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‘Birds of Prey’ is a Cinematic Glitter Bomb of Profane, Violent Fun
After the dredge that was ‘Suicide Squad,’ Harley Quinn is back in a film that actually does her justice — and then some.
The first great film of 2020 has exploded onto screen in a colorful, anarchic package that makes comic book movies feel fresh again. Four years after Suicide Squad made Harley Quinn a sexual object for psychopaths in a stomach turning portrayal, Margot Robbie has taken back the character entirely. Directed by Cathy Yan, the ridiculously titled Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) explosively severs all ties with Quinn’s sadistic ex, The Joker and sends her off on a solo-ish adventure with the titular team.
The title would be more accurate if it read “The Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn (oh, and the Birds of Prey)”, because there is no denying that this is Harley’s film. The Birds each get their own stories within the film and respective moments to shine, but Quinn is undeniably the main character. If that reads as a complaint, it’s not. Robbie is electric as the eccentric and morally ambiguous Quinn; she’s far more unpredictable than the two previous big screen iterations of the Joker, and a lot more fun to watch.
