For Those Left Disappointed By Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey Is A Step In The Right Direction

      When one looks at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they see a mostly consistent and well-structured universe of films that carries very few missteps. Regardless of whether one Marvel film wasn't up to the standard of previous ones, fans forgave it's flaws and still went into the next installment with the confidence that it'll deliver. The same can't be said about the current status of the DCEU,  (DC Extended Universe), which so far has largely underperformed despite showing sizable improvement with the most recent solo films. Whereas Man Of Steel, Batman V Superman, and Justice League all failed to meet audiences expectations, Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam not only exceeded expectations financially, but provide hope that the DCEU will continue to improve upon it's early missteps. Thankfully, that trend continues with this year's Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey. Whereas Suicide Squad proved to be a messy comic book adaptation that heavily divided fans with it's overall quality, Birds Of Prey attempts and largely succeeds for the most part (despite a fair amount of flaws) in steering the ship in the right direction with the end result being a hit rather than a miss. The film is largely powered by it's strong female cast, particularly Margot Robbie who not only steals the show but easily carries the film as Harley Quinn. What could've easily ended up being another hot mess like David Ayer's Suicide Squad, turns out to be one of the better films churned out by the DCEU so far.

      The plot for Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey focuses on Harley Quinn's character (Played by Margot Robbie), struggling to make it on her own after breaking up with the Joker and her finding herself being menaced by a Gotham crime boss (Played by Ewan McGregor). In order to take him down for good, she teams up with a few friends and former police detective to do so. Although the film references the events of Suicide Squad, as well as having characters from that film conveniently absent from the story (Jared Leto's Joker gets a name drop with the filmmakers making a strong effort not to bring his character back for fear of giving audiences bad memories of that film), Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey attempts for the most part to steer clear of that film while telling its own story. The latter proves to be a smart move as the film focuses on what's arguably the most memorable element of the previous film, which is Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. Unlike Suicide Squad, Birds Of Prey feels true to the character with a more focused storyline and directing, that's a bit more restrained though still colorful and explosive with tons of fast-paced action sprinkled throughout the story. The appeal of the new characters also does a great deal to win over fans who were disappointed by the last film, as their on screen chemistry proves to be effective. Despite the story feeling a bit generic and bland at times, there's enough elements that Birds Of Prey has going for it that ultimately makes it not only enjoyable, but essentially feel like the film that Suicide Squad ultimately should've been. For fans who were largely disappointed by Suicide Squad, Birds Of Prey marks a step in the right direction with the hope that Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn can right the ship with his much anticipated Suicide Squad reboot.

      One of the key elements that makes Birds Of Prey work so well at being both fun and enjoyable is the appeal of the newer characters, that's largely thanks to the performances of the main cast. Margot Robbie continues to make the case that she's the perfect choice for bringing the character of Harley Quinn to the big screen in live-action form. She's funny, charismatic, crazy, intense, and is able to fully convey the characters colorful yet anarchic nature which she brilliantly conveys on the big screen. Robbie's strength at playing the character is a big reason why the new film works so well because of how she's able to bring Harley Quinn to life, and make the story surrounding her character appear to be engaging. As far as the rest of the cast goes, Ewan McGregor shines in his role as the films main antagonist Roman Sionis/Black Mask. Here he does a terrific job of playing both a brutal and narcissistic crime lord, who threatens both Harley and Cassandra. Another noteworthy performance goes to Ella Jay Basco in the role of Cassandra Can, a young girl with a bounty placed on her head by Sionis after she robs him of a valuable diamond. Mary Elizabeth Winstead does well playing Helena Bertinelli, orphaned daughter of gangster Franco Bertinelli later turned vigilante named Huntress. Jurnee Smollett-Bell both surprises and impresses in the role of playing Black Canary, a vigilante who possesses the metahuman ability of hypersonic screams. Rosie Perez adds to the energy of the cast with her role as an alcoholic, cynical detective in the Gotham City Police Department, whose building a case against Sionis. As a whole, the cast of Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey does a terrific job with bringing their characters to life with strong, fun, and believable performances that bring a great deal of energy to the film while enhancing the excitement.

