Directed by Cathy Yan
Starring Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, and Ewan McGregor
Backstory
One of the few things that people agreed on with Suicide Squad was that Margot Robbie crushed it as Harley Quinn. So there was very little surprise that she’d be getting her own movie. It was a little curious, though, that the movie was going to involved the super-team Birds of Prey, as Harley traditionally had very little to do with them in the comics. But still, more Harley Quinn is never a bad thing.
Plot
Harley Quinn and the Joker have broken up, and this time, it looks as though it’s for good. After having been identified as the Joker’s main squeeze for so long, Harley is thrown into the existential crisis of trying to figure out who she is. Of course, what complicates things is, as she’s no longer affiliated with the Joker, a lot of Gotham City’s criminal element have now declared fair game. Top of the list, the crime lord Roman Sionis, better known as the Black Mask. Sionis is on the trail of a young pickpocket named Cassandra Cain, and young Cassandra soon falls into Harley’s care. Also getting drawn into the chase for Cassandra are detective Rene Montoya, nightclub singer Dinah Lance, and the last heir to the Bertinelli crime fortune, Helena Bertinelli. Together, these ladies need to band together, and through it all, Harley just may find herself.
What I Liked
The fight scenes are spectacular. In case you didn’t hear, they brought the director of the John Wick films to spruce up the fight scenes during reshoots, and man, does it show. On top of that, the performances are once again top notch. Robbie again knocks it out of the park as Harley, and McGregor is wonderfully sleazy as the Black Mask. I also got a real kick out of Winstead’s Huntress, which leads into….
What I Didn’t Like
Ya know, for a movie called Birds of Prey, we really don’t see that much of the Birds of Prey. I would have really liked it if we got to know Black Canary and Huntress a little more, but as it is right now, they just kinda get dragged along for the ride.
Final Verdict
Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey was just a whole heck of a lot of fun. Bring on the sequel where Harley finally hangs out with her BFF Poison Ivy.