Birds of Prey Review – “Nature of the Beast”

I had hoped to send out this review late because I was at The Two Towers, but when I went to buy my tickets on December 7, all opening day screenings were sold out. So, this review is on time, while the review of The Two Towers won’t be up until Friday morning.

Cast

Dina Meyer as
Oracle/Barbara Gordon.
Ashley Scott
as Huntress/Helena Kyle.
Rachel
Skarsten
as Dinah Lance
Shemar Moore as
Detective Reese
Ian
Abercrombie
as Alfred Pennyworth
Mia Sara as Harley
Quinn

Written by Melissa
Rosenberg
.

Directed by Shawn Levy.

Original Airdate


Nature of the Beast

originally aired on Wednesday,
December 18, 2002.

Synopsis

Al Hawke, Reese’ mobster father last seen in Sins of the
Mother
, offers to turn state’s evidence and retire.

High Point

“Actually, it’s not an allergy…”

Low Point

The footage of her jumping over the rooftops didn’t look that great
the first time. How many times have we seen it now?

The Review

The only marginally original part of this episode was the
sapless ending to Jesse’s story. I give it 3 out of 6.

The effects were mostly stock footage, or the
easily-done-today walking through the walls bit. The effect at the
door of the radiology lab was nicely constructed, though. I give it 4
out of 6.

The story was nicely developed this time. Dinah’s storyline
was a little heavy on the sap, but that was balanced out by the
resolution of the other story. I’d really like to know how the hitman
could track him down so easily, though. I give it 4 out of 6.

The acting from Dina Meyer and Mitch Pileggi was very good.
The rest of the cast did a decent job, but none that really stood
out. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced was pretty poor. I
laughed a couple of times at Oracle’s delivery, and I did like the
resolution of Jesse’s plotline, but the rest was just there. I give
it 3 out of 6.

The production irritated me this week. The lighting in
particular was terrible. Some of that can be attributed to limited
setups given their sets, but when the colour of the light changes from
blue to yellow when you go from a long shot to a close up, you’ve got
problems. 3 out of 6.

Overall, I’d say this is a forgettable episode, but they
might actually talk about how it ended later on. It’s a piece of the
puzzle that had to be there, but it wasn’t an impressive piece. I
give it 3 out of 6.

In total, Nature of the Beast receives 24 out of 42.

4 replies on “Birds of Prey Review – “Nature of the Beast””

  1. Say something…
    Okay, why do shows start to show potential after they’ve been canceled? What is that?

    At this point though, I’m only watching for my Dina Meyer fix. Yummie Dina. Hope she gets another TV series soon.

    But enough about BoP, what the hell is up with fiziko not getting tickets to LoTR:TTT???? Has he never heard of movietickets.com? I had tickets back in November, dude. I can accept this sort of excuse for “Star Trek: Beating A Dead Horse for Loose Pocket Change” or “Star Wars: The Episodes That Really Shouldn’t Have Been After All, What Were They Thinking?” but not our Precious.

    • Re: Say something…

      But enough about BoP, what the hell is up with fiziko not getting tickets to LoTR:TTT???? Has he never heard of movietickets.com? I had tickets back in November, dude. I can accept this sort of excuse for “Star Trek: Beating A Dead Horse for Loose Pocket Change” or “Star Wars: The Episodes That Really Shouldn’t Have Been After All, What Were They Thinking?” but not our Precious.

      When I bought them that early last year, I ended up with three extra because of people who ended up cancelling. I can’t afford to eat the $40, so I waited for confirmations this year, thinking that 11 days early would be early enough for opening day purchases. I learned how wrong that was, and it won’t happen again.

      • Re: Say something…

        When I bought them that early last year, I ended up with three extra because of people who ended up cancelling. I can’t afford to eat the $40, so I waited for confirmations this year, thinking that 11 days early would be early enough for opening day purchases. I learned how wrong that was, and it won’t happen again.

        No muss, budgeting for friends is always a pain. The movie is well worth the effort :)

        • Re: Say something…
          That’s why you buy tickets for yourself, and let your friends do whatever. Who cares about the others, the Precious is all that matters! My Precious, my Precious…

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