Picturesīlack Mask, played by Ewan McGregor doing his best Sam Rockwell impression, is one of the film’s only consistently middling aspects. Nonlinear storytelling and onscreen title cards - not unlike Suicide Squad, the movie that introduced Harley to the live-action world - only occasionally wear out their welcome. Harley is everywhere in the movie, serving not just as narrator, but as its structural underpinning, which is bound by her characteristically disjointed storytelling whims. But between Robbie’s Harrison-Fordian ability to emote even in the midst of full-contact ballet, and Yan’s attention to making sure we see Harley’s face even in the middle of a brawl, it’s also clear that we aren’t watching stunt doubles. Doubtless some CGI was involved, but there are no slickly textured crash-test dummies bashing each other into submission here - in fact, sometimes the violence gets just a little too real. Cartoon-channeling is also a useful skill for the star of a movie with such splendid fight scenes.īirds of Prey’s clearly shot and inventively staged action sequences feel like the first superhero movie response to John Wick’s success. Robbie’s Harley Quinn is just as scene-stealing as she was in Suicide Squad, appearing to operate on at least 20 percent cartoon logic at all times - a useful skill for an occasionally fourth-wall-breaking narrator. Winstead delivers a comedic twist on the Huntress’s classic personality that I hope makes its way to comics as soon as possible, and the 13-year-old Basco deserves particular credit for holding her own alongside Robbie in their many scenes together. The main heroine ensemble actors all breathe a wonderful amount of life into little-known characters overdue for mainstream attention. Huntress stalks around Birds of Prey like it’s a Kill Bill-esque revenge epic, while Renee Montoya is in a hard-boiled cop flick. But thanks to some clever bait-and-switch with origin stories and personalities, Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson have made a superhero movie that might actually be more enjoyable for viewers who haven’t read a single comic.Įach character’s storyline is given a slightly different genre and tone, as well, one of a number of tactics the production employs to mimic Harley’s manic internal life. His ambitions are what pull the rest of the cast toward Harley.īirds of Prey fills out its central girl gang with a quartet of supporting Batman characters - Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), the Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and a significantly re-worked Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Topping the list is Roman “Black Mask” Sionis, Gotham’s latest up-and-coming sadistic mafia don. Which would be fine, except that once Gotham’s underworld finds out she isn’t under the Joker’s protection anymore, it’s open season for every crook, goon, and roller-derby competitor that Harley’s ever pissed off. This time, Harley swears, things will be different. Our story begins proper when she and the Joker acrimoniously part ways. Robbie’s Harley, the Joker’s eternally perky moll, is the sun the rest of the characters orbit, a mix of star power and audience recognizability.
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