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“Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” accomplished the previously unthinkable. It actually made me want to watch “Suicide Squad” — the critically reviled 2016 blockbuster it spun off from — just so I could see more of Margot Robbie’s titular anti-heroine. That’s how fun this movie is.
Directed by Cathy Yan (“Dead Pigs”) from a script by Christina Hodson (“Bumblebee”), “Birds of Prey” (aka “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey”) is a stylish, stylized, unapologetically feminine action pic. It does have a plot — Harley teams up with a bunch of other powerful, morally-ambiguous women to save a young girl from a Gotham crime lord, following her split from the Joker — but, honestly, it’s unnecessary. The Warner Bros. film is best when it fully embraces its comic book roots, and indulges in extended, heavily choreographed fight scenes and rat-a-tat dialogue. The small character details, such as Harley’s love of egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, or The Huntress’ (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) habit of practicing her introductions in the mirror, are also aces.
Much of “Birds of Prey’s” charms come from its largely-female ensemble, including Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s secretly kind songstress Dinah Lance, Rosie Perez’s increasingly frustrated cop Renee Montoya, and Ella Jay Basco’s scrappy pickpocket Cassandra Cain. But the main draw is Robbie as Harley, a gleeful menace who would undoubtedly stab you in the back — possibly literally — and yet is still someone you’d want to befriend. She’s reminiscent of “Killing Eve’s” Villanelle and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” Spike in that way.
Last, but certainly not least, “Birds of Prey” is one of the most inclusive comic book movies I can think of. Not only is it anchored by women on both sides of the screen, such as Robbie, who pulls double duty as a producer, it features several women of color on-camera and off — director Yan, Smollett-Bell, Perez, Basco, and Ali Wong among them. The film is no slouch when it comes to queer representation, either. There are a lot of sexual undertones between villains Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) and Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina); Renee butts heads with her ex, Ellen (Wong), at work; and Harley reveals, with no fanfare, that a woman once broke her heart. Pretty impressive for a movie that could’ve been just another middle-of-the-road studio pic.
It’s a rush watching “Birds of Prey” and Harley Quinn’s emancipation. And although it hasn’t quite convinced me to check out “Suicide Squad,” it’s definitely made me want to see more of Harley, her fellow female bad-asses, and Yan.
“Birds of Prey” is now available on VOD.
