Movie Review - Birds of Prey

In DC Comics’ 2016 Suicide Squad we were introduced to Margot Robbie’s charming, colorful and equally dangerous character Harley Quinn, one of the movie’s few positives as pointed out by many critics. It was then only a matter of time until we would see a solo movie of the character gracing our screens, it comes in the form of Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. Fitting in with the initial colorful and quirky look and feel of it is the trailer and plot, but before we check that out, a couple of interesting facts to note about the movie:

The film is inspired by the comic series Birds of Prey which was originally published by DC Comics in 1996.
Black Canary and Huntress have been core members of the team throughout the series.
Renee Montoya is a more recent addition to Birds of Prey comics; the character originated in the TV realm.
While Harley Quinn has appeared in the comics from time to time, to date she has never been a part of the team. That will change this year as DC Comics writes her into the series in issues releasing later this year.
All of the characters featured in the film (i.e., Harley, Canary, Huntress, Renee, Cassandra Cain, as well as the film’s villains Roman Sionis/aka Black Mask and Zsasz) are part of the Batman comic universe.
According to comic lore, Cassandra Cain becomes Batgirl, but this is never alluded to in the film.

You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the mafia princess? “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.

Loaded with fun, dark and twisted humour that cheekily skewers pop culture archetypes and an action-packed roller coaster ride – Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is the origin story of the most unlikely girl gang. Infused throughout with a bold, subversive, sometimes surreal tone and over-the-top outrageousness – Birds of Prey turns the superhero genre inside out – delivering a strong message of empowerment via Harley’s particular brand of anarchic joie de vivre.

It is yet another shining light in DC Comics’ continued rise with this easily and possibly being their best movie yet, at least we think so. There’s literally nothing like the Harley Quinn character out there (except for maybe a certain Deadpool) and the uniqueness of it is what sets not only the character but also this movie apart from the rest of what we’ve seen in a live action comic book based movie. Birds of Prey is a thrilling ride full of fun, quirkiness, fantastic action and fighting scenes with a ridiculousness that is quite engaging and charming.

Built for the character perfectly, Margot Robbie was born to play this character and she brings one of the greatest and unassuming comic book villains to life in the most effective way possible. The supporting cast also does a fantastic job in making the whole package what it is with Ewan McGregor delivering an expertly done and humorous rendition of the Black Mask character, the villain of the movie. As you can tell we don’t have anything bad to say about this one because there really isn’t anything bad to mention.

The above should be enough to convince you to make a date to go see this one and if it wasn’t clear then, well, DO IT. In cinemas officially from today, Birds of Prey is a great way to kickstart the year, we reckon it will take some beating and is easily our fave and leading movie in 2020. DC has the best comic book characters and not only are they starting to get it right but they’re doing so by telling their villains stories (this being another great example) which is by far their greatest asset. Well played DC folk, Birds of Prey gets a fantabulous 8.5 out of 10 rating from us.

Our thanks to Empire Entertainment for the great screening.

Post Views: 416

#Birds of Prey #DC Comics #Ewan McGregor #Harley Quinn #Margot Robbie

Posted By

Thabiso Moloi

With many, many years of PR, digital & influencer marketing work under his belt, Thabiso has worked on a great number of technology, business and consumer brands. In addition, he has become obsessed with most things under the sun including music, series, sports, movies etc which he now regularly writes about. You can find him on Twitter: @Thabz_14