      The films directing by Cathy Yen is effective in terms of giving the film both the flame and fire needed to make its story work given how David Ayer's film ultimately turned out. Yen manages to keep the story primarily focused on the character of Quinn, while properly introducing the other characters. The films atmosphere is colorful and flashy with its stellar set and costume design taking center stage with the overall visual style of the film. The films cinematography is similar to Suicide Squad in terms of being wild and flashy, though feels appropriate given the source material of the story. The films soundtrack is effective with it going hand in hand with the films visual look with the editing keeping the story moving for the most part due to its manic style pacing. Not only is the cinematography of the film striking visually, but the films action sequences are not only impressive to watch, they're extremely well-choreographed and put together. Yan designs each action sequence to be distinct from the previous one with her making effective use of the films settings (Examples are the use of a police lock-up being an ideal place to set up an action scene given all the items in the scene that the main characters can utilize). Although the films story might lack in regards to originality, the directing by Yen does a very solid job of making up for the scripts shortcomings with her crafting a fun and whacky popcorn ride, that's not only explosive but proves to be tons of fun to watch with a relatively straight-forward narrative combined with crafty filmmaking.

      The films screenplay by Christina Hodson is effective in regards to continuing the world building, that was set up in the previous film with Gotham being used as the background setting. The scripts greatest strength lies within the development of the characters, particularly Quinn's whom the filmmakers structure to be a Deadpool like character in the story in regards to both speaking directly to the audience, along with largely being the main focus of the film. The filmmakers were correct to change the title of the film to Harley Quinn rather than it being just Birds Of Prey, because the whole structure of the film is centered around her character with the other members of the female squad getting sizable doses of development though not as much. Whereas the character development with the main actresses and villain are strong, the story as a whole feels a bit generic and underwhelming in a sense. The whole subplot involving the main villain targeting a young girl because she swallowed a diamond feels like a plot though serviceable, ultimately feels like it falls beneath the character of Harley Quinn. Given that the latter is the main character, having a film with her that doesn't include the Joker leaves a bit of awkwardness to the proceedings despite the end result still being fun to watch. Perhaps this was an effort on the filmmakers end to move the character away from Jared Leto's Joker in Suicide Squad as he's easily the worst adaptation of the character compared to Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix's portrayals. If that's the case then the film both benefits from his absence, but still suffers from the lack of The Jokers presence. As a film that shows the formation of the Birds Of Prey squad, the film does a solid job of assembling the misfit team with each character getting their proper moment to shine with enough action and humor spread throughout the story to keep audiences thrilled.

     In the end, Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey is a film about style and personality that's flashy, entertaining, and delivers on it's promise to further develop it's main character. Robbie continues to prove to audiences that she's the embodiment of the character of Harley, much like Ryan Reynolds is the perfect person to play Deadpool with no alternative being acceptable. For the most part, the film succeeds in doing what it sets out to do despite containing faults of its own. The films narrative despite being steady, can become shuffled at times with some of the character development being questionable. Such examples are Black Canary not being allowed to do much in the film, and only getting the opportunity to utilize her vocal powers near the end of the film. Despite Perez's character giving audiences the police angle in the story, her character feels cliched at times with moments of forced humor (The T-shirt she wears for example in several scenes). While Huntress character is appealing for the most part, she comes across as feeling like a Kill Bill type character. Although the film has noticeable flaws, the pros of the film greatly outweigh the negatives with the chemistry of the main cast along with the appeal of the characters making it worthwhile. The film serves as being neither a Birds Of Prey film nor a Suicide Squad type sequel, but works best as being a solo origin story for Harley Quinn's character with Margot Robbie easily being the strongest element of the film. She gives a commanding performance that keeps the audience fully engaged in the story, while making the scenes without her a challenge in regards to maintaining interest as viewers are left waiting in anticipation to see what she would do next. Giving Margot Robbie the reigns of the story with the film being largely focused on her character, is hands down the smartest decision the filmmakers did with making this film as her presence distracts from the issues that plagued Suicide Squad. Here's hoping that James Gunn can further explore the character of Harley Quinn, while giving the Suicide Squad story the appropriate makeover it deserves. Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey is not perfect, but carries enough fun, thrills, and visual eye-candy to satisfy fans while providing hope that the DCEU will continue to improve. If anything, the target audience it aims for (Mostly female demographic) will get a kick out of the films underlining message showing a group of strong women taking control of their own narratives, and fighting back against toxic male authorative figures. Such a message doesn't feel forced but is done with pure entertainment value, that effectively gets it's point across in the most appealing fashion.

Final Verdict: For DCEU fans, fans of Harley Quinn, and those who were left disappointed by Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn: Birds Of Squad is worth watching.