Spoiler-Free Movie Review: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (202

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

In 2016, Warner Bros. Pictures released the box office hit, Suicide Squad, and although it met much critical backlash, the action-packed character study made more money for the studio than anyone expected and ever since then people have wondered what is taking them so long to make a sequel. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) is effectively that sequel even if the title is different. It can be argued that a big factor in why Suicide Squad was a hit was Margot Robbie’s version of Harley Quinn was an instant phenomenon and so it was only smart for the first real follow-up to that movie being a movie that is basically a vehicle for her character’s arc even if it is an ensemble movie. Due to Birds of Prey being practically her spin-off, it is only natural that she is easily the best part of the movie. She completely embodies the character as envisioned by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm when they created her for Batman: The Animated Series (1992) and there are some significant references to that show in this movie to pay homage especially in the opening scene. I was even surprised they had a reference to the recent Harley Quinn (2019) on DC Universe starring Kaley Cuoco (by the way, stay through the credits), which is another fantastic adaptation of the character, and was less surprised but still happy to see multiple references to Suicide Squad.

Back to Margot’s version, the movie is told from her point of view which gives this film what has been described in a Tarantino style as much of the story is told out of order and some scenes start or end erratically as Harley remembers something. This device sets the film apart from other DCEU movies or even comic book movies in general which are mostly told linearly and hardly ever told with an unreliable narrator. It was similar to the storytelling of The Prestige (2006), if both of those narrators were insane rather than just rivals. Being her movie, Margot’s Harley totally steals the show and facilitates much of the humor throughout the film (including a gag that any New Yorker should relate to) and has the most complete arc of any of the characters as she works her way toward relationship with the Joker post-breakup. She has great chemistry with the rest of the cast, and I cannot wait to see where her character goes next.

This film, though, is still a Birds of Prey movie and thus has the DCEU origin of that comic team as it also stars Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Dinah Lance, a.k.a. Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Helena Bertinelli, a.k.a. Huntress, and Rosie Perez as GCPD Detective Renee Montoya. Jurnee Smollett-Bell kills it as Dinah and stays true to the comic version of the character while still making the character her own. Besides Harley, she has some of the best stand-out moments of the cast and hopefully will lead her own DC film down the road. Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s socially awkward assassin, Helena Bertinelli was probably my favorite of the cast as she stayed very true to the comics’ backstory while giving her a unique, relatable personality, though she could’ve used some more screen time. Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya had a very different personality from the comic version, but stayed true to the character’s drive, but really played into the clichés of an eighties’ cop movie and almost became one note at times.

A big problem I, personally, had with the movie with the total mishandling of the Cassandra Cain character. While the young actress, Ella Jay Basco, did the best she could in the role, the character in the movie is unrecognizable from the mute assassin who learned the language of violence before reading, writing, or speech and chose to turn away from her abusive father to train under Barbara Gordon to become the new Batgirl. The film version, a young foul-mouthed, orphan pickpocket is Cassandra Cain in name only and should be judged as such. The character is basically a plot device similar to X-23 in Logan (2017) but with less agency as she becomes the McGuffin that everyone is after and does not have much of a role once the plot kicks off.

Similar to Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor’s Roman Sionis steals every scene he is a part of with his very flamboyant, violent, sociopathic gangster iteration of the villain, Black Mask. He quickly becomes one of the best comic book movie villains through some unprecedented acts of violence and scum that earn the film’s R rating before even considering the many F-bombs. His relationship with Chris Messina’s Victor Zsasz also helps him stand apart from the rest as one doesn’t often see a villain and second-in-command have this close a bond without having Zsasz trying to usurp his position or undermine him. This movie will definitely put Black Mask and Zsasz on the map of great Batman villains despite Batman not being in this movie (although there is a Bruce).

Besides the actors, the production design and the action were big-time stand outs that show just how unique of a style Director Cathy Yan envisioned and executed for this film. The main locations, the Black Mask club, police station, and Amusement Mile, among other locations, perfectly fit the mood of their respective scenes and added a lot of flair to the action scenes beyond just being backgrounds. The action scenes, which were choreographed by the same studio that crafts the John Wick movies, felt frenetic, intense, looked like no other movie besides the aforementioned John Wick movies only with bats, mallets, and crossbows rather than guns (lots of guns).

Wherever these character’s go from here in the DCEU, despite some problems, I hope Cathy Yan will stay involved as she has such a unique style that I hope to see more of in this franchise. Similar to Black Adam (2021) and the Shazam! Sequel that releases soon afterwards, a Birds of Prey movie starring Black Canary, Huntress, Montoya, and Barbara Gordon followed by a Gotham City Sirens movie starring Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman would be welcome additions to DC’s film slate.

Rating: 8/10