Skip to main content

Movie Review: Birds of Prey (2020) *Spoiler Section*

Birds of Prey (2020)
One of the better aspects of 2016's Suicide Squad movie was Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. While the character does have a significant fan base, both Margot's interpretation and the various incarnations depicted in animation and the comics, I don't think mainstream audiences were particularly hungry for a Birds of Prey or Harley Quinn movie.

Despite that, Birds of Prey (2020) was always going to have an audience. Suicide Squad, while not a great critical success still did well enough to be getting a James Gunn directed sequel, and Margot's performance as Harley was widely praised... and then there are plenty of people like me.

I have no real interest in a Birds of Prey film but it features Harley Quinn, and it's a DCEU film so of course I'm going to go see it.

Plus it does play as a kind of sequel to Suicide Squad, that you could maybe interpret as a spin off film, since it directly references events from that movie.

I will say that as the trailers for Birds of Prey came out, they did increase my interest in the film.

The studio could have easily just used the movie's subtitle '[and] The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn' as the main title of the film. Or perhaps swapped the titles around, because the film itself is more Quinn focussed than Birds of Prey, despite serving as something of an origin story for that crime fighting team.

That's by no means a negative but it's obvious Harley Quinn is a bigger drawcard than the Birds of Prey with mainstream audiences... and this is very much her movie told from her point of view.

The premise is that Harley Quinn and the Joker have split up and, all of a sudden, she is no longer 'untouchable'. In the meantime an extremely valuable diamond goes missing with Harley using her talent for finding things to get herself out of a tight situation that may have involved her death via underworld kingpin wannabe, Roman Sionis (A.K.A. Black Mask).

Along the way her search crosses paths with the various future members of the Birds of Prey.

Overall I enjoyed this film, which tries to unfold it's story in a similar style to the first Deadpool movie through flashbacks woven between the current action. It doesn't quite do it as well as that film, feeling a little more disjointed and jumpy, but maybe that suits the person narrating the story, one Harley Quinn.

If you're looking for a deeper insight into who Harley Quinn is and how she even made a team like The Suicide Squad then this movie delivers in spades. In this film she shows off her personal life, PHD, and her skills with a baseball to great effect.

Many of Harley's fight sequences are some of the most creative and bad ass I've seen in any superhero film to date. You'll believe she is perfectly capable of taking on a room full of bad guys by herself with the way the fight scenes are put together.

The other members of the Birds of Prey all get enough of their backstory told to to show how they fit in with Harley's story as it unfolds. I particularly like the characterization of Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) which is a little different to the version in the Arrowverse.

Ewan McGregor as the main antagonist is a little under used in this film. He's perfectly fine and really sells his role as a somewhat entitled and brutal mob boss but, when you have Ewan McGregor playing a bad guy, you kind of wish he was playing a more widely known and more likely recurring character (Mr Freeze perhaps since he's after a diamond?). Black Mask is pretty generic as a character who's only point of difference appears to be the actual black mask. It's also questionable as to why he even wears it since he really does want people to know both his name and reputation.

For the most part this is a fun chapter in the Harley Quinn story. If Margot Robbie plans to make more of these (the film is made by her production company) I'd definitely turn up... especially if Mr J was the lead antagonist. Even more so if Jared Leto's Mr J was reprised because wouldn't you like to see Harley take down that version of the Joker?

There are a couple of minor issues I had with the film that I feel compelled to mention. They're not really a problem for the film overall but are things that kind of bug me in Superhero films in general that are present in Birds of Prey. They're a bit spoilery so read on only if you've seen the film or don't mind spoilers.

Spoiler Section

Throughout this movie there are a number of scenes where Harley completely dominates in a fight against rooms full of guys who are clearly stronger (visually based on size and muscle mass) and not exactly strangers to an all out brawl.

Harley's ability to fight, and the moves she pulls, is more than enough to allow me to suspend disbelief and say, yeah, she's probably that good. To the point where her brand of crazy has got to be largely an act. She can think very quick in a fight.

Then we get a scene that's a one on one Harley versus Detective Montoya (Rosie Perez) fist fight. I get that Montoya is probably good in a fight too but she's a cop not a super villain who was chosen specifically to be part of some sort of 'suicide squad' intended to go up against super powered threats.

How is any of her punches even landing on Harley after we just saw her take out a whole police station of cops followed by a whole prison cell wing of criminals all by herself?

This kind of thing happens a lot in Superhero movies and television. You see plenty of scenes where the hero (or villain) is capable of holding their own against multiple attackers, bigger than they are, and then, in a later scene, suddenly they're struggling against one person with no more ability than anyone they've already come up against.

It just bugs me that the writers aren't always consistent with their character's capabilities.

The other issue is at the end of this film there is a car chase sequence that sees Harley race along for what is several city blocks away from where she left her team. The speed they're traveling it has to be a considerable distance, and I'm pretty sure they're not circling back to where the chase started.

Yet, seconds after Harley and Cassandra (Ella Jay Basco) defeat Black Mask, the whole team is there to survey the damage. I know they probably weren't standing around waiting for Harley to come back, and they probably got rides of their own to follow her, but they were nowhere to be seen throughout the whole chase (except for Huntress who was part of the chase for most of it).

