#REVIEW: “BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN”

By Mr. Will Wong

Following her breakup with Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) continues to be up to no good.  This time around she finds herself with a target on her back, no longer able to get away with her antics around Gotham, without the protection of her infamous Ex. With Crime Lord Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) out for blood, he gives Quinn one last chance to live as she is tasked with finding a precious lost diamond. Along the way, she forms an unlikely alliance with three deadly women: Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez).

BIRDS OF PREY AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN, the second Feature by Director Cathy Yan, is a colour burst of fun, despite much of its biting humour being rather dark thanks to a smart Script by Christina Dodson (Bumblebee). The Film takes us on a chaotic, fast-paced ride, crammed with some intense girl-on-guy action, proving that fighting like a girl isn’t an insult after all. Being bad has never looked as enticing as it does inside the psychotic and brilliant mind of Harley Quinn.

BIRDS OF PREY takes flight on the strength of a strong Ensemble Cast, led by  Robbie who goes all-in here toeing the line between cute and girlish, but also ruthless and violent. Robbie takes Quinn’s instability and unpredictability and leverages that into something mesmerizing start to finish. We’ve never seen a heroine kick ass on roller skates like Quinn and she does the DC legacy proud. Smollett-Bell (True Blood, Friday Night Lights) is already a veteran in her own right, but a fresh face here who steals scenes and Winstead (Gemini Man, Live Free or Die Hard) who long has been churning-out fine work, gets her moment to shine in what looks like a surefire hit at long last. Perez takes some blows physically and verbally and while we wouldn’t have thought of this casting choice as working, it does absolutely.

We reckon many of you were disappointed with Suicide Squad, our first introduction to Quinn, which lacked the level of focused storytelling which BIRDS OF PREY possesses. Let that be your reason to give this a chance and you won’t be disappointed!

Warner Bros. Canada release BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN Thursday, February 6, 2020.