Review: BIRDS OF PREY Has Some Fun Moments But Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn Deserves Better

As you know, there was a lot of hype built up for DC’s new film Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Most of the critics who were invited to attended early screenings seemed to love the film and what it ended up delivering. All of the crazy positive buzz I was seeing actually got me more excited to see the movie and raised my expectations.

Well, the movie didn’t end up meeting those raised expectations, and I ended up walking out of the film disappointed. I really did want this movie to be great and wanted to be surprised by its awesomeness! But, unfortunately, it ended up being just another mediocre DC movie.

Leading up to the release of the film, there was a lot of talk about how this movie was going to have some crazy awesome action inspired by Jackie Chan and John Wick and that it was really going to lean into the R-rating. There were a couple of action/fight sequences that were fun to watch, and they featured some really cool moments that audiences will enjoy. But they weren’t even in the same league as Jackie Chan and John Wick! After all that hype, I felt let down because I was expecting so much more.

Then there’s the story that the film told… I thought it was boring and uninteresting. It was basically a generic “get the diamond” heist film. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is also emotionally dealing with her breakup from The Joker in the story, and at the same time, the villain Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) wants her dead because she’s no longer under Joker’s protection and she’s burned a lot of bridges over the years.

While on her journey of survival in the Gotham underworld, Harley Quinn makes some new frenemies that consist of Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), and Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). They all have their own stories in the film, and at the climax of the film, they all come together to fight off Black Mask and his Gotham City goons.

Batman does not show up in the movie; he’s not even really mentioned. I assume Batman is on vacation during this movie because if he was around with all this shit going on in Gotham, you’d know he’d show up to put an end to it or at least see what’s going on. It was just one of those lingering thoughts that I kept thinking about over the course of the movie, “Where the hell is Batman during all this!?”

I love the character Harley Quinn! I’ve been a fan ever since she was first introduced in Batman: The Animated Series. I love that Margot Robbie is playing her! I think she’s actually perfect for the part, but she deserves better than this. There are much better and more interesting stories to tell with Harley Quinn that could really make the character pop. I could see that the movie was trying to emulate Deadpool in certain ways, but it just didn’t work. Harley Quinn is such a unique character and these films need to lean into those things that set her apart from everyone else. That Harley Quinn animated series on DC Universe is a great example of how the character should be handled! That show is way better than what this movie turned out to be.

After all those positive reviews for the film started coming out, I was expecting so much more than what the movie actually offered. Had I gone in with lower expectations, maybe I would have enjoyed the movie a little more. I don’t know. There are people who seem to be loving it, which is fine! If you see this movie and you enjoy it, that’s great! I just think that could’ve been something so much better.

If you’ve seen the film, tell us what you thought!