Harley Quinn absolutely shinned in Birds of Prey. The Suicide Squad attempts to channel her unique brand of calculated chaos but forgets that spark of humanity that Birds of Prey so effectively honed on, making the character feel shallow. Fans might still be laughing at Harley’s jokes, but do they still relate to her?
This is a particularly important question considering both Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad relied heavily on Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn as a promotional tool. Of the two, only Birds of Prey truly delivered in the screen time, however. The Suicide Squad had more characters to juggle – even if it did dispose of a great deal of them in the most gruesome ways possible – which meant that though fans saw their fair bit of Harley Quinn, they also went long stretches of the movie without catching a glimpse of her. For some, this was a non-issue. The movie is called The Suicide Squad, after all.
For others, however, the focus on her character in promotional material, particularly coming in the heels of a movie that truly allowed her to shine, felt misleading, at best. Particularly when most of the depth the character was allowed in Birds of Prey was conspicuously absent from this movie. Sure, Harley didn’t need anyone to save her. She saved herself and delivered one of the most visually stunning sequences in the movie while at it. But, emotionally speaking, was there any kind of arc for Harley in The Suicide Squad?
She didn’t really make new friends. Or spend much time bonding with old friends. She didn’t get a chance to showcase her intelligence, or education, both things the movies have remarked upon numerous times before. In fact, she started the movie exactly where she said she wouldn’t be at the end of Birds of Prey, but with her usual sunny disposition about it. And then she just didn’t grow. Which might have been okay, if the movie hadn’t also done away with most of the growth that occurred during Birds of Prey.
Yes, this Harley Quinn is free of the Joker. There’s no going back to that. But just because Harley isn’t jumping back into the arms of a homicidal maniac who never really cared for her, that doesn’t mean the movie follows through on her character arc from the previous movie. It just means it doesn’t contradict itself as badly as it could have. It’s a small mercy, but it’s nowhere near enough. Particularly considering that this movie had no Joker, so no real possibility of going there again.
The Suicide Squad tries to set itself apart from 2016’s Suicide Squad. And in most respects, it succeeds. Not in the matter of Harley Quinn, though, because watching the three movies back-to-back feels like existing in two different universes that don’t even follow a linear path. The Harley from the 2016 movie feels much closer to the Harley from The Suicide Squad than the one from Birds of Prey. Fun, smart, immensely capable, but very emotionally closed off and incapable of truly lasting connections. Not to mention, this Harley still feels to be hovering on the edge of self-destruction, instead of existing in a controlled chaos of her own making.
It’s easier to deal with this Harley Quinn, of course. Easier to write her. Particularly with such a loaded cast. Following the storyline set up in Birds of Prey would have required a lot more introspection, and on the surface, that means less easy jokes. Except Birds of Prey somehow managed to be funny, provide character growth for not just Harley, but multiple characters, and make us care about the team they were setting up. The Suicide Squad was fun as well, but there was very little substance to it. Harley is the most egregious example because her characterization actually took a step back, but the movie failed to explore the complexities of any of its characters.
Superficially, the movie tried to touch on the themes of found family. Except it’s truly hard to believe the people who are left alive at the end actually care about each other. They were the lucky ones who escaped, and they will stay together because that’s the easier way, and they one-upped Waller. That’s it. There’s no emotional resonance.
Harley Quinn remains a fun character, that DC would do well to explore more going forward. Gotham City Sirens seems like the perfect next step for her. But whatever DC chooses to do with the character of Harley going forward, it would do well to remember that the best version of the character was the one from Birds of Prey. Harley Quinn is more than just the agent of chaos The Suicide Squad made her out to be. And whether the character can be successful outside of team-up movies or not might depend on whether she’s allowed the chance to continue growing, instead of being stuck in the role of the “cool girl.”