Monday Movie Review: Birds of Prey
Let’s just make one thing clear from the very beginning here. I am a Marvel girl. If you’ve spent any time on this blog, you know that. But up until recent years, I’d seen most of the DC movies. I love the Christian Bale Batmans. I even saw the horrifically boring Man of Steel. And of course, I’m here for Wonder Woman, all day every day. But I’ve abstained from a lot of the more recent DC releases for various reasons (Ben Affleck is a garbage human, I refuse to see Joker, etc.), including how terrible many of them seemed to be received. I wasn’t sure I would even go see Birds of Prey, but it’s written and directed by women (Christina Hodson and Cathy Yan, respectively) and so I decided to skip watching the Oscars live and go support a female-led film instead. It’s safe to say I went into this movie expecting to hate it. Aside from it being DC, I also am not a fan of the villain redemption stories (aside from Loki, because Loki). I also have basically zero knowledge of any of Harley’s back story, other than she’s a villain. But guys, I walked out of the theater with a big ass smile on my face because Birds of Prey is a fucking delight.
Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) has just been dumped by the Joker, which means she is no longer under his protection, which means everyone is coming after her. When Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) demands she bring him a diamond that holds the map to a lost mob family fortune, Harley has to use her many skills to survive. Turns out the diamond has been taken by Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), who’s a teenage pickpocket. Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is also after the diamond as she’s the only surviving member of the mob family the fortune belongs to. Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) is attempting to protect Cassandra, and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) is the former detective trying to keep the whole situation under some modicum of control. The women have to work together to protect Cassandra and stop Roman, uniting the unlikely band of not-quite-heroes.
Look. This movie is entertaining from beginning to end. There’s no other way to put it. The story unfolds in a way that is interesting and funny. The performances are stellar across the board (this is the best Ewan has been in a long time). And the fight choreography was bomb. The final fight scene was so well staged and performed, I couldn’t stop smiling. And I think what I liked about this movie the most is that it didn’t make excuses for Harley. She said many times throughout the course of the film that she is a terrible person. This wasn’t a justification of her past behavior, there was no let’s all feel sorry for Harley. It was yeah, Harley can be pretty messed up, and in this one situation, she happened to do the right thing, and maybe in the future she’ll do the right thing some more.
I know the dude bros are going to hate this movie (in the first five minutes, Harley breaks a guy’s legs after he calls her a slut) and that’s why it’s really important for us all to show up. Because let’s be real, DC (and others) make plenty of terrible male-led films and it doesn’t really matter. But for them to continue making female-led films, they all need to perform well. So whether you’re a fan or not, get your ass to the theater. I think you’ll walk away pleasantly surprised.
Overall Grade: A-
