Harley’s Time To Shine 🌟
Birds Of Prey (2020) is the spin off to 2016’s disappointing Suicide Squad, telling the story of Harley Quinn breaking up with The Joker and dealing with life alone in Gotham.
Written By Christina Hodson and Directed By Cathy Yan, this is probably the most fun I’ve had with a DC film in a while, proving DC can produce fun and upbeat movies for us all to enjoy.
The Film....
Birds Of Prey (2020) came about whilst Margot Robbie was shooting Suicide Squad (2016). She helped develop the script and actually produces this film and I’m so happy that she brought Harley Quinn to life in her own standalone film. Right from the get go we are thrown into a Deadpool (2017) type style with Harley breaking the fourth wall on more than one occasion and telling the narrative in a voice over style way. Whilst the story cuts between past and present and it does flow, it started to irritate me about half way through when we kept going back to another part of the story we’d already been over, this type of story narrative annoyed me in Deadpool too.
Whilst the narrative doesn’t flow entirely well, the rest of the movie certainly makes up for that. The script for me personally was put together well and had some rather humorous moments making us fall in love with Harley and the rest of the women all the more. The introduction of Huntress and Black Canary were well received in my eyes, especially Black Canary, damn can that girl belt out a note or two!!!. Huntress can also do some serious damage too and a women I certainly wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of.
For me though the thing that made this film so fun and enjoyable was the use of action, fight scenes and cinematography. I can’t praise the choreography enough, it was perfectly executed and brutal (considering the films R rating). There was a few moves Harley executed which I didn’t even think was humanly possible so props to the stunt choreographers. The action in this film too was exquisite, mixing the charm of Quinn and her, let’s say, brutal ways if taking out the bad guys were amazing. A scene in particular that stood out for me was the police station in which Quinn uses a confetti canon type weapon to take out the policemen. Talking of this scene, the use of colourful smoke grenades and confetti bombs was absolutely stunning, the way Quinn walks through the smoke with a massive grin on her face lifted my spirits and warmed my heart.
The Cast....
The all female ensemble is a refreshing view on the big screen and I don’t understand why we don’t have more movies with all female ensembles. We have Little Women (2019) which to my memory is the last time we seen the use of an all female ensemble.
The cast is comprised of Huntress, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Death Proof, 10 Cloverfield Lane), Black Canary, played by Jurnee Smollett Bell (Jack, Eyes Bayou), Detective Renee Montoya, played by Rosie Perez (The Dead Don’t Die, The Other Guys), Cassandra Cain, played by Ella Jay Basco and finally Harley Quinn, played by Australia‘s princess Margot Robbie ( The Wolf Of Wall Street, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood).
The standout for me is of course Margot Robbie who puts in an amazing and uplifting performance as Harley Quinn once again and demonstrates badass female power and leadership skills.
Playing Quinn‘s nemesis, Black Mask is Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Doctor Sleep), and is rather fabulous in this movie. He brought a sense of charming horror to Black Mask in the sense that you warmed to his character but then he would do something unspeakable or disturbing it made you realise this ain’t the type of guy you want to mess around with.
To Conclude...
Birds Of Prey (2020) is a colourfully choreographed kick ass fun time that has one of the best female ensembles in recent years. Margot Robbie is a gem as ever and channels her inner ass kicking vibes to bring us this brilliant produced movie about women empowerment and uniting women all over the world.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5