Thursday, February 6, 2020

Birds of Prey Movie Review

Margot Robbie stars in Birds of Prey

Whip Me!

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: 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 (Margot Robbie) 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. Directed by Cathy Yan.


Starring: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, and Ewan McGregor

What's Good: Almost nothing. DC Comics' supposed answer to Deadpool (with a dash of Kill Bill for good bad measure) is best summed up by Winstead's "You shouldn't have to see this." Put a gun to my head (pun intended) and I'd praise Smollett-Bell for her energetic performance, but otherwise...

What's Not: Robbie (who was fun/good in Suicide Squad) is downright annoying in Birds of Prey. Her accent is insuffrable, and her 100 MPH lovable ditz act gets old in seconds. Her best line? "You killed my sandwich!" (Hats off to Christina Hodson for that one.) Then again, she's not half as bad as co-stars Perez (just wait until you see her waddle down the streets of Gotham in hot pursuit) an unnecessarily over-the-top McGregor and a brash 13-year-old pickpocket, who acts & looks twice her age. Toss in a grating, overloud soundtrack, and some of the least convincing fight sequences ever captured on film, and you have this year's first bonafide flop... which will probably earn a fortune at the box office.

Budget: $97.1 million

Runtime: 109 minutes (Same as The Rhythm Section, one of several (unfortunate) similarities.)

Target Audience: 13-year-old girls?

Bottom Line: If watching this movie doesn't cause you to suffer a seizure, consider yourself lucky. Birds of Prey is (presumably) meant to be campy and fun; but how do you explain countless, explicit scenes of degradation, torture and violence (at the expense of women & children) amidst a chaotic mix of cliches, flashbacks, and wannabe superheroes? I'll stick with Marvel, and suggest you do the same.

Grade: F