Dir. Cathy Yan
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn or, as it is now being called in theaters, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey is a spin off-sequel to Suicide Squad focused on break out favorite Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). This is an incredibly fun and enjoyable film but the experience is definitely improved by thinking of it solely as a Harley Quinn movie with guest appearances. I’ve watched it twice and liked it so much more the second time because I wasn’t checking the time going “when the heck are these Birds getting together?” (Spoiler Alert: Not until the last 20 minutes.)
An unspecified amount of time after the events of Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn is sent reeling after a messy break up with the Joker. In the midst of trying to build a new life, she drunkenly and publicly announces her new relationship status, sending the enemies who’d previously stayed away out of fear of the Joker after her en masse. One of these enemies is Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) aka Black Mask and his psychopathic henchman/ambiguously coded lover Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina). However, after losing an invaluable diamond, he spares Harley and instead commissions her and most of Gotham’s criminal underworld to find his Precious. This journey brings Harley Quinn together with young thief Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), club singer Dinah Lance aka Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Gotham Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), and Helena Bertinelli aka Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who is drawn into the chaos by a personal vendetta.
While I enjoyed all the members of the Birds of Prey, they recieve very uneven development (which is why this movie doesn’t work as a Birds of Prey movie but does when you consider them as supporting characters). Helena Bertinelli aka Huntress is given a complete backstory and motivation but comparatively few lines in the present. By contrast, Dinah Lance gets three lines of exposited backstory but is given a lot more to do in the main action playing against Harley and Roman Sionis. Of the three, Renee Montoya was probably the most broad but the way she feels out of step with the rest of the movie is addressed enough that it wasn’t a deal breaking flaw for me. However, despite this patchy development, I am given enough that I will be in line for the spin off they deserve. I’m especially excited to see what Jurnee Smollett-Bell could do with Black Canary when given more screen time and the chance to grow and develop her powers.
Unsurprising to most of us who watched the trailers, Harley Quinn is the true star of this movie. This version of Harley has just gotten her own place, picked up some new hobbies, got a pet, and is making dramatic hair changes. In other words, she’s hitting the typical post-break up checklist, but with an irreverent and literally explosive twist. Over the course of the film, Harley also gets to explore new relationships and essentially relearn how to form friendly connections when her last relationship has so completely destroyed her barometer for how two people are supposed to treat each other. Margot Robbie continues to shine as Harley, she’s a delight to watch on screen and so effectively portrays the full gamut of emotions of a character who no longer processes her emotions in a rational way. They also leaned into Harleen Quinzel PhD, and it’s nice to see Harley rebuilding herself with the parts of who she was before she was remade in the Joker’s image.
The soundtrack to this movie is superb. Every song fits with the general fun, colorful vibe of the film but also Harley’s emotional state as she develops over time. It’s a great listen just as an album (and especially for exercise music), but the placement in the film is spot on and matches the mood of each scene they use those songs in. The use of a slow, dramatic version of “Hit me with your best shot” is a personal favorite of mine.
This soundtrack supports a series of impeccably choreographed fight scenes that might just make up my favorite fight choreography for any female superheroes yet put to film (aside from perhaps the Dora Milaje, I’m still ruminating on the subject). The action in this film is brutal AND fun AND acrobatic, on top of taking place in very elaborate sets that the characters interact with in creative ways while they fight. And as an added bonus, there’s no flying scissor kicks! My apologies to Black Widow, but I’ve grown tired of women flying into combat crotch first.
No superhero (or anti-hero) movie is complete with a formidable villain and while Ewan McGregor is definitely vibrant and attention-grabbing, he’s not a particularly scary opponent. While there were glimpses of how terrifying he could be, Roman Sionis spends most of the film Black Mask-less, swanning around in ostentatious robes and throwing temper tantrums. A friend I saw the movie with accurately described him as Scar from The Lion King as a person. Most of the genuine creep factor comes from his right-hand man, Victor Szasz (in a truly underrated performance by Chris Messina). He’s a gold-toothed serial killer whose sadistic enjoyment of other people’s pain oozes out of him in every scene he’s in. His function as the devil on the shoulder of another devil creates a really fascinating dynamic. Victor appears incredibly jealous of any attention Roman pays to others which supports the implied relationship between the two, but the unconfirmed, queer-coded villain trope feels a bit outdated.
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is as ridiculous, fun, and full of personality as the name implies. Margot Robbie continues to be Harley Quinn and her love of the character is apparent not only in her performance but the decisions she’s made in her role as a producer. While the Birds of Prey don’t feature as heavily as the title may lead a layman to believe, what we get of them is great and promising for any possible appearance in the future. The fight choreography is stunning and I appreciated it even more the second time. This movie isn’t perfect but it is absolutely worth seeing in theaters and I hope word of mouth starts filling out those theater seats.