Warner Bros.
Review by Curt Holman
If you had any doubts about who’s the star of the comic book movie Birds of Prey, look to the subtitle. The parenthetical (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) signals that the Joker’s former sidekick/love interest has claimed the spotlight for herself.
Following her introduction in Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn has become one of DC Comics’ most popular characters, bringing anarchic humor to a staid lineup. One of the few things 2016’s Suicide Squad did right was to cast Margot Robbie in the role, so it’s no surprise that Warner Brothers would give her a spinoff. The titular Birds of Prey, female street-level crime fighters from their own comic (and short-lived TV series from the early 2000s) take a backseat in a film that’s definitely a Harley Quinn vehicle.
The first act plays like a deranged breakup comedy. An animated prologue, narrated in Harley’s thick Brooklyn accent, reviews her origin story as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who turned from the Joker’s psychiatrist to “Mr. J’s” besotted moll. Realizing that her feelings would never be reciprocated, Harley ends their relationship and cycles through booze, self-pity, roller derby and the grand gesture of blowing up a chemical factory to signal that they’re through.
She soon learns that the Gotham City underworld tolerated her violent, impulsive behavior out of fear of the Joker. With his protection gone, hordes of would-be hitmen descend upon her, with text on the screen helpfully pointing out their grievances. Chief among them is crime lord Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor, having a grand old time) and his sadistic right-hand man, Mr. Szazs (Chris Messina).
A recurring flaw in the contemporary DC Comics films is that they’re reactive and derivative. Even Todd Phillips’ Joker, which stands outside the DCEU, plants itself squarely within the shadow of Martin Scorsese classics. Birds of Prey feels like a self-conscious attempt to launch a Deadpool for DC, offering the same R rating, the same fourth-wall-breaking quips, the same R-rated violence and profanity. Harley even has a similar love of street food, waxing rhapsodic over egg sandwiches where Deadpool chows down on chimichangas.
The quips and slapstick feel a bit forced, but also set a fun, snappy tone that director Cathy Yan sustains more or less throughout the film. Screenwriter Christina Hodson gives Robbie vastly better material than she had in Suicide Squad, while Yan’s camera never leers over her cast. And once Harley starts to share scenes with her co-stars, Birds of Prey finds a surer sense of pace and story.
The plot conveniently places Roman at an intersection point for its heroines. Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollet-Bell) sings at Roman’s nightclub and finds herself reluctantly drafted as his driver. The enigmatic Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) systematically kills off mobsters with a crossbow. Disrespected detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) suspects Roman of seeking an important diamond to secure control over the city’s criminal element. And young pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) pilfers the very diamond that Roman wants.
While Harley’s narration tries to keep the details clear, it also means that she frequently explains the other characters’ motivations, rather than them speaking for themselves. And while the cast is uniformly strong, the titular Birds of Prey deserve more time at center stage. Winstead gives a particularly funny turn as Huntress, but barely has any dialogue until the final half-hour.
The film’s many strengths always seem undermined by a conspicuous flaw. The costumes and set design are colorful and creative, but the cinematography is dim and washed out. (Why are so many DCEU movies, Aquaman excepted, so poorly lit?) The soundtrack’s needle drops share a punkish, riot-grrl sensibility, until the film delivers a mournful cover of Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” that sounds like self-parody.
In a scene representative of the film’s choppiness, Roman strikes Harley and she dazedly sees quick snippets of herself and Roman’s goons performing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” in imitation of Marilyn Monroe. Was this always intended as the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sequence shown in the film? Or did the full number end up on the cutting room floor?
Like Shazam! before it, Birds of Prey is good enough to make you acutely aware of how it falls short of greatness. At least the through-line of female liberation gives it a smidgen more thematic substance that the usual superhero fare, and the fight choreography, from some of the John Wick team, is stronger than standard. Ultimately, Yan, Robbie and company leave you hoping that these birds will flock together again.
Birds of Prey. B-. Starring Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor. Directed by Cathy Yan. Rated R. 109 minutes.