Birds of Prey (2020) Warner Bros./Action-Adventure-Comedy RT: 109 minutes Rated R (strong violence and language throughout, some sexual and drug material) Director: Cathy Yan Screenplay: Christina Hodson Music: Daniel Pemberton Cinematography: Matthew Libatique Release date: February 7, 2020 (US) Cast: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Chris Messina, Ewan McGregor, Ali Wong, Steven Williams, Dana Lee, Francois Chau. Box Office: $84.2M (US)/$205.5M (World)
Rating: ***
Margot Robbie, currently up for Best Supporting Actress for Bombshell, returns as that most adorable sociopath Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey, a crazy fun action flick fueled by pure girl power. Based on the DC comic of the same name, its message of female empowerment comes across loud and clear with the titular team of lady bad asses joining forces to take down vicious Gotham City crime lord Roman Sionis (McGregor, Doctor Sleep), a nightclub owner who also goes by Black Mask. A follow-up to (and improvement over) Suicide Squad, its full title is Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). It’s the more apt title as the primary focus is on Quinn and how she copes after her break-up with the Joker. Thankfully, Jared Leto is nowhere to be found here, a definite plus. His Joker sucks BIG TIME!
The messy plot of Birds of Prey centers on a MacGuffin; in this case, it’s a diamond containing valuable information. Everybody wants to get their hands on the gem, especially Roman. He almost had it, but it was stolen from his right-hand man Victor Zsasz (Messina, The Mindy Project) by teenage pickpocket Cassandra Cain (newcomer Basco). So where does Harley fit in? After splitting with the Joker, it’s open season on her by every criminal lowlife in Gotham City. She pissed off a lot of people while she was under the Joker’s protection. Detective Renee Montoya (Perez, White Men Can’t Jump) of the GCPD is after Harley as well for blowing up the chemical plant where she and her ex shared an important moment. When Roman succeeds in capturing her, she agrees to break Cassandra out of jail and deliver her to him in exchange for letting her off the hook for her wrongs against him. The other birds involved are crossbow-sporting vigilante Huntress (Winstead, 10 Cloverfield Lane) and supersonic voiced singer Black Canary (Bell, all grown up from Full House).
Birds of Prey starts off great with a vibrant animated sequence detailing Harley’s history from childhood to the break-up that forces her to carve out a life of her own. She cuts her hair, moves into her own apartment above a Chinese restaurant, takes up roller derby and adopts a hyena she names Bruce Wayne. Her love for violence and mayhem stays the same. Nothing makes Harley happier than beating down goons who have the audacity to come after her or taking on the entire GC police force in one of the movie’s best scenes. The gleeful way she goes about her “work” is the coolest thing about her. Robbie, a versatile actress who clearly loves the material, attacks her role with zippy energy and devilish joy. Thanks to the R rating, she’s able to go full tilt boogie wild, dropping f-bombs and bad men left and right. Unlike last fall’s Joker, it’s all in fun. The violence, while plentiful, is more comical than disturbing. This is one comic book movie with its tongue planted in its cheek.
The rest of the cast is great too. Winstead fares best as stoic but socially awkward Huntress, a girl who spent practically her whole life training to take revenge against the gangsters who murdered her entire family. Really, the whole cast of Birds of Prey does a fine job especially the ladies. Their characters are linked by their bad experiences with men. Take Montoya whose moment of glory was stolen by her male partner who ultimately rose in the ranks while she stayed a detective. None of her male colleagues respect or listen to her. Is it any wonder she joins up with Harley and the girls? Basco, in her first role, is quite good as the rebel teen looking to belong to a family. MacGregor seems to be having a blast as the villain, a psycho who sometimes dons a mask. It’s never really explained why he does this. What’s his motivation for wearing a mask?
The look of Birds of Prey is AWESOME! The colorful array of punk rock-inspired outfits worn by Harley is a nice contrast to the cool, smoky sheen of Gotham City. The cinematography by Matthew Libatique (Requiem for a Dream) is first-rate as is Erin Benach’s (The Neon Demon) costume design. I love Renee’s profane T-shirt. The action scenes and fight choreography are well done. Director Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs) allows the scenes to play out naturally rather than rely on overediting in post-production. It lends a note of authenticity to an otherwise slightly surreal comic book movie.
Genuinely cool, Birds of Prey is a legit good movie. It’s energetic, colorful, funny and violent. I LOVE Harley Quinn. I LOVE Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. It’s not perfect. It lags a bit in the middle and the storyline is a mess, but its good points more than make up for it.
