Birds of Prey

By: Ashlee Dell’Arciprete

Sure, breakups can be bad. But if you’re anything like one Harley Quinn (equipped with glitter bombs, a bat and some quick reflexes) you’ll want to stay far, far away. Birds Of Prey, or it’s full title as also referred Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), is the newest film to be released out of the DC-Universe. The film, of course, is the spinoff of and follow-up to the 2016 film Suicide Squad which was widely detested by many other critics and viewers alike, giving Birds of Prey a lot to accomplish in a 123-minute runtime. Although Suicide Squad may have been a flop, Harley Quinn was an instant fan-favorite and now she’s fresh off a breakup from Joker and isn’t playing any games.

We find the newly emancipated one, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), alone in Gotham City recovering from her breakup after being dumped by Joker, which was nowhere near a healthy relationship to begin with. This creates a domino effect beginning with Harley chopping her hair off, taking up roller derby, eating canned spray cheese, adopting a hyena and blowing up Ace Chemicals, the chemical plant that holds some history between Quinn and The Clown Prince Of Crime. Totally normal.

Newfound single Quinn soon realizes she is an instant target and now at great risk since she no longer has the Joker and his protection by her side. Long story short, the baddest bad guys of Gotham City are coming after her, one in particular is nightclub owner Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). The plot kicks off when Quinn meets, and later has her life saved by, Dinah Lance/Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) who is the former singer of and newest driver to Roman. He tasks Dinah and his sidekick Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina) with retrieving a diamond that is “taken” by pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), which proves a bit more difficult than he thought. It becomes even more difficult when Harley offers to help find the diamond in exchange for her freedom from Sionis.

This does not lend well; however, as Cassie Cain also happens to be the neighbor of Dinah who saved Harley a few nights prior. Also in the mix up is Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), attempting to go by her alter-ego name Huntress. Huntress turns out to be the orphan daughter of the mafia crime lord family murdered by Sionis when she was a child-turned trained assassin. So, now she is out to finish off her hit list. In order to keep Sionis from killing Harley or Cassandra Cain, we watch as GCPD Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) teams up with the “Birds of Prey” (in the form of Black Canary, Huntress, Cassandra Cain and one fantabulous Harley Quin) to destroy Roman’s empire and the patriarchy.

This is the film Harley Quinn deserved instead of her debut in Suicide Squad and the romanticizing of her abusive relationship with Joker. This may have to do with Cathy Yan’s direction, which allowed for Harley Quinn to have her own voice in a nuanced way, and for Margot Robbie to shine and have fun with the role. The voice over narration was a device used throughout the film, but with Christina Hodson’s script the narration felt eccentric and true to Harley Quinn without being all over the place. Not only is Margot Robbie excellent in the film, but the entire cast does not disappoint as the female empowerment gleams throughout. Ali Wong also makes a small appearance as Montoya’s ex-girlfriend and District Attorney. The comedy is strong throughout as well, especially from Ella Jay Basco. Although, Hodson gives at least one good comedic line of dialogue to every character in addition to each role having their own authenticity, which is no small accomplishment.

Birds of Prey will by no means be loved by everyone, but it is undeniable that it is a clear comeback from Suicide Squad and a sign of positivity for the future DCEU lineup. Where the plot slightly sinks, the film makes up for in the comedy, heart, female empowerment and great visuals. From Director Cathy Yan and Cinematographer Christina Hodson to the principal cast of Margot Robbie, Jussie Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Rosie Perez, the film is centered around women from both in front of and behind the camera. And it is certainly what the superhero universe needs more of in films.