BIRDS OF PREY Trailer: Come Back Joel Schumacher, All Is Forgiven

Movies In Focus is getting serious Joel Schumacher vibes from this trailer for Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – and not in a good way. The tone and the neon – it’s as if someone saw moments with Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face and Sugar and Spice (Drew Barrymore) in Batman Forever and thought, ‘Hey, I wan’t to make a movie like that’.

This Suicide Squad/Batman spin-off is another of Warner Bros./DC Comics’ course correction movies which shoots off from the Justice League/Batman Vs Superman universe but totally ignores the franchise origins (like Aquaman, Wonder Woman 1984 and Suicide Squad)

I’m actually someone who will defend Batman Forever and parts of Batman & Robin (sue me), but there’s nothing in this Birds Of Prey trailer which looks remotely good. I also need to say that I’m a huge fan of Schumacher’s use of neon, one of the great director’s trademarks, but its all wrong here. I’ll be giving this one a wide berth. 

Birds Of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan, starring Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ewan McGregor, and Ella Jay Basco opens on 7 February 2020. 

The trailer:

The synopsis:

You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the mafia princess? “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.

In the Warner Bros. Pictures film, Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”) returns as Harley Quinn, alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“10 Cloverfield Lane,” TV’s “Fargo”) as Huntress; Jurnee Smollett-Bell (HBO’s “True Blood”) as Black Canary; Rosie Perez (“Fearless,” “Pitch Perfect 2”) as Renee Montoya; Chris Messina (“Argo,” TV’s “Sharp Objects”) as Victor Zsasz; and Ewan McGregor (upcoming “Doctor Sleep,” the “Trainspotting” films) as Roman Sionis. Newcomer Ella Jay Basco also stars as Cassandra “Cass” Cain in her feature film debut.

Directed by Cathy Yan (“Dead Pigs”) from a script by Christina Hodson (“Bumblebee”), the film is based on characters from DC. Robbie also produced, alongside Bryan Unkeless and Sue Kroll. The film’s executive producers are Walter Hamada, Galen Vaisman, Geoff Johns, Hans Ritter and David Ayer.

Joining Yan behind the scenes was a creative team comprised of director of photography Matthew Libatique (“A Star Is Born,” “Venom”); production designer K.K. Barrett (“Her”); editor Jay Cassidy (“American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”) and editor Evan Schiff (“John Wick Chapters 2 & 3”); and costume designer Erin Benach (“A Star Is Born”). The music is by Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”).

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a LuckyChap Entertainment Production, a Clubhouse Pictures Production, a Kroll & Co. Entertainment Production, “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).”