Birds of Prey Review (VIDEO SCRIPT)

During the time Joker broke Harley out of prison at the end of Suicide Squad, the two broke up, and Harley decides now is the perfect time to try and make a name for herself.

But now that word is gone around that she’s no longer “Joker’s Girl,” she’s pretty much wanted by every criminal in Gotham

Including Black Mask, who wants her to find this diamond that was stolen from him by a pick-pocket named Cassandra Cain in exchange for not killing her.

Wrapping up others like Black Canary, Huntress and Detective Renee Montoya into the situation -- all who have their own vendetta against Black Mask -- Harley and the others have to protect Cassandra from the crime lord by any means necessary.

Despite it establishing its connection to the DCEU films before it, I like how pretty much ANYONE can watch this movie and not have to worry about having to watch Suicide Squad or Dawn of Justice to understand it.

The story was simple, and that’s not a bad thing

And I assure you, Readers, the story this movie told has been told THOUSANDS of times

The hunt for the McGuffin, the degrees of separation linking everyone together, even the unlikely mentor trope. I guarantee you that all of these tropes have been used in the same type of story multiple times in this exact same combination before

But what makes this movie work isn’t how unique the story is. It’s how its executed and how the characters are portrayed that breathes that unique life in a story we’re all used to. And Birds of Prey does a good job at breathing said new life in said situation

Characters

Harley was both great and slightly disappointing at the same time.

No shade to Margot Robbie; she’s Harley Quinn through and through. And I love how elements of her 4th Wall breaking from the recent comics into the movie where it worked

However, considering that one of the main things that the movie marketed itself on was her breaking free from Joker to be her own person, I was hoping for a more...substantial reason as to why the breakup initially happened.

I wanted self-realization that the relationship was toxic and that he never loved her. I wanted that scene of her cutting off her dyed pigtails that I loved so much from the trailers to have meaning so that seeing her declarations in this movie felt like a congratulatory step in the right direction to where she currently is in the comics.

But, despite certain scenes telling us otherwise, we don’t really get that growth in this movie. Which kinda sucks, because the whole point of her arc was that she doesn’t need to be in the shadow of anyone for her to be her own person and I thought her breaking free of the mental shackles Joker kept her in was a great way of doing that

I’m hoping that the reason they held off on doing that was so that Poison Ivy can come in a later movie to help her get to that place mentally

But as far as this being her first non-Joker outing in the DCEU as a way of showing herself that she doesn’t need him, it’s a start. I just wanted more.

Black Canary... (claps)

I know this isn’t the Canary that Oliver Queen falls in love with. But I WANT IT TO BE

Hell, that might actually end up being the case, and I wouldn’t be mad at all!

Making her the heart of the group -- especially how Jurnee-Smollett plays her -- was a very good decision

Also her arc was the most well-rounded out of the bunch, second to Renee Montoya. And OH MY GOD MONTOYA WAS SO GREAT

Aging her up was one of the best decisions they made in this because Rosie Perez was PERFECT

I do wish that they dived a bit deeper into the sexism the movie implied she faced while on the force, including the scrutiny she dealt with building the case against Black Mask up to the point of her introduction

But what we got of her was great, both in faithfulness and in portrayal

I’d say the same about Cassandra Cain, but I can’t.

No I’m not saying that Ella Jay Basco didn’t do a good job considering how Cain was used in this.

But I’d be lying if I said that my prior knowledge of who Cassandra Cain is, who she becomes, and what her overall role is in the Gotham City mythos didn’t get in the way of me enjoying her arc in Birds of Prey

Like, they HINTED at it once for sure when teasing her overall relevance to the world at large. And it’s not like there aren’t any possibilities that she’ll eventually become the character that she is in the comics later on -- especially if they do another follow-up to this one that’s ALSO rated R

But I’m not gonna lie; just watching her...be a normal-ass kid hurt my soul a bit

That being said, I have ideas on how they can rectify that in regards to sequel treatments with her in it. But I understood the purpose she served in this movie. Both for herself, and for Harley Quinn.

Yeah, pretty much any and all problems I have with Birds of Prey is that I...either wanted more or EXPECTED more from the characters and their development.

Specifically Harley, Montoya, Cassandra and even Huntress to a certain extent

Also, she gets the mask. It’s only in one scene, but she gets the mask

Other than that, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn was pretty dope.

It’s not a perfect movie and it left me wanting more on the character development side -- mostly due to personal wants and prior knowledge of the characters being a fan of DC Comics, I admit -- but it’s a fun romp that was written well, shot well, and is a good step in the right direction regarding how DC and Warner Brothers should treat their DCEU installments in the future.

I guarantee you that if you walk in to this movie with only what’s been currently established in the DCEU -- and honestly you don’t even need THAT -- instead of prior knowledge of their growth and development from the actual comics, you’ll enjoy this movie a lot more.

I’d say it’s worth a matinee admission and a DVD purchase if you don’t care about collecting the installments in the same format like I do.