Birds of Prey | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I was really excited to see Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) when it first came out, due to the fact that I really enjoyed the introduction to the character that Suicide Squad gave us. However, because I loved Harley Quinn so much as a supporting character, I didn't know if I'd love her as much when she took centre stage.

Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) has just broken up with Joker, which leaves her in a very dark, vulnerable place. But when she helps, and inadvertently bonds with, young pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), in order to save the girl's life, Harley has to team up with three unexpected allies: Black Canary (Jurnee Smolett-Bell), The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez).

I really wanted to like this film a lot more than I did. 

For a start, the beginning of the film comes across as really cheesy, mainly due to the voice over - and this relates to the fact that the entire film feels like it takes place in Harley's mind. It's all over the place, starts and stops, goes backwards and forwards, and at times can be a really confusing watch. I'm not sure if this was the intention or not, but it didn't really work for me.

The story itself takes a long time to get interesting, and I couldn't help thinking that it might not have been the best storyline for Harley Quinn's first solo movie. While it was very interesting to frame the story in the aftermath of a break-up, once we get past that, it gets a lot less interesting.

I also found that Harley Quinn herself was much less interesting this time around. In my opinion, she shines much more as part of a group than as a solo character - and this is made evident later in the film where we do see her as part of a group.

Speaking of later in the film, it gets so much more interesting when our group of characters meet... which happens 1 hour and 20 minutes into the film. And then it stays interesting for the last half an hour, which I was really entertained by.

Overall, it was really great to see the Birds of Prey and the way that they were formed, but this doesn't make up for the rest of the movie. If this sounds like your kind of thing, definitely check it out, but I probably won't be giving it a second watch.

5.5/10

Lou