Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is the eighth film in the DCEU and probably contender for one of the longest titles ever for a film. Despite the film being called Birds of Prey, which was a team comprise of women superheroes,this film is really a Harley Quinn movie. The movie is even narrated and told in the perspective of Harley Quinn. They probably should’ve called the movie Harley Quinn and friends. I loved Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad despite how garbage that movie was so it is great to see her star in her own film.
One of the things I loved about this movie was the fact that it gave a relatively realistic portrayal of Harley Quinn dealing with the breakup with Joker. She didn’t just move on straight away, she swallowed herself in sadness and anger before accepting her new self. I also have to praise the rest of the cast and characters as well. Jurnee Smollett-Bell shines as Black Canary by giving a badass women character and Mary Elizabeth Winstead for giving a ferocious performance as Huntress. It is a real shame however, that for a film called Birds of Prey, we don’t actually to get see much of the “Birds of Prey”. Ewan Mcgregor gives a great performance as Black Mask despite how poorly written the character is. There is honestly nothing about Black Mask, he is just a typical ass villain with no depth to himself whatever or even genuine motivation or backstory. He wants power and diamonds and that is all there is to him. On the other hand, despite the small screentime Chris Messina is able to give a fair amount of character towards the secondary villain Victor Zsasz. This is based on a source material so I have to give a nod to the fact that the character of Cassandra Cain played by Ella Jay Basco is butchered and kind of pathetic. Movies of course don’t have to be the same as the source material and the change to the character was necessary for Harley Quinn and the story they were telling. However, there is no really stand out moments from Cassandra Cain with the only memorable thing was stealing and getting saved all the time. A shame really.
Despite the relatively lower budget of this film compared to typical superhero movies, the action scenes are phenomenal and well choreographed. Additionally, the soundtrack is unique and adds towards the movie. The movie also has a great visual style with colourful sets and storytelling with a chaotic order that adds to Harley’s character. Still, the screenplay is not great honestly. Some of the dialogue are quite cheesy,generic or lacking in genuine banter between the characters. By the end of the film, I didn’t really feel like the bond between these characters were earned or should even exist. I also think it should be noted that this is a feminist film and it really shows. For example, there is not even remotely one good male character in this entire film. It really pushes the women power message straight in your face which could have been done a little better.
Nevertheless, despite the flaws, this movie continues to be a step in the right direction for the DCEU and I hope Warner Bros continues to maintain and exceed this quality of superhero movies. To anyone reading this, I recommend giving this movie a watch because even if there are some issues with the movie, you will still come out feeling that you had a good time.
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