Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey Movie Review

Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey [Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn] (2020)

Rent Birds of Prey on Amazon Video
Written by: Christina Hodson (written by), Paul Dini and Bruce Timm (Harley Quinn created by)
Directed by: Cathy Yan
Starring: Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Ewan McGregor, Chris Messina, Ali Wong
Rated: R
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Plot
After splitting with the Joker, Harley Quinn joins superheroes Black Canary, Huntress, and Renee Montoya to save a young girl from an evil crime lord.

Verdict
It's irreverent and almost silly, and that's exactly what DC super hero movies need. The looping and at times loopy story fits the character perfectly, and all of the actors do a great job. I'm surprised at how good this is since DC comic movies have a poor track record. Harley is a fun character that is battling identity and a villain. She's flawed and the movie has fun with the fact that she is an unapologetic villain out for herself.
It depends.

Review

This movie is what I wanted Suicide Squad and to be, fun and self aware. Where Justice League was a forgettable checklist of super hero tropes, Harley Quinn stops trying to be a generic super hero movie. 

I don't know what happened with the title. It seems like this movie was renamed multiple times. Who in their right mind would approve the original, extremely long title? From the start it should have been Harley Quinn: Fantabulous Emancipation. It gets the main character into the title and hints that this movie isn't rigid. Birds of Prey apparently was a team name from the comics that comprised various female heroes. This isn't really a Birds of Prey movie.

I hate the how we got here trope, but this puts a spin on that. This isn't trying to dress up the opening of the movie, it's trying to put us in Harley's disjointed mind as it twists the beginning of the movie.

Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn.

Harley was one of the best parts of Suicide Squad because she actually had dialog to build the character. Margot Robbie also does such a good job of being the character. She makes a silly character grounded. While the Joker is mentioned, an appearance isn't forced into the movie. Harley has to figure out who she is without Joker. She's always been a sidekick, but proves in this movie that's not all she can be.

While Harley breaks the fourth wall a couple of times, it works. She's more interested in a breakfast sandwich then saving or destroying the world. Many characters don't like her and state as much. Harley doesn't care. In this adventure she has to ward off the villain, Roman Sionis played by Ewan McGregor. McGregor does a great job as the self absorbed villain.

This does set up a sequel, but it's not as blatant as some of the movies in the genre. Harley teams up with a few characters out of necessity, not benevolence. That is the Birds of Prey, though I take issue with Black Canary displaying unknown super powers until a moment of need.

Harley isn't out to save the day, she wants to save herself. She's unapologetic about who she is, and that really works in this movie. This does a great job of capturing the essence of Harley. If you want an irreverent super hero movie that isn't as crude as Deadpool, this is it.