Birds of Prey: (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn) is a wacky, girl-powered ride
If you thought Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn was the redeeming factor of Suicide Squad because she was so damn good at bringing the character to life, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
Birds of Prey is not without its flaws, as at first it has some trouble finding its footing. But if you take the zany, violent, parody lens that Deadpool sees the world through, add in a touch of the storytelling style of the Boondock Saints and send a surge blast of Girl Power, you get Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn. The movie drops us immediately into the on-again, off-again (and now she promises us off-again) relationship of Harley Quinn & The Joker, and even dives into a little bit of backstory we haven't gotten for Harley Quinn before. A quick blurb of the toxic relationship with Joker sets up the opening act of the movie, and we quickly find out Harley is immediately determined to make a name for herself. Having been Joker's side piece for such a long time, she starts to notice trouble when the gangs around town realize she's not under Joker's protection and catches the eye of Black Mask, who also wants to emerge as the top villain around town, and sets out to make sure Harley cannot prove herself. But Harley sees this as an opportunity to get in good with him and his search for the Bertinelli family diamond. Hijinks and antics ensue as Harley sets out to find the diamond, but is still the target of many foes she's wronged; gang members & Rosie Perez's Renee Montoya alike do everything they can to stop her.
As the movie progresses into the second act, the movie stops being a Harley Quinn movie and really shifts its focus to the rest of the titular characters. A jaded Dinah Lance is brought in as a club singer, but after some back alley tomfoolery with Harley, Dinah falls into the right-place-right-time & becomes the driver for Black Mask, but is unknowingly also replacing Detective Renee Montoya's informant which brings them together. All the while a crossbow killer is taking out what we are to believe are random mob bosses & members.
Harley also befriends & takes in a young troubled youth named Cassandra Cain, and sort of becomes her mentor after finding out she's got a lot of mob eyes on her and even a hit on her head. This movie gives us a lot of background on WHO Harley Quinn (and Harleen Quinzel) really is, the heart she still has, and even a bit of her psychiatric background comes into play.
The aforementioned foe Roman Sionis/Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor, arguably steals the shine of the movie, and is maybe the best part of all; the trailers do not give him enough credit. He is the perfect guy you both love & hate. He wants to be feared, he wants to be rich, and he & Victor Zsasz quickly prove to the audience that they will do ANYTHING it takes to get ahead.
The movie's soundtrack is a fun accompaniment to its wacky girl-powered ride and will have you BOP-ping in your seat.
BOP: ATFEOOHQ is a goofy as its name & acronym, it doesn’t take itself seriously and neither should you. This movie won’t win any awards, but it will win the cast and characters some fans.
