For the huge pile of poop that Suicide Squad was the one shining light from the film was Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Harleymania ran wild as parents across the world let their children dress up as a psychopathic domestic abuse victim. So it was of no surprise that Harley would return.
Written by Christina Hodson and directed by Cathy Yan the film starts interestingly enough as it documents what has happened to Harley since Suicide Squad and her break up from The Joker. Some humorous comments and some cool fight scenes keep them tempo flowing but something is amiss. Even as Harley walks away from an exploding ACE Chemicals in a scene that clearly was designed to parallel Heath Ledger’s Joker blowing up a hospital we get a more a vibe more reminiscent with Power Rangers than we do The Dark Knight, and that is where the problem remains with the movie.
Whilst the Harley Quinn cartoon series seems more than happy to explore all of Harley’s psychotic character traits the movie seems to want to focus on those that exhibit girl power. In fact all the characters feel restrained as if those behind the movie were more interested in selling merchandise than the movie. There are some fun moments, a highlight is Harley reflecting on modern supermarkets but film makers need to understand that getting characters to say “fuck” every five minutes does not making something edgy.
Make no mistake though, Robbie does bring the role to life and there is a lot more cinematic life in Harley Quinn yet. The rest of the gang Jurnee Smollett-Bell (as Dinah Lance/Black Canary), Ella Jay Basco (as Cassandra Cain), Rosie Perez (as Renee Montoya) all add to the dynamic of the film but it is Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress that is the real standout and deserves her own spin off from this. The group though interact well together and their is a chemistry present that is hopefully developed in future projects.
The villains of the movie, Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis/Black Mask and Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz are left as after thoughts. Both make the most out of what they have but are clearly set up as entitled and empowered men who are to be brought down by the Birds of Prey. McGregor’s speech before the final big battle makes that clear to anyone who may not have been following the plot.
It was nice to Steven Williams, François Chau, Charlene Amoia, and Shad Gaspard pop up through the film but it just felt that this movie was kept on a leash rather than allowed to run free. Next time you need to trust in the characters more and in those portraying them, then you might finally get that female empowerment movie Hollywood has been trying so hard to push for.
Verdict: 6/10 A superhero Spice World: The Movie that has something for everyone. Whilst it clearly hammered home that these wronged Gotham women would rise up against the Gotham men of their lives, it remains a fun action romp that fails to rise above expectations, yet remains an enjoyable ride for the most part.
Yuen Biao plays a champion fencer who disposes of his rivals with startling ability. Biao is also a student, writing an essay on the Ming Dynasty, which is received favorably by his tutor, Read more
Zoolander is back but a lot has happened since 2001! Rest assured the Ben Stiller comedy features familiar faces and a few new ones with plenty to get you excited. Read more
At a dinner party with their wives, NASA scientist Dr. Keith Ritchie (Tony Huston) reveals to his colleague Dr. Curt Taylor (John Agar) that he has secretly been in communication Read more
In Italy during World War II, an American military patrol discovers a spaceship that has crash-landed in the woods, along with its alien crew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm9fnNfLg8M A nearby Nazi unit also Read more
Zone 414 is an upcoming American science fiction thriller film written by Bryan Edward Hill and directed by Andrew Baird. The film stars Guy Pearce, Matilda Lutz, Jonathan Aris, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Olwen Fouéré, Colin Salmon, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Read more
It is the final episode of Season 1, and as expected following the somewhat calmness of last week's episode this week is about to go off the scale. Our crew Read more
Episode 5 of Zomboat! is the penultimate episode of Season 1 and it gave the audience a chance to catch their breath before the grand finale. Instead of the fast Read more
In Zomboat! Episode 4 we discover that even a shopping trip can be hazardous to your health in post-apocalyptic Birmingham. With the boat moored and apparently safe Amar (Ryan McKen) Read more
After our diversion last week our Zomboat crew begin travelling in the right direction and end up back where they first got on the boat. This also happens to be Read more
Zomboat! burst onto our screens last week and while we loved it we noted that it felt "a bit rushed with lots crammed in." As Episode 2 washed over us Read more
Debuting on ITV2 in the UK, Zomboat! is filmed in the 2.35:1 widescreen ratio of most zombie movies and answers the life long question of what would happen if you Read more
Homemade horror-comedy feature Zomblogalypse received its UK premiere at Dead Northern Film Festival - in association with Fangoria and Shudder - at City Screen York on 26th September 2021. The Read more
Tony Todd is back in an all new zombie movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlWz-n-nec When the world is in shambles, plagued by a zombie outbreak, only the strong will survive, but just how Read more
Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL6NTQhEqn4 Read more
In Zombieland 2: Double Tap, Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of Read more
Directed by Chris Watson and distributed by Troma Entertainment, Zombiegeddon begins as Satan creates a human-like race called zombies. When the zombies begin taking over the world, dirty cops Jeff Read more
Zombie With A Shotgun is the feature adaptation of the popular web series of the same name. Aaron and Rachel are on the run due to the fact that Aaron is Read more
Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, Zombie Tidal Wave aims to pick up where the Sharknado franchise left off. More serious in tone, the film plays more like the original Sharknado Read more
It's a Zombie Tsunami! From the same twisted minds behind Sharknado comes an all-new disaster: Zombie Tidal Wave starring Ian Ziering. Watch the world premiere Saturday August 17th at 9/8c Read more
11 years ago, a zombie virus killed many people, while others had their family members turned into zombies. Society is still angry, and so outside the city, a zombie fight Read more
Brett Summers
Founded Cult Faction in 2014. Some would describe him as a teacher, writer, dream weaver, and visionary... some would not...
More Stories
New trailers revealed for Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs. Donbrothers and Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs. Kyoryuger
The Savage Hunt of King Stakh has been fully restored and coming to bluray!
City Hunter trailer released