My Review on 'Birds of Prey': Does It REALLY Prey?

I just watched Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) today and I decide to give you my take on the film. The movie is the 8th installment of DC Extended Universe (DCEU). It currently gets positive reviews from the critics and officialy holds 86% on Rotten Tomatoes (As of 7 February 2020).

Directed by: Cathy Yan

Written by: Christina Hodson

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Running time: 109 minutes

Rating: R (17+)

Firstly, the short synopsis on Birds of Prey:

After her breaking up with the Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) has nothing to do. And at some point, she gets a problem with mafia boss, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) when he lost his precious diamond, with his assistant and right-hand man, Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina). This case then follows Quinn to team up with Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), and 13-year-old Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Together, they fight against Gotham’s current strongest all-ruler Sionis a.k.a Black Mask.

Short introduction of the characters:

HARLEY QUINN: Once a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum named Dr. Harleen Quinzel, she was involved in a romantic yet criminal relationship with the Joker, and becomes a crazy Gotham’s villainess. In the present, now single, Harley tries to be an independent criminal without her ex-boyfriend.

BLACK CANARY: Real name Dinah Lance, she is a singer at Roman Sionis’ Club. Born with metahuman power known as “Canary Cry”, she once fought as vigilante. Beautiful, yet deadly, that’s her.

HUNTRESS: Born Helena Bertinelli in a wealthy family and has become a skilled vigilante for years. Calling herself as the Huntress, she is using a crossbow as her main weapon.

RENEE MONTOYA: A detective at Gotham City Police Department (GCPD), who is currently having a case against Sionis.

CASSANDRA CAIN: A 13-year-old kid who becomes pickpocket for a living. She is the one who’s responsible for Sionis’ missing diamond.

ROMAN SIONIS: The crime lord in Gotham City who owns his own club. Really ambitious, currently is losing his precious diamond and is fiercely looking for it.

VICTOR ZSASZ: Sionis’ right-hand man and probably the only one who he trusts the most. He has his iconic symbol—tally marks: as the number of people that he has killed. Super intimidating and interesting, isn’t it?

Now, we are diving in to the whole movie.

For me, what attracts me the most is the cinematography. I’ve had this interest since watched their first trailer. As it is shown how amazing the camera angle and directing, and I couldn’t expect more. The movie, of course, gives you more ‘sightseeing’ in the cinematography. Really cool. Big thanks to Matthew Libatique (Black Swan, Mother!, A Star Is Born) who made this possible!

Second, the action sequence. This movie is really action-packed and doing well in their action scenes. They are violent, but yet exciting and satisfying to watch, haha. The characters are all kicking their a## off. Yep, it is THAT awesome. This credit all goes to John Wick’s director and stunt coordinator team.

The third one, the color grading. THIS IS THE MOST STUNNING ONE, I guess. The colors are just very beautiful to watch. It is dark, but not really dark, with adding colorful vibes in it. Your eyes will be satisfied for watching it. Good luck.

Fourth, giving all the applause to the casting director. Wow, the actors suit their roles well. They probably did a lot of research in preparing the characters, even I could see them really BECOMING their film’s roles. They really DIVE IN to their own fictional world, and that’s super cool, really. The acting is great too. For me, Jurnee Smollett-Bell is the one who suits her role so much. And yes, Chris Messina also is really into his Zsasz persona and he has that cunning smile. Great to see a live-action of Victor Zsasz. 

Also, don’t forget Ewan McGregor who is giving ALL his best for portraying such an iconic DC villain. Woah, he really got my hype when he got casted as Black Mask. One of the best villain castings!

Number five goes to the characters writing. Although some characters are having a little bit change from their origin story as in the comics, that does not bother me much, because the movie version is also well-written. Also, loving the idea of Christina Hodson (Bumblebee), the writer, who was interested in developing more of Harley Quinn’s complicated personality; as she can become a very crazed villain, but then can turn into some sort of city’s hero (or anti-hero). Unpredictable, yes that’s the true depiction of the one and only Harley Quinn! Well, this version of Harley pretty much works out in this movie. Yet, we cannot predict what she will do next after this Birds of Prey event. Is she going to continue on becoming the anti-hero, or the true Queen of Villain? You decide!

Despite many differences and changes from the comics, that is fine. The most obvious one, is the ‘Birds of Prey’ itself. The original comic team consists of 3 superheroes: Batgirl, Huntress, and Black Canary. There is no Harley Quinn and depiction of her blending in on the good side. Well, don’t worry too much about it, as we likely will get a sequel with Batgirl on it. Second, the badass Black Canary. In the comic, she is written as a white superheroine, but the movie is all about diversity so they cast a POC instead of a white actress, and Jurnee slayed it. The third goes to Sionis and Zsasz’s sexuality. The  romantic tension between these two is really obvious, even it is shown in the trailer. Wow. Of course, some people hate and very oppose to these changes.

Next, the score is thrilling. Definitely it is, because Daniel Pemberton (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse) is the composer. Well, no wonder he nailed this. Stay tune until the full soundtrack album is released.

Last, the script is enjoyable. It could flow well throughout the whole movie. Giving a humor, yet dark; a comedy that we all can enjoy (and relate) hahaha.

Alright, these are the positive ones from the movies that I can see. Now, there is no movie that comes up without ANY single ‘something off’, isn’t it?

So, what gives me a slightly off is the story and the plot. Yep, for me, it is too simple and really forced to be as-fast-as-possible to run. Really expecting more towards this movie’s story, but guess, I don’t have to expect much on the plot since the beginning, as the runtime of the movie turns out to be only 109 minutes. Of course, the runtime is unusual and considered as ‘very short’ if we compare to the nowadays superhero movies, which usually takes up to 120 minutes to be a well-packed story. Well, could not blame more after the movie’s budget is only around $84 million, and again, it is considered as ‘very little’, unlike many released superhero movies, which often spend around $150-200 million.

Also, there is one post-credit scene. Uhmm, can’t say much about this one haha. Just watch it for the sake of your curiosity hohoho. :D

Well well, that’s all what I could say about this movie. It DOES prey, and is recommended to watch and pretty sure you will enjoy this fun movie. In conclusion, it’s 8.5/10 from me. It’s my opinion, and of course we can have different ones. Feel free to drop your comments on this movie. Happy watching. 

Thank you!

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_Prey_(2020_film)