![]() ![]() Play Although “Mistah J” is often namedropped - and serves as the catalyst for much of Harley’s growth here - his presence isn’t missed, since Birds of Prey serves up two villains who are somehow even more unpredictable than either Jared Leto or Joaquin Phoenix’s recent takes on the Joker. Thankfully, Yan’s stylish direction and keen sense of comedic timing keep things lively even when the story starts to strain under the weight of so many competing storylines. (There are also a few direct nods to Suicide Squad, lest you try to forget that the two are set in the same universe, but the movie zips along fine without feeling the need to get bogged down by too much backstory.) The plot swerves, skids, and doubles back on itself as Harley recounts the unlikely tale of her emancipation and the women who inadvertently become tangled up in it, overcomplicating a fairly straightforward story in which various factions are on the hunt for a stolen diamond… or on the hunt for those who are hunting it. And make no mistake, despite the front-loaded title, this is a Harley Quinn movie first and foremost, one that’s told from her own endearingly off-kilter point of view.īirds of Prey has a deliberate stream-of-consciousness quality thanks to Harley’s breakneck voiceover, which is woven throughout - first introduced via an energetic animated prologue stuffed full of easter eggs, which seems designed to get her complicated history with the Joker out of the way up front without actually showing him. It’s the most nuanced portrayal of Harley since creators Paul Dini and Bruce Timm fleshed out her backstory in “Mad Love,” one that actually takes advantage of the fact that Harleen Quinzel earned a PhD before succumbing to the Joker’s unhinged charms meaning that she not only has the smarts to be strategic when she wants to be, but also has a delicious habit of psychoanalyzing her opponents in a way that’s hilariously disarming. ![]() Luckily, in the capable hands of producer and star Margot Robbie, director Cathy Yan, and writer Christina Hodson, Birds of Prey allows us to see Harley at her most liberated a trickster goddess who undoubtedly creates more messes than she cleans up, but one who is no patsy, despite spending years in thrall to her green-haired puddin’. Daniel Graham Daniel Stevens Robert Nagle Brett Sheerin Bryan Sloyer Guy Fernandez Jade Quon Mark Aaron Wagner Jeremy Fry Bethany Levy James Moontasri Anisha Gibbs Micah Karns Akihiro Haga Can Aydin Caleb Spillyards Hiroo Minami Adam Lytle Amanda Ruth Ritchie Cory DeMeyers Josh Fried Chris Reid Mark Miscione Renae Moneymaker Jackson Spidell Cale Schultz Eric Brown David Anthony Buglione Tad Griffith Anis Cheurfa Alyma Dorsey Kyle Weishaar Mónica López Shawn Balentine Ross Scharphorn Bruce Concepcion Aviel Ayoung Keone Kim Jocelyn Kay Heather Bonomo Hayley Wright Lachlan Robbie Sydney Olson Kirk A.After being underwhelmed by the initial trailers, and frustrated by the muddled mess of Suicide Squad (which squandered one of the most entertaining and bonkers concepts in DC’s canon), I worried that Birds of Prey would end up falling into the same trap as the likes of Elektra and Catwoman, slapping a pandering “girl power” narrative onto a paper-thin plot and trusting that skintight costumes would distract from how hollow it all felt. Williamson Scott Rogers Steve Rizzo Jon Valera James Logan Nick Benseman Dean Bailey Rockey Dickey Jr. Fernandez Chris Palermo Joe Bucaro III Jonathan Eusebio Spencer Sano Jeremy Fitzgerald Simon Rhee Anthony Molinari John Hennigan Tara Macken Shad Gaspard Eddie Perez Tim Connolly Vaia Zaganas Jeremy Marinas Ben Jenkin Tim Rigby Dennis Keiffer Efka Kvaraciejus Anthony Nanakornpanom Marissa Labog Craig Henningsen Matt Berberi Rocky Abou-Sakher Marilyn Giacomazzi Aaron V. ![]()
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