My Harley Quinn Obsession
1:29 PM
2016 may not have been the year where Suicide Squad was the best film released (it was not even close) but I still stand by the fact that there was one true piece of greatness hidden within the rubble and that was Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn who was my favourite character of 2016 and one of my favourite film characters of all time. My obsession with the character actually started before the film's release - I just had a feeling I was going to be a fan of Quinn from just the set pictures. I have to admit, I am yet to read the comics and I wasn't that aware of Quinn as a character before the announcement of Suicide Squad so some may call me a 'basic fan' but I love Robbie's portrayal of the character and I think my obsession is going a little too far.....
"Harley Quinn, Nice to meet ya.
Love your perfume.
What is that?
The stench of death?"
That text highlighted in red is certainly the impression Harley Quinn had on me - it was very nice to meet her in this film. So why did I like the character? I covered my reasons in my review for Suicide Squad so here is an extract from that...
The biggest saving grace for this film definitely is the character of Harley Quinn - Margot Robbie steals the show. Robbie is perfectly cast an Quinn and does a fantastic job - the character is everything that I wanted her to be. Robbie has really good comedic timing and all of her jokes land. I am actually surprised I liked Harley Quinn as a character as she is the type of character I would usually hate - she is sexualised and doesn't come across too empowered and independent. However, I did still feel that Harley Quinn was a strong female character - she was so fun and likeable. Some of my favourite Harley Quinn moments were when she pretended Deadshot shot her, her action scene in the lift and just all of her one-liners - when anything was happening, you just wanted the camera to cut to Harley Quinn as she would always make the situation a little more fun. I also liked how we got some character development - it was mostly through flashbacks but we got to see how Harley Quinn became Harley Quinn and how her relationship with The Joker blossomed. Margot Robbie gets 5 stars for her portrayal of Harley Quinn - if the whole film was as good as her performance and her character, this film would have been near perfect.
As I mentioned, Robbie truly becomes Harley Quinn and I thought her performance was terrific. In summary, what I love about this depiction of Harley is that she is clever (She plays up her ditsy side as a mask over her Joker rescue plan), she is skilled (the gymnastic scene was great and she can fight), she looks great and is well stylised (David Ayer's stylisation of the character captures Harley so well), she is funny - the character has so many great characters. Admittedly, Quinn isn't the usual strong independent female character that I usually love but I feel like her upcoming spinoff Gotham City Sirens could change that as it is essentially a girl power movie. The Extended Cut of Suicide Squad is also seen as a let down but even though it didn't massively improve the film, it did add more Harley Quinn and added some development to the Mad Love story. I loved all of the extra Harley moments.
So we have covered why I love the character now let's get into the details of my obsession - at first, it was Suicide Squad as a whole that I was obsessed with because I thought the marketing was genius and I thought I was almost guaranteed to love the film - note the word almost. Then I saw the film and my obsession really did narrow to the character of Quinn. I have spent way too much money on the character of Harley Quinn in the space of a year, it's ridiculous! Here is the list of Harley Quinn themed merchandise I have gained in the last year:
- Harley Quinn Empire Magazine cover (December 2015 issue) [closely then followed by me caving in and collecting all 4 covers]
- Suicide Squad Empire Magazine covers (September 2016 issues) [once again buying both of the covers on offer]
- Suicide Squad Empire Subscribers Cover - Harley Quinn (September 2016 issue). This is actually an interesting one as I became an Empire subscriber the month after this issue which meant I had to pay a ridiculous price on eBay for this cover as I wanted it so much!
- Harley Quinn Pop Funkos - by the end of March, I will have three Harley funkos from the 2016 adaption. As soon as they were released in the US, I ordered the original Harley (and The Joker) from Hot Topic and was willing to pay ridiculous delivery fees - the order cost me over £40 and a few days after the order was processed, they appeared on UK sites for a much lower price but I had already committed. I also have the Funkos of Harleen Quinzel and Inmate Harley on the way which I cannot wait for them to arrive. I also own a key ring version of the original Harley funko.
- Too many Harley Quinn t-shirts - I think I have about 4 or 5 Harley tops and I love wearing them all. Some are more artistic than others but I love enjoy wearing them.
- Every Harley Quinn maxi poster available - overtime I see one that I don't have, I buy it and I have a whole wall in my room dedicated to just Harley Quinn and Suicide Squad.
- Harley Quinn canvas - I got this for my birthday and I wasn't actually that keen on it at first but I've found a spot for it and I love it.
- Harley Quinn cardboard cutout - yes, I also have a life-size standee of Quinn.
- Suicide Squad cardboard hexagon - working at a cinema has its perks and one of these one being able to get my hands on this huge cutout when the cinema was done with it - it was hard to find a spot for it in my room but I have managed to make it work and even though it includes the whole cast, it reminds me of the excellent marketing campaign.
- Exclusive Lootcrate Harley Quinn Q-Fig - this one was a little disappointing as I literally signed up to Lootcrate for this figure and when it arrived, it wasn't themed to the 2016 film adaption of Harley but it still includes a Harley phrase so I still like it.
- Justice League vs Suicide Squad comic - this will be the first comic I ever read and I can't wait for it to arrive
- DVD, Blu-Ray and Soundtrack - of course I have all the basic Suicide Squad necessities
- Harley Quinn Metals Die-Cast figure - This was on my Christmas list and I was lucky enough to receive it and I am actually really impressed with the quality of it. For a figure that is so heavy, you would expect it to not be able to stand up right (like many of my Pop Funkos) and it does which just amazes me.
- Harley Quinn Cushion - this may be one of the more random items in my collection but I love it - on one side is Harley and the other is the print of her top!
- Harley Quinn Christmas Jumper - When you work at a cinema and they give you the chance to wear Christmas jumpers over the festive period, it's acceptable to fork out £35 for a film themed jumper right? That's what I did and I love the jumper!
- Suicide Squad framed photos - these are a little hard to explain but I found them in HMV a while back and I thought they looked quite prestigious.
- Harley Quinn mugs (again, a little too many) - I don't even drink hot drinks haha!
- Suicide Squad notebook - I don't really use notebooks but I have a collection of them ready just in case
and my most prized possession is...
- Harley Quinn 12" Statue - This has been on my wishlist for ages - I had preordered it but the supplier kept delaying and it was too much of a financial commitment for something that I could possibly never receive. I was then lucky enough to receive it on Christmas day and I have to say, it is of an excellent quality, is a good size and literally is my favourite Harley piece. I think it's because it feels like something a little more unique and authentic - it feels like an actual piece of film memorabilia (even though that whole list was too). I will treasure it for a very long time and it now sits in the glass cabinet that I purchased in the middle of 2016 just for this statue - the cabinet finally fits its purpose.
So I have finally confessed to my big obsession in life (other than Selena Gomez) - I actually think I ended up spending more last year on Harley than I did on Selena (the meet and greet refund😭). I wonder why humans get obsessions like this? I suppose that is another discussion. I don't expect to buy as much Harley stuff in the near future - it's all about Beauty and the Beast this year😉 I hope my bank card can forgive me for the dent that Harley took from it - let's just be thankful Suicide Squad wasn't a great film or else I could have wanted everything of every character - imagine......
See You Soon!
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