After her stand out performance in the 2016 movie, Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie is reprising her role as our favorite antiheroine Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), this time leading her own badass all-female squad.
While some were skeptical when the movie was first announced due to their experience with previous DCEU films, many still looked forward to the movie’s release. But upon watching the movie, we can say that it did not disappoint and is a far cry from some of its predecessors.
Here’s our High Five Birds of Prey review.
Creative storytelling
Written by Christina Hodson (“Bumblebee”) and Directed by Cathy Yan (“Dead Pigs”), Birds of Prey is a visually exciting film. With its candy-colored palette, unique sets, on-point humor, and fight scenes that are somehow both playful and violent, Birds of Prey sets its own standards and is definitely a stand out in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).
Badass Soundtrack
To make the movie even better, it’s filled with songs that will definitely make you feel pumped up! Playing the songs as the characters kicked ass made for an even more exciting and spectacular experience. Birds of Prey: The Album is released by Warner Music and contains 15 songs performed by various artists such as Halsey, Doja Cat, Normani, and more.
Adrenaline-packed action scenes
Given its R-13 rating, you can expect more violence in Birds of Prey compared to other DCEU films. Some people are even comparing its action scenes to those of “Deadpool” and “John Wick”. Each action scene was brilliantly choreographed and it was fun to watch Harley’s quirky and playful personality integrated into her fighting style. As the “emancipation” in the title suggests, Harley is set free from all things from her past that held her down and goes on to ensue her own chaos all over Gotham City.
Harley Quinn’s character arc
The movie begins after the Joker and Harley Quinn break up. Harley starts struggling without having a “master” when she is left to fend for herself, even initially refusing to tell anyone about the break-up. Throughout the movie, she tries to find herself and tries to take on different roles – “finder of things”, mercenary, and psychologist, among others. By the end of the movie, she establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with, even without her puddin’. Although personally, [SPOILER] I would have loved to see her be integrated into a real friend group, but maybe Harley needs to build a life of her own first – with her new trusty apprentice by her side. But who knows, maybe we’ll see her reunited with the girls in the sequel, if we ever get one. [END OF SPOILER] The show’s creators also let Harley lean in a little to her psychologist side – she does have a PhD in Psychology after all as reminded by Harley herself in the movie – and it was interesting to see that part of her pop up in her conversations with other characters.
Empowered female characters
What’s great about this female-led film is that it didn’t just force female characters into a crime fighting group for the sake of appearing gender-inclusive, which has been a general critique about superhero films. While the story is mainly focused on Harley, each of the other main characters also got their time in the spotlight, showing each of their unique personalities and motivations. Throughout the movie, there were also subtle showcases of women helping women and highlighting relevant issues in its story such as Black Canary helping a drunk Harley Quinn from being sexually assaulted and Renne Montoya’s struggles in a male-dominated field or even simply portraying mundane moments that every woman will be able to relate to like that scene where Harley offers Black Canary a hair tie in the middle of a fight when she saw her struggling with her long locks.
Overall, the movie was a fun watch that’s full of memorable scenes and lovable characters. The casting was just perfect and they all did an amazing job bringing to life their characters, especially Margot Robbie and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Dinah Lance/Black Canary). Needless to say, Harley Quinn and the little birdies won over our hearts and we are hoping to see this squad together again in the near future!
We’re giving Birds of Prey 4 out of 5 waves.
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Watch the trailer below: