'Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)' Review

Synopsis: It's open season on Harley Quinn when her explosive breakup with the Joker puts a big target on her back. Unprotected and on the run, Quinn faces the wrath of a narcissistic crime boss, his right-hand man, and every other thug in the city. But things soon even out for Harley when she becomes unexpected allies with three deadly women.

Runtime: 109 minutes

MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence and language throughout, and some sexual and drug material)

Who should see it? Adults fans of Harley Quinn, the Birds of Prey, and DC Comics.

Directed by Cathy Yan and featuring a screenplay from Christina Hodson, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is the first of four female-driven comic-book movies to be released this year. Misogynistic incels are surely raging in their basements. Still, hopefully, their cries will fall on deaf ears because Birds of Prey is beaming with personality and zany, creative energy. The regime change at Warner Bros. has helped DC course-correct from a spotty track record to a streak of surefire critical and commercial hits. The secret being that Warners and DC became less concerned with building a universe and focused on telling quality, standalone stories. Margot Robbie leveraged her star power to be more involved behind-the-scenes as a producer after initially pitching the idea on the set of Suicide Squad. Robbie championed Yan and Hodson's vision every step of the way, so Birds of Prey manifested into a unique addition for the DC Extended Universe that took note of past failings.

Whereas Suicide Squad felt restrained by its PG-13 rating and studio interference, Birds of Prey is liberated by an R-rating and the vitality of artistic freedom. The filmmakers really let loose and leaned into the crazed mental state of its protagonist with fourth wall breaks and non-sequential storytelling, among other things. Though the title is Birds of Prey, it's very much Harley Quinn's movie, and that's reflected in spades with Yan's approach to the material. Rather than ignore Suicide Squad, Yan builds on the foundation laid by David Ayer in a way that serves Harley's story. While Birds of Prey is its own creative beast, there are similarities to the style and presentation. Flashy title graphics, a series of high-energy action set pieces, and a soundtrack of pop bops can still be found surrounding the unhinged harlequin.

However, it was obvious that Yan and Hodson wanted to distance Harley from Jared Leto's Joker as much as possible. Harley and Joker's breakup actually works as a wonderful catalyst for setting the plot in motion, though. I especially liked the idea that it would result in Harley's lost immunity within Gotham since nobody wants to mess with Joker aside from Batman. It also offers a compelling character arc for Harley as she's forced to fend for herself. Containing the story within Gotham and positioning the city's criminal underworld against Harley and the Birds of Prey was a wise choice. Suicide Squad ridiculously pit ordinary characters against a supernatural threat, so it was nice to see Birds of Prey stay on the street-level with suitable antagonists. Yan also effectively grounds whacky, cartoonish antics with the menace of Black Mask and Victor Zsasz. Otherwise, I was impressed by the colorful costuming, production design, Matthew Libatique's cinematography, and the phenomenal stunt work. More roller skates in action films, please.

Concerning the cast, Margot Robbie's really honed in on her portrayal of Harley Quinn. Robbie's clearly having a blast acting like an absolute maniac, and I have a difficult time imagining anyone else in the role. One nice flourish was incorporating her past life as psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel when she'd periodically psychoanalyze everyone around her before snapping back to the ditsy Harley. Her separation from the Joker really beefed up the character. It made her more sympathetic to see her struggle in striking out on her own. I'm curious whether she'll remain independent or not.

As for the Birds of Prey, Jurnee Smollett, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez, and Ella Jay Basco were well-cast and great additions to the universe. Notable stand-outs being Smollett's Black Canary and Winstead's Huntress while Basco's Cassandra Cain was especially endearing. That said, they're all secondary to Harley. I wish more emphasis had been placed on each member, as it would have been nice to flesh them out in the film titled Birds of Prey.

In the role of Black Mask, Ewan McGregor gleefully gnaws on the scenery. Switching on a dime, McGregor fluctuates from an eccentric crime boss to a fearsome foe and makes the mood swings believable. The design of his mask was also very cool, and I'm glad they didn't stuff McGregor under it for the entire runtime because that'd waste an actor of his caliber. I also can't go without mentioning Chris Messina's Victor Zsasz, who was an intimidating henchman.

It's said "birds of a feather flock together," so I'm happy to report Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'s earned a place alongside the top tier of DC's film catalog. In simpler terms, BoP is a bop!

Film Assessment: B+