Birds of Prey (2020) Review

"You killed my sandwich!"
-Harley Quinn



After being dumped by the Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is no longer under the protection of the clown and everyone in Gotham with a bone to pick with Harley is coming for her.  Most dangerous of all is Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), who forces her to find a valuable diamond for him or he'll cut off her face.  However, the psychotic Roman is on the verge of pushing Quinn and several other women of Gotham too far.


What Works:

Margot Robbie's performance as Harley Quinn was one of the only good parts of Suicide Squad, so it's nice to see her in a decent movie.  Robbie fully commits to this insane role and while she gets a little too quirky at times, Robbie owns it and makes Harley believable.

Ewan McGregor is also fun as the movie's villain.  Sionis is a flamboyant character with some severe rage issues.  He's definitely one of the better villains in the DCEU and brings some danger to the story.

This film has style and flair in spades and I love the look of the film.  The shot introducing Amusement Mile is a work of art and I loved the use of color in Harley's raid on the police station.  It really feels like a comic book movie.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Huntress, and while she doesn't get a ton to do, I really liked her character.  She's introduced as a baddass assassin, but we quickly find out she's pretty socially awkward.  She's a fun character and I wish we had gotten more of her.

Finally, the 3rd act is an absolute blast.  We get a large-scare throw-down in a fun house, which is the perfect setting for this movie, a Harley Quinn take on the truck chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the final defeat of Sionis is nothing short of epic.  It's a really fun way to end the movie all around.


What Sucks:

I didn't really care for the characters of Detective Montoya (Rosie Perez) or Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).  I didn't find either of them interesting and they both kinda annoyed me. 

Some of the humor doesn't really work.  A lot of it is funny, but there are times where the filmmakers are trying too hard to be Deadpool.  It honestly feels forced.  It needs to come more naturally.

The biggest problem is the story structure.  Birds of Prey has a nonlinear storyline and jumps around quite a bit in the early parts of the film.  This really felt unnecessary and a little confusing.  Had this been told in a linear fashion, the setups and payoffs would have been more effective.  The best example I have is the character of Doc (Dana Lee).  Out of nowhere, he is introduced as a character that is important to Harley and basically immediately sells her out two scenes later.  Had he been introduced earlier in the film and given more time to develop, his betrayal would have actually had emotional weight.


Verdict:

While not as good as some of DC's recent efforts, Birds of Prey is a fun movie with great performances from Robbie and McGregor, some stylish action sequences, and an excellent 3rd act.  Not all of the characters worked for me, some of the humor felt forced, and the story structure doesn't work, but I would say this movie has got it going on.

 7/10: Good  

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