About the film (courtesy of Warner Bros.):
You ever hear the one about the cop, the blonde, the psycho and the mafia princess? Birds of Prey: (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When one of Gotham’s most sinister villains, Roman Sionis, and his sadistic right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city’s wicked underbelly is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.

When it comes to the big screen, DC has unequivocally proven that it is beholden to no one, not even its often bemused fans. Continuity and consistency do not seem to rank highly on the list of important items when it comes to theatrical projects. And some would argue that it’s the television production that seems to be most capable of being able to provide a “connected universe” of sorts. The fact that many of the television series do crossover events displays a cohesive working environment. The actors remain the same across shows as does their overall tone. Theatrical releases over the past several years have been something else entirely. Birds of Prey falls into that same latter category, perfectly.

We were first introduced to this version of Harley Quinn (Margo Robbie) in Suicide Squad (2016) along with a plethora of other main charters, including The Joker (Jared Leto). While his character is absent in physical form in Birds of Prey, there is no shortage referencing the jovially jaded ex-lover of one Harley Quinn. At least director Cathy Yan avoids ghosting his character altogether and, instead, uses his psychological hold over Harley as vehicle for what drives her in this new story. Still though, it’s disappointing to be missing such a pivotal character.

Robbie is just as fun, lively and mischievous as she was the first time around. She also convincingly presents herself as a strong woman, even if it isn’t in the most legal of ways sometimes. Her character is enjoyable to watch because you’re not quite sure of what’s she’s going to do next. The other femalecentric stars of Birds of Prey (Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco) give average performances but nothing that really hits home hard.

Ewan McGregor serves as the top baddie but he feels like more of a “checkbox character,” one of those types that you have to stick in the story for the sake of needing someone pile all of the garbage on. Honestly, just about anyone could have played his character and Birds of Prey would have been no worse off or better off from it. The role is too hokey to be a good fit for someone like McGregor, it’s just poor casting. Performances are definitely a weaker point of some of these actors and it really isn’t their fault. It’s more that the space wasn’t there to allow their characters to fully shine to their potential.

The larger negative aspect is the fact that Birds of Prey is missing key connections that would make the story flow a bit smoother. It seems like the plot jumps from here to there to behind a potted flower for reasons beyond comprehension and makes for a disjointed experience. Most of the theatrical DC properties released in recent years have been tied to some sort of production drama or creative disagreements with Wonder Woman (2017) and Aquaman (2018) being exceptions for the most part. So you never really know what you’re going to get until time has past and all of the dirty laundry starts to be aired.

Birds of Prey is entertaining in a non-serious, take it for what it’s worth kind of way. The characters, with Harley Quinn standing out for obvious reasons above others, give audiences things to laugh at more than a few times throughout this film’s 109 minute runtime. While it’s not enough to offset the weaker overall story, it isn’t a complete stinker. Staying with its refreshing stance to NOT shy away from R-rated features, DC and Warner Bros. should garner a little extra kudos and box office dollars by providing a more adult orientated experience.

You can see Birds of Prey in theaters now and don’t fret if you haven’t seen any of the DC Extended Universe films because they don’t really matter for this story. In theaters right now.