By Annum Shehryar
Harley Quinn, the villain/heroine of Cathy Yan’s comic-book movie ‘’Birds of Prey’’ and the (fantabulous emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a cheeky and colorful team-up R rated movie released on February 7th, 2020 that genuinely has a different flavor to anything else based on the Marvel and DC Universes. This film got 78% ratings on Rotten tomatoes, 6.1/10 on IMDB and has accumulated an estimate of $15,568,149 in Domestic Home Video Sales. This movie itself is a rare pleasure, it is a violent, dark comic book movie that is uneven but nonetheless, a lot of fun to watch. (This is a spoiler-free review).
With the main lead being the Infamous Harley Quinn as portrayed by Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the vengeful assassin Huntress and Jurnee Smollet-Bell as our high note vocalist plus fighting machine Black Canary, this film has brought out a unique portrayal to a genre that's ludicrously overpopulated with the average product. This movie starts off with a backstory on Harley and the Joker’s abusive relationship and how it got worse till the point where Harley finally takes the step and calls it quits. With the Joker no longer in the picture at the start of the movie, Harley becomes the target of a misogynist crime Lord Roman Sionis AKA the Black Mask from the Batman comics. Harley tries to stay alive by agreeing to steal a diamond that contained microscopic information that Sionis needs. A young foster kid Cassandra Cain who had already stolen the diamond, becomes the target of every mercenary in Gotham City. When it comes to the other Bird’s side of the story, Renee Montoya wants to take down Sionus but she is not getting the support she needs from the GCPD. The mysterious Huntress cruises around Gotham City, hunting for the same target, and Black Canary works for Sionus as his driver and singer.
Harley definitely does get a satisfactory and a well-developed plot journey. This movie did her character justice and excels in exploring her self worth and what it feels like to be in her shoes. She has the same manic, cheeky and charming aura that she had in Suicide Squad and this time, she was the front and center of this story. She is a loose cannon blasting glitter bombs and colored smoke. She is the one that ties everything together, narrates the story, and moves the plot along. She has her Hyenas, she leads a team, handles women empowerment the right way, and takes up roller skating. How are we not supposed to like this?
Birds of Prey often feels more like a Harley Quinn solo movie than a team-up movie, particularly when the eponymous group assembles into the third act only profoundly. That isn't exactly a negative thing, as it means that some ensemble members get less attention than others. The action scenes are creative, engaging, well-choreographed, and gives everyone time to shine together and individually. The soundtracks fit accordingly to each scene which makes it more interesting. The humor flows naturally and makes this movie worth watching. It is the kind of film, though, that is still likely to speak to a portion of its audience – particularly younger women. It also merits credit for being a madcap comedy. Although it has serious moments, particularly in Harley 's relationship with her young charge Cain, it's mostly worth watching for the battles, jokes, and eventual team-ups. I would definitely recommend this if you watch something that would make you want to laugh, feel free, feel empowered, and just overall have fun.
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