Birds of Prey - Review

"Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)"

“Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)”, or simply “Birds of Prey”, is a 2020 American superhero film based on the DC Comics team Birds of Prey. It is the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe, and both a follow-up to and spin-off of Suicide Squad (2016). It was directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson, and stars Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (FX Fargo Season 3), Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, and Ewan McGregor. The film follows Harley Quinn as she joins forces with Helena Bertinelli, Dinah Lance, and Renee Montoya to save Cassandra Cain from Gotham City crime lord Black Mask.

PLOT: Harley Quinn (Robbie) narrates the events of her life following the breakup of her diabolical boyfriend ‘The Joker”. Living on the streets of Gotham City, she is taken in by Doc, an elderly owner of a Chinese restaurant who gives her a place to live. Recovering from her abusive relationship with "The Joker", Harley cuts her hair, adopts a spotted hyena named “Bruce Wayne”, takes up roller derby, and blows up the Ace Chemicals plant where she pledged herself to “The Joker”. Needless to say she’s feeling dejected and depressed.

Early on we see “Harley” has a run in at a nightclub owned by gangster “Roman Sionis” (McGregor) crippling his driver. From that single event a tangled web of subplots begin to intersect and revealing an array of other women who have varying motives to hate “Roman Sionis” as well along with his evil over zealous right-hand knife wielding henchman “Zsasz”. The fight is on as Gotham City is immediately turned upside down as Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya's collectively and unlikely form a foursome of “having no choice” but to  team up to take the evil “Roman down”.

REVIEW: What’s the old adage?……………….."Behind every great man is a great woman". “Bird of Prey” turns that quote on its head as we see through Harley Quinn’s exploits, ……………….."Behind every criminal man is a bad ass, bat swinging, shot gun toting, beach blonde, multiple tattoos, crazier than hell, wearing two off size shaped shoes with bad make up on woman”.

“Birds of Prey” is a farcical nerdy film, but it’s a nerdy – geeky film that even through the occasional moments of “WTF”, still manages to work. But make no mistake about it, you have to go into the theater willing to accept in advance its totally nonsensical environment format where the law enforcement universe is totally inept, clumsy, bungling and as useless as a pair of human lips on a cold miners elbow.

The entire film is a sequence of scenes after scene of all out chaos where the female super heroes have lots of joy just being hopeless crime fighting clowns. But as much they are excepting their buffoonery, there is a bit of female liberation and emancipation to the overall  film that has a definite appeal. And why not, as the story was directed and written by two women who seem to want to understand and make the point……………men have been acting like jerks for years both on the big screen as well as in the real world, so why can’t women act crazier than hell  and get away with it too.

I cannot say this is a rush out to the theater to see effort, but as a rental its amusingly entertaining. In the comfort of your home you will have fun watching these characters having fun playfully dispatching “evil men” who have clearly gone totally mad through their greed, murder and back stabbing........both figuratively and literally, and where only these five tough heroine super women can make things right again.

3.00 Stars