Birds of Prey is a 2020 superhero film that revolves around the eccentric Harley Quinn teaming up with the Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya in order to save a young girl from a ruthless crime lord in Gotham City.
One thing we can all agree on after seeing Suicide Squad is that Harley Quinn, played brilliantly by Margot Robbie, is the best part of the entire movie. She most certainly deserved her own film, and now our wish finally came true! Birds of Prey is the latest installment in the DC Extended Universe, and it is a spin-off of Suicide Squad. However, it’s not even necessary for you to watch it at this point since they don’t even bother referencing to the events of that film. It’s also rated R so don’t take the kids to see it! Directed by Cathy Yan, she showcases her filmmaking talent by bringing a new take on the beloved Harley Quinn and introducing the DC Comics team known as the Birds of Prey on the big screen, which is comprised of the Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya.
Taking place after the finale of Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey focuses on Harley Quinn who has just ended her relationship with the psychotic Joker and is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. As she’s busy being a vigilante in Gotham City, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), a ruthless crime lord also known as Black Mask, is coming after a young pickpocket named Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) who has stolen a diamond from him. Harley now has to team up with the Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) in order to save the young girl from being hunted by Black Mask.
Once again, Robbie is absolutely great as Harley Quinn! She brings a lot of humor to the film, and it’s quite hilarious. You seriously can’t imagine anyone else playing this crazy and iconic character. However, McGregor is the one who steals the show! As the main antagonist, he is quite menacing whenever he’s on screen, while also adding a lot of charisma to his performance. Without a doubt, Black Mask is so far the best villain in the DCEU. The rest of the cast also does a good job, but it’s a shame that we don’t really get to see a lot of screen time with these characters. The Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya are a little underdeveloped, because the script, written by Christina Hodson, doesn’t really expand on their backstories.
The best way to describe the style and tone of Birds of Prey is that they’re pretty similar to Deadpool. As mentioned in the intro, it’s the first-ever film in the DCEU to be rated R, and they don’t hold anything back! The action sequences are a lot of fun because they’re filmed in a very stylish and face-paced way. Sometimes they do heavily rely on slow motion for its action scenes, but they’re still impressive. However, Birds of Prey still carries flaws that have been shown in Suicide Squad such as having a jarring soundtrack and choppy editing. Whenever they’re introducing new characters, it feels very rushed, and it does take you out of the movie sometimes.
While it’s not the best installment in the DCEU, Birds of Prey is still a lot of fun. In spite of the fact that the flaws do compromise the movie at times, you will have a blast watching this hilarious, colorful and enjoyable popcorn flick. It also makes you look forward to what they’ll eventually do with Harley Quinn in their upcoming films. From start to finish, it’s highly entertaining, kooky and hysterical.