SYNOPSIS: You ever hear the one about the cop,
the songbird, the psycho and the mafia princess? “Birds of Prey (And
the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is a twisted tale
told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s
most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous
right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city
is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black
Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome
have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.
REVIEW:
At first glance, Ms. Quinn might seem like a dainty little bird, but beware, you don’t want to mess with her. So Margot Robbie is back reprising one of her most stand out roles as Harley Quinn, the crazy lady crime queen of Gotham. In my modest opinion, Margot’s performance alone makes Suicide Squad worth watching. Here we have a spinoff sequel and Harley is the center of attention, and Margot is also the center of attention. She does steal every scene she’s in. The film no doubt is sexy but silly, fun and violent, colorful and somewhat lighthearted. I’ve got to admit, I find myself thoroughly enjoying movies that revolve around women kickin ass. Off the top of my head, Kill Bill, Peppermint, Salt, Wonder Woman, Lucy, The Brave One, Elektra, Haywire, Star Wars VII VIII IX, Kick Ass 1 and 2, Atomic Blonde, Sucker Punch, I mean I can go on and on. It is refreshingly different from the typical male centered action flick. Women can kick ass too, you know. This movie fits right in to that category, obviously. It’s all about girl power. There are some pretty decent fight sequences throughout, with very “painful ooooo” moments. Let’s just say, for instance, that this film is detrimental to limbs and other extremities. Priscilla had to look away for a couple of those moments. As for the ass kickin females, the casting job was well done. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is sharp as the Huntress, Rosie Perez is fighting for justice as GCPD detective, Renee Montoya, Jurnee Smollett-Bell is music to your ears as Black Canary, and Ella Jay Basco is really sneaky as Cassandra Cain. This band of misfits “team up” to form an even more bizarre gang than that of Suicide Squad, if you can imagine that. But somehow, it kind of works. One performance that stood out for me was that of Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis. This is Ewan like we have never seen him before. He is weird, eccentric, flat out nuts, and ruthless with a pinch of silly and flamboyant, and Ewan nails it. Another performance worth mentioning is that of Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz. He did a fantastic job of being creepy and also ruthless as Roman’s right hand man. Another aspect worth bringing up has got to be the costumes and wardrobe for these over the top characters. I mean, spot on! Something else that was spot on was the music used throughout the film, excellent choices.
Now, on to the weaknesses. The storyline for this particular flick is a bit inconsequential. It takes a back seat to everything else that’s going on. It’s just a means to an end. The dialogue doesn’t really help either, a bit elementary. Considering it’s Director Cathy Yan’s first major motion picture, well then not too bad. It’s just a little rough around the edges. It does come across a bit choppy and underwhelming. Many people were disappointed with Suicide Squad and I fear that this one won’t satisfy too much either. If you did like Suicide Squad just enough, then this one should be okay for you. Don’t go in with high expectations though. The movie is fun and entertaining, but don’t get your hopes up.
Review By Cine Marcos