The inconsistency and missed opportunities is there for all to see. But thankfully, there have been some successes such as Wonder Woman, Shazam! and partly Man Of Steel and Aquaman.
So I went in to the screening with everything firmly crossed hoping for a fun time.
Did I have fun? Yes. It's style and energy made it feel similar to a theme park. There's loud noises, colourful attractions and it has a few sugar rushes along the way.
I was enjoying how our heroes were being introduced, they gave enough development and understanding as to why they are there and I was impressed to see an antagonist that was more then a worthy adversary.
While I still believe Margot Robbie is the perfect choice to play Harley Quinn, I know she can do so much better then what I have currently seen in her two outings. It might more to do with the writing, but I am just not feeling the full package. The dialogue just does not seem smart enough to make me believe I am witnessing someone who is highly educated, but also a total nut-job.
Ewan McGregor fitted the tone well for the most part. His experience gave us a solid character with several memorable moments and overall a worthy antagonist.
Both Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Mary Elizabeth Winstead gave good physical performances and made me believe they were genuinely tough. They never felt like a liability and certainly made good use of their screen-time.
I don't often see Rosie Perez, but I feel this is the most screen-time she has been given. I felt she played to her strengths well and helped the younger colleagues well in certain scenes.
As for Ella Jay Basco, I have to give big props to this youngster who made her feature film debut. Her entrance was strong and her chemistry with Robbie was great throughout. Basco really showcased her talent and I look forward to see her future projects.
As mentioned before, I enjoyed the style. It felt ideal for the character of Harley Quinn. It felt unhinged, designed to unsettle you and a bit of a fever trip. In fact, the whole style had that craziness of Gotham that I have seen in previous guises that I am always up for.
Sadly, the executed of those aspects were not of a high quality in my opinion. It lacked that lasting impact that you want, it still left me somewhat disappointed and therefore never felt fully fledged to me. Much like Robbie's performance, I know this can be so much better.
So while I did feel it never reached its full potential, the film itself is still perfectly fine. There's plenty of positive aspects to get involved with. The story kept me engaged, McGregor plays a worthy antagonist, I liked its style, there is that sense of fun and it left me intrigued as to how they use this particular group in future films.
To rank it within the rest of the DCEU, I would probably put it somewhere in the middle. While I don't think the films best parts aren't quite up there with the biggest positives of the franchise, it's stability makes it much more held together.
There is only one other upcoming 2020 release within this franchise in the form of 'Wonder Woman 1984'. I'll be looking forward to that and like many others, I hope for the momentum to carry on from its predecessor.
Rating: 7/10
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