Poison Ivy has teamed up with the Floronic Man to create a virus that will either turn everyone on Earth into plant/animal hybrids or just kill everyone outright. Batman and Nightwing are on a mission to stop them, but they’re going to need help from Ivy’s bestest friend in the world, Harley Quinn. That’s right, it’s a Brave and the Bold style superhero team up capitalizing on the exploitation of Harley!
Okay, I hate doing this, but I’ve been reading a lot about people complaining that this film oversexualizes Harley. Let’s be honest here, though… Harley was sexualized way back in the ninties. Remember, “Hey, puddin’. Wanna rev up your Harley? Vroom! Vroom!” whilst in see-though lingerie? Should I even mention how sexualized she was in the Suicide Squad movie? This is hardly the first time that Harley has been sexualized and I really wish people would stop pretending it is.
For what Batman and Harley Quinn is, I thought it was a light-hearted and entertaining ride. Sure, the idea of a comedy movie with the Bruce Timm Batman era characters will probably ruffle some jimmies, but it’s not like they’ve never done a comedy before. Remember This Little Piggy? The Greatest Story Never Told? Same era, folks. Your criticisms are invalid.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this movie has a glaring problem, but that problem sure isn’t the mature and, in some cases, immature humor. To be honest, the only immature humor that I found issue with was a fart joke that went on much longer than it should have. The major problem with this movie is that it has probably the weakest, most non-ending I have ever seen on one of these animated DCU movies.
Spoilers ahead.
Basically, it boils down to this: The Floronic Man is about to unleash the virus into a swamp, Batman, Nightwing, and Harley have been beaten to a pulp and can’t stop him… for some reason even though they seen to be fine. Harley suggests a simple solution. Bats and Nightwing give her a kiss on the cheek and… that’s it. Cut to credits.
I’m not kidding. Yeah, there’s a little mid-credits scene, but to not even include the final boss battle in the movie is a cheap way to end it. Was the budget cut? I know it was supposed to be a comedic gag, but you can’t sacrifice climax for jokey jokes!
It really sucks, in my opinion, because it’s one misstep, but it’s a misstep with the most important part of the movie and it leaves a smoldering black mark on the entire film.
I’ll be honest here, if you’re not ready to see a mature (and immature) take on the Bruce Timm era, you should probably give this movie a pass. There’s sex, there’s blood, there’s murder, there’s boob-shaking, there’s farting… it’s all here. Personally, I thought it was fun to return to the Timm-verse and I want to again. The character design, the iconic voice of Kevin Conroy as Batman… you just can’t beat it. Yes, the ending is atrocious and that’s unfortunate, but if you can see past it, Batman and Harley Quinn is just out to have fun and, if that’s what they intended… mission accomplished.
Jason Gaston 