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The DCEU (DC Extended Universe) is a mess. It’s a fact that
there’s no point in questioning, with the quality of its films fluctuating more
than the bumps on a rollercoaster at your favourite theme park. There’s the
good; with films such as Shazam and Wonder Woman, there’s the bad; Justice
League and Batman vs Superman spring to mind, and there’s the mediocre
sprinkled in between. This universe may be many things, but consistent it is
not. More recently, however, the DCEU seems to have found its path to glory
with James Gunn’s R-Rated take on The Suicide Squad (check out my 5-star review,
also on this blog) leaning more into the whacky side of the comics universe in
which it is based upon. None of this would have been possible, however, if not
for Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey (I refuse to write the rest of the title again).
The film’s plot follows a newly single Harley Quinn (Margot
Robbie) on a quest to find a diamond for club owner, and all round unpleasant
guy, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) in an attempt to get back the immunity, for
all her various wrongdoings, she once possessed during her relationship with the
‘clown prince of crime’ The Joker. Harley, however, isn’t the only person in
Gotham looking for the aforementioned diamond as the film also focuses on a
team that comic fans will be all too aware of ‘The Birds of Prey’; Dinah Lance
(Jurnee Smollett), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth
Winstead) and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) and their attempts to hunt down
the missing McGuffin.
The story is told through Harley’s (Margot Robbie) eyes, in
a non-linear way, flitting back and forth through different parts of the film’s
timeline, reflecting the unstable and manic mind of our anti-heroine. This
narrative technique is not only the correct way to tell Harley’s story, as it
gives the audience an insight into how her mind works, but it also paved the
way for how we view the character in other projects, making her psychotic
breakdown in The Suicide Squad for example, more believable.
As I’ve previously stated in other reviews, Margot Robbie’s
casting as Harley Quinn may be one of the best decisions in the history of
cinema, with the positive views on her portrayal of the character being one of the
only aspects of the DCEU that fans can agree on. Robbie’s portrayal here as the
unpredictable, yet loveable, psychiatrist turned criminal, plus the addition of
the R-rating which only adds to the hilarity and depth of the character proves
once again that she was born to play this role. It’s not just Margot Robbie who
shines in this film, however, as the other ‘Birds of Prey’ are also given their
chances in the spotlight, with Jurnee Smollett’s Dinah Lance and Mary Elizabeth
Winstead’s The Huntress particularly standing out, with the latter giving a hilarious portrayal of just how awkward an assassin would really be.
My main criticism of the film, however, is that it isn’t a Birds
of Prey movie. It’s a Harley Quinn movie, with the titular characters not
teaming up until the last quarter of the runtime. Don’t get me wrong, I have no
problem with spending a couple of hours focusing on Harley Quinn and exploring
how her mind works, I love the character and I will always be excited at the
prospect of seeing her on the big screen again. I just take issue with advertising
something that isn’t there. In this case, the ‘something’ that isn’t there is a
Birds of Prey movie. I am, however, looking forward to Jurnee Smollett finally
getting her own solo film as Dinah Lance in a reported HBO Max outing.
Despite the overall lack of Birds of Prey team-ups, when it
does finally happen, it’s well worth the wait. The interactions between the
group are hilarious and at times quite moving, not to mention the extremely
well-choreographed fight sequence that takes place in an abandoned amusement
park. This stand-out scene not only wows in terms of action and vibrancy,
something that the DCEU is generally lacking, it’s also realistic. This set piece,
along with the overall tone of the film, makes you extremely grateful that the
film was directed by a woman. A particular shot that springs to mind is the
image of Robbie’s Harley giving Smollett’s Dinah a headband to tie her hair up
with mid-fight, a little detail that many male directors wouldn’t take into
consideration. It’s also worth mentioning that Margot Robbie does her own
stunts for Harley, and if you’ve seen this film, or any other featuring the
character, you’ll understand just how impressive that is.
Much like any other DCEU movie, this film suffered from
interference by its governing body, Warner Bros, when it came to its final
version, and I can’t help but wish that the studio would have let Cathy Yan
truly let the Birds of Prey fly. Regardless, this film is a fun, cartoon-esque,
highly underrated, female-led superhero film that lets go of all the doom and
gloom we’re used to seeing in DC films and finally gives audiences something
they never thought they’d get…Gotham in the daylight.
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