MOVIE REVIEW: Birds Of Prey(And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn)(2020)

That’s 8 for 8 for the DC Extended Universe with me.

I’ve said before that I do enjoy the entirety of the DCEU, including its weakest link that was released in November 2017(that I’m still hoping to replace with the real version someday), but I’ve also said that since Walter Hamada took over the franchise in January 2018, it has organizationally turned a major corner.

This has never been more evident than with its latest release, Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn). Many of us have said many times that comic book movies in general, maybe especially DC movies, are at their best when the creators are fully trusted to tell the stories they want to tell on screen. The genuine passion of the directors, writers and cast just find a way to shine through when you know they are all on the same page and truly believe in the movie they are making at the end of the day.

So seriously, Cathy Yan, Christina Hodson, Margot Robbie, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary-Elizabeth Winstead, Ella Jay Basco, Rosie Perez, Ewan McGregor, Chris Messina, 87Eleven stunt team and everyone else involved in this movie……take a damn bow. Well done. Just, well f—king done.

This cast and crew managed to do so much with this film from moment one and told a story that was unique, character driven, action-packed, hilarious, and ultimately a joy to watch from start to finish. It is without question in my opinion, a top tier DCEU film and a top tier comic book film in general.

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first: the landmarks. Female minority director, female minority screenwriter, and all female ensemble protagonists……in a comic book film. About damn time, and what a refreshing thing to enjoy. Seriously, it is abundantly clear that Birds of Prey’s unique tone and chemistry comes from how different this production was top to bottom from every other comic book movie production we have seen to this point. This is not to say that all comic book movie productions should be done this way because variety is still the spice of life, but to see it done this way at all finally, for the first time ever, is fantastic and it works so well.

If we boil the movie down to its basic plot, it’s Roman Sionis AKA Black Mask and his army, including knife-obsessed Victor Zsasz, looking to take possession of a special diamond that will bring them ultimate power in Gotham City. Problem is, it’s in the hands of Cassandra Cain, who lifted it at the wrong time and is now being hunted by nearly the entire city for it. It’s literally up to Harley Quinn, Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to not only keep her alive, but to also keep the diamond away from Roman at all costs.

That basic outline doesn’t nearly do the story justice, and this is where the creativity of Yan, Hodson and Robbie come into play. People have compared Birds Of Prey to Quentin Tarantino’s style, John Wick and also Deadpool and they are spot on with those comparisons, but the way the story is crafted here, the film manages to avoid simple copycatting. The plot devices and story structure are not simply lifted for audience appeal in this film, they actually work and integrate extremely well into the story being told. The fact that a good portion of the movie is told non-linearly, ala Tarantino, is because Harley is the narrator and she’s all over the damn place. Literally manic in her thought process at many times, which is indicative of the spirit of her character in Batman the Animated Series where she started, and the comics since then.

Harley also manages to break the fourth wall as the narrator without blatantly ripping off Wade Wilson because she has her own tone and style to tell the story in. Her character is PERFECT for this type of narration, and everything she says is completely genuine to her design, and with all of this, the bone-crunching, acrobatic, fluid and at many times brutal combat isn’t lifted straight from the world of a man in search of the ones who stole his car and killed his dog, because this is a comic book movie in a universe where suspension of disbelief is a regular occurrence. It all works so well in this film without seeming like a cheap ripoff, because time and care was taken by these creators to make these things their own.

Margot Robbie is to Harley Quinn as Hugh Jackman is to Wolverine and I seriously hope we get that many years of her in the role. She is absolutely dynamite and unlike Suicide Squad, she is the driving force of this film. Her narration, her actions, her vulnerable moments, her humanity, and her college-level intelligence as a former doctor at Arkham Asylum are all expertly balanced here and if anyone has any doubt that Robbie not only loves this character, but also is EXTREMELY well versed in who she is, then you’re just not paying attention.

