.

While I thought BOP was mostly fine, I'm still not sure how I like the complete change of character for Cassie and I'm undecided on Huntress since it was at least a fun take on her and MEW works pretty well for her. The nickname thing during the movie was actually pretty funny. The only real change I would probably make is put someone there other than goddamned Zsasz, he's the more boring, mediocre, overused villain in the gallery and it's awful how often we keep seeing him in anything Gotham.

HQ show is great, King Shark is the best on there with Frank very closely behind. Most of the jokes seem to land fine and they don't often paint themselves into a corner where they reference a ton of current events that will end up making it age poorly later on.

This being said, they're each their own thing. Of course you can do more with the TV show since you have a lot more time to work with it.
 
Choppasmith

Choppasmith

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,411
Beaumont, CA
I haven't seen BoP yet but I did catch Harley Quinn the animated series and my sister and I LOVED it. It really gives me a Deadpool movie vibe minus the fourth wall breaking. It's a GREAT way to go! I remember seeing the trailers for Suicide Squad thinking Margot Robbie just wasn't doing Harley justice. When I watched it, it was a little better than the trailers but I feel like Robbie doesn't do much more than go "tee hee I'm crazy"

Any word on when the series might be going to HBO MAX?
 
Squarehard

Squarehard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
25,832
Not sure Harley Quinn would work as well live action, but Birds of Prey can work just as well animated.
 

Vector

Member
Feb 28, 2018
6,640
I thought the film was great as a one-off Harley Quinn adventure and Margot Robbie is honestly the perfect Harley. I really don't get the hate for Birds of Prey, it was enjoyable from start to finish and it never took itself too seriously and neither should the people who watch it. One problem I think is that Black Canary didn't work all that well as a counterpart to Harley - I wish Ivy was in it as a balancing force (and also cause this duo is magical)

The DCU series is absolutely amazing in it's own right, but a TV series has a lot more opportunities for character growth and development than a 2-hour film so I don't really understand the comparison being made here. With that said, I do think the DCU Series Harley Quinn is the best the character has ever been and the show itself is quite possibly the most fun I've ever had with anything DCU related - the humor is top notch, the dialog is incredibly witty and the pacing of the first season is absolutely perfect. It's supposed to be humorous and over the top but the character development still feels really meaningful and the characters have a lot of depth. Hopefully the next iterations of Harley Quinn we see this decade take after the DCU series.

Honestly I wish the team behind it start working on other DC TV content cause they're insanely talented and this show is uncharacteristically good for a DC show tbh.
 

Deleted member 3294

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,973
Feels like for every good clip of this show I saw on Twitter I heard people who watched it talk about the ways it's terrible. Especially in how it's blatantly antisemitic.

Birds of Prey is great though.
 
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Peru

Peru

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,126
Birds of Prey is what Birds of Prey should be. One of very few superhero movies with character and conviction to do something of its own.
 
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Khanimus

Khanimus

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
40,167
Greater Vancouver
BoP is structurally a mess, but there's a lot of cool things it tries to do (and some I wish it gave time to do more).

But HQ the series is absolutely fantastic.
 
geomon

geomon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,007
Miami, FL
The Birds of Prey movie is a festering piece of dog shit. If it weren't for Margot Robbie and Ewan McGregor, it'd be unwatchable. Now I haven't seen the Harley Quinn animated show. At a glance though, I don't think Birds of Prey should look or sound or have anything to do with Harley Quinn.
 
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