Mini Film Review – Birds Of Prey: And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn

I have just been out to see Birds Of Prey; and it was alright! Directed by Cathy Yan and starring Margot Robbie, Ella Jay Basco, and Ewan McGregor; Birds of Prey is a superhero movie focussing on the antics of a heart broken Harley Quinn and a group of female anti-heroes who have to prevent a little girl from being murdered by Black Mask. The film is very similar to Deadpool; in that it uses a non-linear form of story telling; but what works for Deadpool doesn’t necessarily work for Harley Quinn. This form of story telling creates long gaps between characters, preventing character development which makes Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) look like she is playing the fifth fiddle from her eventual re-introduction onwards. Sometimes the film will ground itself again with some more down to earth moments such as Ewan McGregor’s awesome villain role, or Harley playing big sister to Cassandra; but the constant backtracking with characters makes you wish for a linear story as it would be easier to follow. Thankfully though this is finally corrected for the big finale! The fight scenes are both brutal and enjoyable, and the final scenes of the group finally working together sort of makes the whole thing worth it. The film is sort of in the middle; it’s not dreadful, but it’s not fantastic either; but that already makes it miles better than Suicide Squad; and when it’s all said and done; it’s pretty alright; shows great promise for the future, and offers a fresh start for anyone whose getting bored of the MCU!