Now for the new blood. Jurnee Smollett-Bell is the damn Black Canary. Period. No ifs, ands or buts about it. She is powerful and badass with an attitude, while still exhibiting the same humanity and need to do the right thing by people as a genuine hero, even if she doesn’t treat herself as one. The way Smollett-Bell plays Dinah Lance is very different than we have ever seen before and it is well placed for the DCEU. She should be a recurring character sooner than later, without question.

The same can be said for Mary-Elizabeth Winstead’s Huntress. There is creative decision made with her character that I won’t spoil for those who haven’t seen it yet, but it is a choice deliberately made for the general audience that is uninitiated to her character and hopefully triggers a massive “A HA” moment for them when it happens. Obviously it doesn’t work for me or other fans of the character, but I applaud the choice and appreciate how Winstead played the role, capturing a different form of the social awkwardness and even some very funny comic relief, while still making her lethal as hell. Some of the best moves in this movie belong to her and you can totally see why she was doing air gymnast training for this film. Her physical flexibility is put to great use in combat here.

Ella Jay Basco is a very different version of Cassandra Cain in the DCEU, but again it’s one that fits this universe so well. It’s a great breakout role for the young actress and her chemistry with the others is unmistakable, especially with Robbie’s Harley Quinn. It will be interesting to see how her character potentially progresses in the DCEU down the road.

The real surprise for me was how awesome Rosie Perez is as Renee Montoya, and I don’t say that because I had doubts about her performance. I say that because the only other movie I’ve ever seen her play a major role in was White Men Can’t Jump, and her role in this is a thousand times better, even though I enjoy that movie. One of the things I say about movies that feature and follow a lot of villainy is I like to see how law enforcement is dealing with the situation from their perspective, and Montoya is the most law abiding character in this film……to a point, of course. Again, just as the others, her performance was incredibly genuine, human and at times relentless and badass in pursuit of the right thing to do, even as her peers treat her a certain way. She needs to come back too, just as all the others do in this film. It’s my favorite Rosie Perez role, officially. By a long shot.

If there’s one thing DC has always known how to do well it’s cast villains, and even though for me Michael Shannon’s General Zod in Man Of Steel is still the mountaintop of villainy in the DCEU, the rest have been very strong and yes, that includes Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. In Birds of Prey though, it’s all about Ewan McGregor having way too much fun as Black Mask and Chris Messina playing what I would say is the most faithful live action interpretation of Victor Zsasz that we have seen to this point. That’s no disrespect to the versions from Batman Begins and Gotham, it’s just that Messina’s touched on a thing or two that is spot on from the comics. This is yet another movie from DC where you can tell the creatives and the cast all did their homework on these characters, and then found a way to make them their own while still respecting the source material for the most part, which is what all us fans always hope is the case.

The soundtrack for this film is excellent and so is Daniel Pemberton’s score. The music choices made for the narrative were more than appropriate and blended very well with the orchestrations in key sequences. At no point did I think one was interfering with the other, and even though it’s a comic book movie that doesn’t have a memorable theme to hum in your head, it’s not that kind of comic book movie that begs for one.

The R rating wasn’t tacky or needless. The violence, the cursing and the humor were all adult on a level that even surpasses Deadpool in my opinion, and R was the perfect rating to accommodate all of it. I wouldn’t want to see a PG-13 version of this film at all and kudos to WB for not trying to force Cathy Yan and Margot Robbie into that box for a wider audience. We’ve already seen that R-rated comic book movies can sell extremely well, so it shouldn’t be looked at unfavorably anymore as far as I’m concerned. They don’t all need to be R rated, but it’s fine if some of them are from time to time.

I fully intend on seeing Birds Of Prey again as soon as possible and it will be a Day 1 Best Buy Steelbook purchase for me later this year. In addition to everything I’ve just praised about it, it’s just a really solid and entertaining film on several levels with a good deal of heart, great chemistry and phenomenal visuals. It’s another hit for DC, which has been doing well in the Walter Hamada era for certain, and I can only hope the film does well enough to warrant us seeing these great actors and characters back in the DCEU in future installments. They all deserve it, and Cathy Yan should be on the map as a strong director now. Just an incredible job overall.

BIRDS OF PREY(AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN) - 5 out of 5

In theaters February 7, 2020