Maya Hall
Lantern Staff
The new DC movie Birds of Prey– centers around the eccentric character Harley Quinn, who gained a large following after the release of Suicide Squad in 2016. The film stars Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Rosie Perez.
Birds of Prey begins with Harley Quinn (Robbie) starting her story from the beginning and explaining that she and the Joker broke up, leaving her to fend for herself in Gotham. With no Joker there to offer her protection, people across the city who she wronged are now after her.
One of those people happens to be the deadly Gotham mobster, Black Mask (McGregor). Black Mask is not only after Harley, but is also after a secret treasure in Gotham to gain control over the city. To take him down, Harley teams up with three other women, each with unique abilities.
The performances from the actors were convincing for the most part, but the one who really steals the show is Robbie. Her performance of Harley Quinn is fantastic and is the main reason Harley’s character gained such a large following and what gained her more screen time.
From the beginning, the audience can tell that this is a movie about Harley Quinn moving on from the Joker and creating a new life for herself. This remains a central point to the movie, but also distracts from what the movie title is: “Birds of Prey.”
With it being so centered around Harley and not getting to the point of the comic book all girl crime fighting squad the “Birds of Prey,” it should have focused solely on Harley Quinn. The audience is left waiting to get to the point of the movie and it takes a while to get there.
What the movie lacks in plot structure, it makes up for it with action sequences. The fighting scenes are entertaining and also unique at times, with certain flare and signature moves from specific characters.
The character development is there but it is not very strong. It was good to see Harley go through a change of heart along with seeing the development of the other main characters, but it did not quite hit its mark.
Overall, Birds of Prey was entertaining, but lacked certain qualities to keep the audience interested in the plot. It was a bit slow and a little confusing at times, but had some good action sequences that did create some excitement. I give it a six out of 10.