It's not a big problem, but again, it happens a lot in these kind of films. In this movie it's so we can have the kind of 'hero' shot of the whole team because after this moment it's clear there's no real reason for any of them to stick together... yet we get an 'oh yeah, these three are The Birds of Prey now' narration from Harley.

None of these things spoiled the film for me, it's just a little sloppy in the storytelling, and I only mention them because it's not unique to this film.

Birds of Prey is a solid anti-hero kind of movie. It kind of ties with what we saw in Suicide Squad in terms of the look and design, which is great. In many ways it's both a darker and lighter movie (a little more graphic with the violence and a lot more color and humor).

I'm definitely on board for a second in this series (I've heard this is actually one of three films planned for Harley and the Birds of Prey) and I really hope to see this iteration of her in a future Batman movie at some point.

Comments

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

James Gunn's Social Media Monkeys Joke Was a Highlight of His Superman Movie For Me

B efore James Gunn's Superman Movie was released there was a whole rumor going around that the movie would feature monkeys on computers trolling Superman's social media, sparking much outrage. #supersh*t. I didn't know this was even a thing until just prior to writing this article. I did a search to see if anyone had posted a clip of the monkeys scene from the movie and got pages of discourse featuring videos and articles prior to the film. Most of it from Gunn detractors (let's say) seeing it as some kind of childish swipe at them... well not them specifically but, you know, those other people who have every right to hate on anything sight unseen. Anyway, I'm not going to give even one such example a link or air because it's kind of sad watching someone devote so much commentary to a throw away gag that is absolutely a nod to James Gunn's Superman trolls.  The whole reason this post exists, is to say I loved the joke, because fourteen years ago, and I...

Movie Review: A Complete Unknown (2024) *No Spoilers*

Y ou would think the Bob Dylan story would be 'wind-swept and interesting,' to quote Billy Connelly, however, despite  A Complete Unknown  being quite an engaging film, it feels like it missed the years that really shaped him as a song writer/performer. The film starts in 1961, with a then unknown, 19-year-old Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) arriving in New York City with his guitar.  From there he forges relationships with musical icons on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates around the world. The problem being, according to this film, Dylan arrived in New York, for the most part, fully formed as a folk singer/song writer. In virtually no time he makes a very important connection that puts him on the trajectory of doing the work and becoming a name, before making his world changing performance. While there is some drama behind the scenes with his various relationships, none of it is particularly unique to any number of up and com...

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood  Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch...

Revisiting Hobart, Tasmania (2025) - Part 2 of 2

Tasman Bridge as seen from The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. C ontinuing on with my partner (Enigma) and I's return to Hobart, Tasmania, it's day three, and a Monday. Enigma was hoping to see snow on top of Mount Wellington this trip however, so far we'd had nothing but fine weather. A little on the cool side maybe, but not enough to put snow on the mountain. Which you can check with Summit Cam's live feed from the mountain top. So we decided to fill our day with Hobart's other bus tour... Red Decker Hop On/Hop Off Bus Tour The Red Decker Bus. The Red Decker bus tour is a 90 minute loop tour of the main sights within Hobart. While you can just stay on the bus the whole loop the idea is to get off the bus at any key location you may like to further explore and then rejoin the tour when the next available bus comes along to your nearest timed stop. Tickets last for 24 or 48 hours, giving you plenty of time to explore without being rushed. The bus website tells ...

Movie Review: Superman (2025) *No Spoilers*

T he one thing I like about James Gunn as a comic book movie director is that he leans into the comic book nature of the world and the characters.  He's not trying to do a realistic take on any of the characters. He's simply bringing the comics to life. It's still his take on the characters, but he doesn't shy away from their comic book origins. James Gunn's  Superman  is very much a comic book movie in every sense. Nothing is off the table because it's too 'comic-booky' and might look silly in a live action film.  To me that's incredibly liberating. It lets James actually tell a proper Superman story that isn't hamstrung by reality, or tip toeing into the fantastical just enough to allow Superman to exist in the real world. Superman begins in the middle of a battle. Metropolis is under attack by a super powered being known as 'Hammer of Boravia', however everything is not as it seems, and Superman (David Corenswet) must work with other s...

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de...

Is AI Art 'Art'? The Say NO to AI Art Movement, and Why Human Artists Will Adapt

AI Art No T-Shirt by TET Also available on other items . Right now there is a big debate over not just whether AI art is 'art' but whether AI's are actually ripping off the work of actual human artists, without their consent, to create their images - particularly images 'in the style of' specific artists. From my own observations this debate started to get more traction when artist's signatures began appearing in the output of AI Art  image generators. Is It Art? Cool Froyd the Cat Sketch by TET. My style is very much influenced by classic Disney and WB character styles. To get some clarity on how real human artists work (of which I am one)... we, that is all of us... take influences from the art that has come before. i.e. whatever artists we like, have studied, seen etc. we are influenced by. It shows up in our work, intentionally or not. If you really study my own cartoony art style you'll see I'm heavily influenced by early Disney and Warner Bros cart...