Birds of Prey (Movie Review) – Birds Of A Feather Flock Together

Review: Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) by Cathy Yan (7/10)

In the grand scheme of DC’s movie-making strategy, Birds of Prey is a remarkably off-the-cuff instalment into the continuing slate of the DCEU. For all the talk of DC’s ‘failed’ attempt at creating their own film universe, there continues to be further content built around the world established in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. And I use the word ‘around’ quite literally because I don’t even think DC know where this is going. With the newly fashioned R rating, Birds of Prey is attempting to shift into a niche market of adult-focused comic book movies. But what exactly are they hoping to achieve? With the tenuous links to past titles, this segregates the movie into an area of identity crisis. Surprisingly enough, despite all this, it actually works — for the most part…

First off, if this wasn’t obvious already from the excessively one-note advertising, this is by no means a Birds of Prey movie — no matter how hard the creators try to convince themselves it is. If you’re looking for an adventure reminiscent of Gail Simone’s iconic comic run, prepare to be disappointed. This is the Harley Quinn show through and through.

Harley is the undisputed lead in this ensemble film — Credit: Warner Bros.

While the lack of focused character development for any character that doesn’t bare the name Harley might be a wasted opportunity, Margot Robbie’s portrayal of the character does possess an endearing charm that emanates whenever she is on screen. In such a short tenure in the world of film, Robbie has truly raised the character to one of DC’s most prominent leading ladies. And the credit must be given to her passionate performance, bringing the fun-loving qualities from the days of her original animated appearance to the big screen. If you go into the movie accepting that this isn’t the ensemble film we were promised, you will enjoy the final product far more.

Despite this, Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) were clear standouts. This makes it a shame that so little screen time was dedicated to them, as I could see these two being strong leads should the franchise justify a sequel or spin off. Canary shows the ability of Yan to bring the best out of her actors, with some excellent characterisation and powerful face acting in some of the more profound emotional beats of the plot. And Winstead provides some nice levity with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, while embodying the badass traits of her comic book counterpart.

Canary stands tall in a sea of divisive character choices — Credit: Warner Bros.

Now, you may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned everyone’s favourite police detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) in my selection of standouts? Well, that’s quite simply because she did nothing notable. I could see where they were going with the character, but none of the comedic lines clicked as they really should have, and she lacked anything to make her shine in a roster of colourful characters. Perhaps it would have improved the film if she had already taken on her comic book mantle of the Question, but we will ultimately never find out.

Knowing where the focus of this story lies, the question remains as to why they wouldn’t just make a Gotham City Sirens film? As any comic book purist will tell you, that is where Harley belongs, with Barbara Gordon bearing the true mantle of team leader. And that is my biggest take away after watching this film: why make such unnecessary creative changes? This is not the only jarring element to be found, either, with dramatically unrecognisable interpretations of villain Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) and popular Bat-Family member Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).

A familiar yet incomplete team — Credit: Warner Bros.

Black Mask is an interesting one to talk about, as I have very mixed feelings on his characterisation. On one hand I found McGregor’s performance to be completely engrossing and believable as a psychotic, unhinged criminal, but on the other there is such a dramatic deviation from the comics that the similarities are slight and surface level. The man barely even wears the mask — you know, that small thing to which he is named after. The same can be said for his villainous companion Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina), who has been unnecessarily altered and made to fit the tone of a Harley Quinn movie. While this fits with the themes encompassing the story, I can’t help but think they could have done better with the tools they were given.

Speaking of poor use of tools, of all the missteps taken in this film, Cassandra Cain is by far the most grievous sin. Cain is surprisingly chatty for a mute, bearing none of the qualities that made the character so popular to begin with. Disappointingly, she is by far the weakest link in the cast. Widely known from the source material for her martial-arts prowess and no-nonsense attitude, it baffles me why the writers turned her into a smart-ass child who constantly needs protecting. There is no future where I can envision this rendition of the character fighting alongside Batman. The lack of foresight shown here is quite frankly disrespectful to such a beloved fan favourite and could have easily been fixed by picking any other character to fill this role.

Creative yet unnecessary? — Credit: Warner Bros.

Fight choreography-wise, though Cain never gets the chance to show off any skill, there are some excellent set pieces to be found here. The experienced presence of John Wick director Chad Stahelski is evidently apparent, with some violent and fast-paced action scenes spread evenly throughout the film. I didn’t expect much in regard to this going in, even with some notable fighters taken from the pages of the comics, so this is a pleasant surprise. I must also give props to Yan for the use of brilliant cinematography, which raises the film to another level. Given that this is her first big-screen directorial debut, it is a commendable accomplishment on her behalf.

Ultimately, the best way to describe Birds of Prey is uneven. Yet, despite some clear mistakes, I can’t help but look at it with a certain degree of fondness. It is unremarkable, but it has a charm to it that I find alluring. There is no doubt in my mind that I had fun watching it and will undoubtedly want to watch it again once it is available for purchase. Deciding on a rating was hard for me to do, but a 6 felt too harsh and an 8 felt too generous, so I have settled on a 7. In terms of whether I would recommend it, I would say yes. However, I can say with confidence that this film will be divisive for years to come.