Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) Review

Disclaimer: I do not think there is spoilers, but there might be?

Harley finally gets a moment in the spotlight after her immense popularity in Suicide Squad with director Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Many fans iterated that Margot Robbie's portrayal was one of the only redeeming factors in an overall mediocre film. Probably the most notable aspect of Harley Quinn to non-comic book fans and the majority of Suicide Squad viewers was her jaw-dropping red and blue sequin hot pants. Unfortunately, many female comic book adaptions include unnecessary, uncomfortable sexualized outfits for the pleasure of viewers alike. Her iconic outfit became a Halloween store's and cosplayer's dream. Although Robbie undeniably looked stunning, we wanted more of her character. Robbie expressed wanting more for Harley. Our prayers became a reality with the announcement of a Harley film that also includes one of the most badass female warriors - the Birds of Prey.

In this film, Harley Quinn and the Joker have broken up. She goes on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to form a new identity that excludes the Joker. This includes joining a roller derby team to channel her inner rage into something healthy. She also adopts a hyena named Bruce. It is cutest Easter egg, although comic books fans hoped there could be two hyenas as a nod to her two hyenas Bud and Lou. Mostly though, she drowns her feelings into alcohol and partying at the Black Mask Club, owned by the notorious crime lord Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask. Throughout the film, Harley, in her quirky and often rambling narrations, gives us insight into the Birds of Prey ensemble, including Huntress, Black Canary, Cassandra Cain, and Detective Renee Montoya.

Margot Robbie proves that she and Harley are more than just a pretty face. She gives life into this iconic comic book character as she completely embodies everything that fans love about Harley. Harley is exceptionally quirky, eccentric, a fashion icon, intelligent, spunky, and sincere. Deep down under the scrawled-on tattoos, and the chemically induced pale skin is a sympathetic character who cares deeply for those around her. Robbie understands that she held a lot of pressure due to fans' love of the comic book character. In interviews, she researched why fans loved Harley so much and brought those beloved characteristics to life.

For Harley fans alike, this film is an homage to everything we love about her. Many have pointed out the toxicity and abusive relationship between Harley and the Joker. Although they certainly have delighted fans in their chaotic wave. The lack of the Joker in this film feels like a breath of fresh air as Harley develops into her own fully fleshed out kickass villain, not just a sidekick. We see glimpses of her personality in many aspects. Examples are her animated introduction to her life narrated by Miss Quinn herself. We see her new dilapidated apartment she found above a Taiwanese restaurant. The grievances of those around her that she may or may not have accidentally caused are shown. We even know who she voted for President. These tiny details make it feel set apart and more faithful to a cartoon on Saturday mornings. The film does not feel like just constant action being forced down the viewer's throat. The film brings a fun mixture of female friendships, getting over breakups, and how women take down toxic masculinity. Female fans rejoice in the fact that we finally get a comic book film that embraces powerful women on the screen by giving them the reigns.

Many fans worried that the film would be a Harley film and that the fan-favorite Birds of Prey would be a side plot or pushed to the side. Even though indeed Harley leads and guides the film, the Birds of Prey do get their screen time. I wanted to see more of this group, but the runtime did not allow it. Due to this, it's hard to truly get to know each of the four characters besides Cassandra Cain.

Perhaps the two most compelling characters of the group are Huntress and Black Canary, even with their limited screen time. The former unfortunately had the least time also though viewers seemed very excited about her appearance. Her story proves interesting due to her father being an infamous mob boss and her embarkment to avenge her family. She is one of the best to watch during the action scenes, and she does provide humor with her socially awkward yet charismatic demeanor. Jurnee Smollett-Bell represents Dinah Lance at her essence as a product of her environment and an homage to her mother, the original Black Canary. Her story does play out slightly more as she works in the Black Mask Club as a singer (her rendition of "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World" is beautiful and poignant). She does provide some significant kickass moments as well, and she might be the most memorable Birds of Prey member from this film.

The weakest link is the portrayal of Cassandra Cain. Unfortunately, without going into spoilers, but her character was not nearly at the level of the other Birds of Prey. Yes, she is only a young teen. Still, many viewers were expecting more from her portrayal, especially as in the comics, she is one of the future Batgirls. She is not the warrior that in the comics she trained to be. Instead, she pickpockets, which contributes to the overall story, but many wished she had kicked more ass instead of whining most of the film. Perhaps Ella Jay Basco will have the chance to flesh out this character more in the future

Rosie Perez gave a decent performance but nothing extraordinary. She is very forgettable even with her role being more in action with her being a cop. Her portrayal does break barriers, though, due to Detective Montoya identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community, which is brought up in the film. This is a considerable feat and opens the door for more openly LGBTQ+ comic book characters in the movie.

Finally, we absolutely love to hate Ewan McGregor as the notorious Black Mask, aka Roman Sionis. He knows how to channel in the ridiculous toxicity of the character who cannot seem to fathom being stood up by women in any form. He truly shone and made his villainous character unique, especially after the hype of Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. Every time he was on the screen, I could not help but smile. He is the chaotic evil that we all love about classic comic book villains.

The style and aesthetics feel very much like if Jojo Siwa and John Wick joined forces. It's colorful and eccentric aesthetic brings a high energy atmosphere from beginning to end. It includes A splash of Tarantino's aesthetics in the form of non-chronological order due to Harley's sporadic storytelling. Many of the fight sequences seem reminiscent of the infamous Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill Vol I and Kill Bill Vol 2. The R-rating benefits this film greatly as director Cathy Yan, and the screenwriters have the freedom of graphic violence and profanity to sprinkle into the film. One of the issues is the drastic difference between the first and last act, as some people did not appreciate the ongoing and hard to follow exposition.

The female-only soundtrack playing in the background takes the film to another level. The songs scream Harley aesthetics throughout the movie as the songs seem to cater to her life story as she progresses from sidekick to villain. Some of the standouts of the soundtrack include Doja Cat's "Boss Bitch," Charlotte Lawrence's "Jokes on You," Megan Thee Stallion & Normani's "Diamonds," and Adonna's eerie rendition of Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." The soundtrack exudes thrilling energy that significantly contributes to the film.

As mentioned previously, the costumes that look like that came straight out of Hot Topic are delightful. There's an elaborate range of outfits that she chooses from. The outfits include the iconic bird-like ribbon with caution tape jacket, an adorable onesie, a "Harley F*cking Quinn" shirt, and even an Elton John style ensemble. Her cute pastel blue and pink colored, short pigtails seem much more efficient in her battle against the nasty men of Gotham. Her makeup also looks far more sophisticated than her rather messy previous look. She decides to go with a classy silver metallic eye with her classic red lip.

Overall, this film is the film that fans deserved after the dreadful Suicide Squad. Even though this film did not prove nearly as successful in the box office, this film paves the way and shows that a female-leading action film can succeed. Yes, the film has flaws. Sometimes the pacing is a little off. The Birds of Prey could have made more screen time. No, it is not thought-provoking like its latest DC predecessor Joker. It is still a delightful and an absolute blast of a film. It is a great popcorn film and a great flick to watch with girlfriends or boyfriends (hey, I don't judge!). Hopefully, we will see plenty more of the iconic Birds of Prey and maybe one day even an appearance from Gotham Sirens.

Rating: ★★★★½