BIRDS OF PREY
Spurned and heartbroken after her break up with the Joker, Harley Quinn is pushed out on to the harsh streets of Gotham and is forced to answer for all the trouble she has caused. Without the protection that being the Joker's girlfriend provides, Quinn’s past comes back with a vengeance in the form of those she has previously wronged. Chaos obviously ensues, nothing goes according to any kind of plan and the real fun begins.
At its core, Birds of Prey is the story of a girl trying to find her way in the world and adapt to her new, post-break up reality. The only catch is that girl is a thieving killer who has helped terrorize Gotham for years. The movie builds itself out of the world of Gotham’s villains that began in Suicide Squad while holding its own as a spin-off. For a movie based around a comic book character we have been overly exposed to in recent years, it successfully comes across as a fun and fresh adventure.
The obvious stand out of the film is Margot Robbie and it’s especially fun to see her in a role she clearly had fun playing. For all her psychotic tendencies, you really do want the best for Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Her narration and dialogue is particularly strong and helps carry the movie. The rest of the ensemble cast is entertaining as well. A pre-teen pickpocket, a jaded cop, a new murderer on the Gotham scene and a singer doing whatever she can to survive make for one pretty bad ass crew. Everyone’s a little crazy and no one has a spotless past which makes it all the more entertaining. Unfortunately the villain of this story, Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask, is rather unexciting. You don’t realize the extent of his brand of sociopathic evil until about a third of the way through. Normally I love a good late reveal but this one was more jarring than anything. You know he’s not good to start out with but then all of the sudden he’s THE bad guy and it just left me feeling like I had missed something. Once he does go full blown bad it works to advance the plot but as far as villains go I was left wanting. I'm a bit over the "my dad didn't believe in me so screw everyone" male character motivation. When you have that contrasted with five women who literally bounce back from physical and emotional attacks the entire movie, it just seems a bit stale.
On the whole, Birds of Prey is a lot of fun. It can feel at times like there are maybe one too many winks to the camera from Harley Quinn and in the middle I just wanted the plot to move a bit quicker but overall none of that bothered me. I wouldn't rush out to see it in theaters but it’s definitely a fantastic staying in on a Saturday night and looking for something to rent kind of a movie.