this review contains spoilers
My rating: PRETTY GOOD
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT - BUT IT DID HAVE FLAWS
Synopsis:
It's open season on Harley Quinn when her explosive breakup with the Joker puts a big fat target on her back. Unprotected and on the run, Quinn faces the wrath of narcissistic crime boss Black Mask, his right-hand man, Victor Zsasz, and every other thug in the city. But things soon even out for Harley when she becomes unexpected allies with three deadly women -- Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya.
Character Portrayals:
Harley Quinn // Margot Robbie
10/10 - LOVED IT. I was a bit skeptical going in because I didn’t care for her performance in Suicide Squad. I found it inconsistent, obnixious, and generally unremarkable. However, she KILLED it in this movie. Harley was presented with depth, personality and genuineness.
Helena Bertinelli (Huntress) // Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s performance was fairly mediocre, likely stunted by very “eh” writing and character development. While Winstead brought very sincere, comedic moments to the table, Huntress was a character that I didn’t care much about, and don’t care to see in a sequel.
Black Mask // Ewan McGregor
Fourty percent of the way through the movie, I realized that McGregor played Black Mask- that man is a chameleon. McGregor’s performance was fine. He brought to life a sincerely villanous, spoiled and angry character, however it was one with too little back story to really tighten the entire story line.
Dinah Lance (Black Canary) // Jurnee Smollett-Bell
I read that some comic loyalists were upset that Black Canary is African American instead of Caucasian. I say - who cares? Unlike her brother’s staged hate crime in 2019, Jurnee Smollett gave a fairly convincing performance. Like many of the supporting characters in this movie, Black Canary could have had more of a tight back story to make the victory in the end more sweet.
Renee Montoya // Rosie Perez
I really enjoyed the 80’s cop show references to Montoya’s character and would have like to see that teased out a little more, but maybe she was the one character who wasn’t supposed to be a caricature. I was a bit surprised at the character’s roundhouse kicking, which seemed a bit fantastical, but overall liked the character and think that Perez did a good job.
Victor Zsasz // Chris Messina
Messina’s performance was fine, but overall - I didn’t care much for the character of Victor Zsasz. It took me almost 60% of the movie to realize that it was even Zsasz. Is he just a crazy guy? Is he a body guard? I couldn’t get a good feel on this character and his motivations. Zsasz was one of the weakest parts of this movie.
Cassandra Cain // Ella Jay Basco
Unlike Black Canary, I didn’t see much uproar about Cassandra Cain venturing far off from the comics. In the comics, Cassandra is an expert at martial arts, is generally mute, is illeterate and has very few social skills.
I was a bit skeptical about the character of Cassandra Cain prior to seeing the movie, but overall was impressed by Ella Jay Basco’s performance and felt like her character really helped carry the movie. She was fun, realistic, and definitely displayed age and situation appropriate development, which is often missed.
Will Warner Brothers make a Cassandra Cain story line in which she leverages the Birds of Prey story to her eventual development into Batgirl? Probably not, but definitely it could be done.
Direction: Cathy Yan
Prior to seeing this movie, I was super afraid that Yan would butcher it. Suicide Squad director David Ayer had a decent resume and did an absolutely terrible job - so why would Warner Brothers recruit someone with extremely little filmmaking experience to take on a super hero(esque) project?
After seeing Birds of Prey, Yan killed it and I am sold on her future projects. I would love to see another Harley Quinn movie.
Fun fact
Yan was the second woman and the first Asian woman to direct a super hero film
What this movie did right:
When Harley goes into psychology mode
As someone with a mental health degree, I am a bit nit-picky about character development. Subsequently, I absolutely love Harley’s origin story. Young psychologist works at Arkham Asylum - gets too invested in a client - falls in love with client - will do anything for client. Outside of falling into a vat of chemicals on purpose, it’s a not-too-far from reality origin story. In Birds of Prey, Harley has moments where she goes back into analytical-psychologist mode and mades very profound and observant remarks about herself and others. Not only were the remarks astoudingly true, but although Harleen Quinzell no longer exists, there is a part of her past that she still carries with her.
No Jared Leto
I thought Jared Leto’s joker was TERRIBLE in Suicide Squad. I think the quickest way for this movie to be ruined, would have been to include Joker, especially Jared Leto’s portrayal, in it. There was little Harley-Joker chemistry in Suicide Squad, so any inclusion of Joker, other than exposition by other characters, would have ultimately ruined it.
harley Staying true to Harley’s character
One thing I really liked about this movie is that, atypical to ordinary story telling, Harley doesn’t really grow throughout the movie. She becomes more independent and confident, but as far as morality goes - nada. I like that she’s selfish without seeming like an over the top caricature (see: Black Mask), she walks to the beat of her own drum, she often thinks without acting. She doesn’t go through huge growth moments - and that’s what I think really makes Harley a complex and beautiful character.
balance of comedy/seriousness/action
Part of the beautiful direction of Birds of Prey is that it balances Harley’s character development, comedic moments, tense moments and action very well. I felt both engaged and entertained throughout the entire movie. The most funny moments were very real and relatable, but so were the serious and sad moments.
What could have made it better:
canary cry - the implementation
I’m all for Black Canary’s canary cry super power. However, the implementation was at the same time underwhelming and over the top. Why didn’t she use this skill when they were getting beat inside the amusement building? It’s too much of a convenient plot point, it just felt lazy.
Huntress: very little payoff for character development
Huntress had a mini origin story in this movie- and i didn’t hate it. however, I would have liked for that origin story to have more pay off. It serves the story well that she is seeking revenge, but there is no real “umph” when her family’s murderer’s are killed prior to her showing up and, subsequently, her decades of training are for nothing. Why does she keep hanging around the birds of prey when she doesn’t have a vendetta anymore?
Arkham fair grounds fight scene
I absolutely loved the fight scene in the Police Headquarters, so maybe my expectations were high. The Arkham fair grounds fight scene left a lot to be desired. How in the world did Cassandra Cain get out unscathed? Why would Cassandra Cain sit down during a fight? I would have liked to see the characters interact more with the environment or pull off greater stunts. It felt unbelievable that the Birds of Prey were so outnumbered, had fewer weapons, and somehow managed to beat a bunch of baddies.
Deadpool-esque moments
Birds of Prey felt deritivative of Deadpool (the recent ones, not the crappy Wolverine version) at times. It was inappropriate just to be inappropriate, minimally moving the story forward. In particular, I didn’t care for Harley snorting cocaine during the warehouse scene. It felt like a cheap move, an easy out for her to be re-energized to fight, and just seemed like lazy writing to me.
Also - the scene where Zsasz is cutting off a family’s faces, a bit too much for such little pay off.
Overall - I loved this movie
I’ll definitelypick it up when it comes out and may even go see it in theaters again
