Birds of Prey Movie Review
Margot Robbie playing Harley Quinn was the best thing about Suicide Squad do it's no wonder that she got a standalone film after that.
The film starts with telling us that the Joker and Harley Quinn have broken up. After partying like mad for days in by Roman Sionis' (Ewan McGregor) club to get over her heartbreak, Harley, who is a trained psychiatrist, figures she needs to do something spectacular to get a proper closure for herself. So she blows up a chemical factory -- the very same place where she lost her heart to Joker, to announce her singleton status. This kind of paints a target on her back as the invisible protection that the Joker provided for her gets revoked. Everyone whom she has ever pissed off -- and that's like half of Gotham, now begins to go after her. But the most dangerous is Roman, who goes by the name Black Mask and has a fetish for cutting off people's faces. He's after a diamond stolen by Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Harley takes the young thief under her wing and with the help of an unlikely set of comrades, Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montaya (Rosie Perez) making for a maverick team of female vigilantes collectively known as Birds of Prey.
The film, directed by Cathy Yan is made with the aim to put female comic book characters in focus. The comic book universe and the movies inspired by them are witnessing a cultural renaissance, what with the writers and filmmakers pushing the onus on female characters. Marvel has done it with Captain Marvel, DC has done it with Wonder Woman. DC introduced us to the Joker's inner universe through an origin story and now has taken another step forward by making a film on a female anti-hero.
You want to know what Batman or the Joker are doing when Black Mask is trying to take over Gotham. But Cathy Yan has made it clear that her female characters, most of whom have been treated badly by men, don’t need any interference either from a superhero or a supervillain to sort their lives out. They can be their own heroes and resolve their own mess. And should anyone complain that you need muscled-up up men to bash up the baddies -- well, the way Margot Robbie has gone around breaking legs can put Tiger Shroff to shame. She kicks butt in style, deriving a perverse pleasure in meting out punishment. Action lovers should take note that this film has some of the best-stylised action this side of Kill Bill. The climax scene where the girls put up a last stand is something you’ll remember for its ingenuity. The humour quotient is high as well throughout the film, with one-liners galore. The only contention is that the film centres too much on Harley Quinn. We would have loved to see more of Huntress and the Black Canary as well. Maybe this film is just laying the foundation for more female-centric films to come.
Trailer : Birds of Prey
Neil Soans, February 6, 2020, 9:30 AM IST
Birds Of Prey Story: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) teams up with three deadly women to save herself and a young girl from the mob.
Birds Of Prey Review: After breaking up with the Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) quickly discovers she’s no longer immune from the thugs of Gotham City. Besides a bunch of people she ticked off, she’s also hunted by the misogynistic and sadistic gangster Roman Sionis or Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) with his accomplice Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina). Additionally, a young girl Cassandra (Ella Jay Basco) gets caught in the middle of Harley’s mayhem, along with Renee Montaya (Rosie Perez), Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The women need to team up to have a fighting chance against Black Mask and his goons.
From the outset, it’s evident that this film’s colour palette and vibe is bright and intentionally erratic. Director Cathy Yan’s vision borrows from other irreverent superhero and action films before it but maintains a thrilling, manic tonality of its own. This is conveyed through the characterisation, action set pieces, production design and humour. Bringing that vision to life is a capable cast with the magnetic Margot Robbie in the lead. She embodies the frantic energy of Harley Quinn, putting all the character’s eccentricities on display while being inherently compelling. Jurnee Smollett-Bell is a revelation as Dinah Lance/ Black Canary, showing emotional depth. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a scene-stealer as Helena Bertinelli/ Huntress. Ewan McGregor relishes playing the diabolical Black Mask to make a deranged villain apt for this film.
Besides the director, due credit goes to writer Christina Hodson for setting the female-centric narrative tone without the need for a blatantly feminist angle. However, while the female characters are always front and centre, some beats feel misplaced now and then, and enough screentime isn’t afforded to the entire gang. But, the well-choreographed action in collaboration with ‘John Wick’ franchise director Chad Stahelski is stunning to behold and easily amongst the best action sequences in comic book films till date. These elements combine to make ‘Birds of Prey’ a funny, irreverent, extravagant and delightfully violent comic book film that’s a blast to witness. Greenlight the sequel already!
