Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) - Movie Review

Written by Shiggins

A chick(en) flick! Birds!

With the exception of some casting choices remaining the same throughout the movies, I think it's safe to declare the DCEU officially dead. And honestly, it's clearly for the better. Movies like Aquaman, Shazam, Wonder Woman and now Birds of Prey are great proof that sometimes, it's better to have a solo adventure and ignore the complications of being part of a larger universe. Especially since a story like this would raise so many questions otherwise, such as "Where is Batman during all this?" or "Why would this Harley Quinn ever stoop so low as to date Jared Leto's Joker?"

Gotta say though, I really don't like the posters.

Birds of Prey is what can be considered the "soft sequel" to 2016's Suicide Squad, with the only real connection being Margot Robbie's casting as Harley Quinn, and follows Harley after she has been dumped by her Mr J/Joker, and is now having to survive in Gotham without his protection. She's pissed off a lot of people, including the mob boss Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) and his sidekick/boyfriend(?) Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina), and must find a way to survive. Along the way, she teams up with and fights against several other characters; the club singer Dinah Lance/Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), the pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), the alcoholic detective Renne Montoya (Rosie Perez), and the traumatised Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

Films like this really emphasise how poorly done Justice League actually was.

Something that really stood out to me with this film was how the characters I knew about were accurately portrayed, and here we waggle our disapproving fingers at Batman vs Superman for reference with what I'm talking about. In that film, Lex Luthor was played by Jesse Eisenberg and, while he was a genius, it's all too clear that that version of Lex had lost what made the character so interesting, such as the calm attitude and intimidating dynamic with Superman. Here however, while Roman Sionis is far more flamboyant and Harley Quinn is less villainous, they still stay true to the core of who they are in most faithful adaptations. That being said, I don't know much about Huntress or Black Canary, so they might be completely botched for diehards.

If they are mistakes, then I will say they are very enjoyable mistakes. Dinah is a strong ass-kicker with a softer side than she can afford to show, Montoya is determined and frustrated constantly, Cassandra Cain works as the cunning thief that Harley bonds with, and Huntress is delightfully quirky and clearly needs some therapy sessions. She's my favourite. And the performances are all delightful too, everybody clearly giving it their all.

Gotta admit, I had the lowest expectations for Black Mask here. I was not happy until I finally saw how good he was. Damn me and my assumptions!

Speaking of giving it their all, the action is very fun and chaotic with nice variation and some fantastic choreography. The editing keeps most scenes away from excessive amounts of cuts, and the different locations help to spice up what could be typical fights. And oh those poor crotches... It doesn't matter what gender you are, there's an 80% chance your genitals are getting pummelled if you're in this movie.

Where the movie suffers is when it's trying too to be... let's face it, Deadpool. Harley breaks the fourth wall, makes a lot of sarcastic jokes about tropes like the villain's monologue, punches crotches, bonds with a kid who needs to be protected, and narrates. All. The. Time! It can get grating, and your tolerance from this film will entirely depend on how much of Harley Quinn you can stand. I went with two girls (Lucky me) and they were completely divided on this movie because of that issue.

The one thing they both 100% agreed on? The hyena is adorabibble!

Once again, Gotham is quite the character all on it's own. This time however, Gotham is more colourful and flashy, almost like you'd expect a comic book city to look if you tore it out from the pages. Filled to the brim with sexism and murderers, standing on your own like Harley has to do is near-impossible as everyone is out to get her for one reason or the other. I really don't know why Batman would allow Black Mask to treat women like the objects he does though, especially in that disturbing scene involving laughter (which is actually a great way to show how the way he treats women isn't to do with sex or attraction, but rather power and control, and it creates a stark contrast to his treatment of Victor Zsasz)... Seriously though, where is Batman?!

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) or Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey or Harley Quinn Wears Prada or whatever I'm meant to call it right now is certainly a wild and colourful film with decent performances, but your attitude towards it will almost entirely depend on how much of Margot Robbie's Harley you can stand. Personally, I found every character to enjoyable in their own right, the action to be ridiculously fun, and unlike Suicide Squad, I gave a shit about them when they did finally get together because their chemistry felt far more genuine. Hopefully the rumours are true and we're about to see Gotham City Sirens next, because it really is time to bring in Poison Ivy and Catwoman into the fray. And since I heard Oracle is meant to be a member of BoP too, maybe have her in next time? Please?

Film Rating: 8/10

Best Part: The group together.

Worst Part: So much narration!

Best Performance: Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.

Usually, I'd be mad at a film for saying it out loud. Here though? I just nod. They are right. She is so cool.

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/