Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey aka Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Review
"Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey ['Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)']" is a sequel and soft reboot to Suicide Squad of the previous DCEU which doesn't include The Joker or the upcoming Batman film and might be a prequel to the upcoming The Suicide Squad which is a reboot to Suicide Squad but this is still a sequel to the original non-rebooted Suicide Squad. But to simplify things, let's just say that "Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey ['Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)']" is just a spin-off to the first Suicide Squad (what a fucking mess). Despite both of its titles, "Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey ['Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)']" isn't a Birds of Prey movie... at all, really. It follows Harley Quinn after she and the Joker (the shitty one) broke up. The once untouchable "Daddy's Little Monster" (ugh) now has a target on her back from everyone she has ever screwed over. On top of that, a girl steals a diamond from Black Mask and she has to get the diamond or whatever -look, it's not the greatest of plots nor is it gonna get nominated for any screenwriting awards (though The Joker did so what do I know?). What it is at the end of the day, is a fun action movie that fleshes out one of DC's biggest missteps for Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie clearly not being one of them). Robbie clearly has a fondness and affinity for the character and source material and her charisma really shows on screen. From her unhinged performance, to its balls-to-the-walls stunts (some of which were handled by Chad Stahelski of John Wick and Captain America: Civil War fame), to Cathy Yan's slick visual style, this Harley Quinn movie has the most unique identity from the bunch and was the most fun I've had with a DC movie since The Dark Knight. But honestly, the DC movies after 2008 aren't movies I would ever want to think about or watch again. As much as I want to say I loved it, there are a lot of issues as a whole that holds it back from being great. As mentioned already, the plot is a big cliche. The villains are kind of bland and are just evil to be evil (with a stand out performance from Ewan McGregor who does a fine rendition of classic Joker who just happens to be wearing a black mask). The protagonists we follow who aren't Harley Quinn feel just as bland and half baked as the villains and also include one standout performance but from Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a decent O-Ren Ishii deconstruction while it lasts. The action set piece towards its final act is also a visual mess and is preceded by some intentional but unfortunate editing choices that feel repetitive and exhausting. These moments lead up to a climax to an action scene but then doubles back by cutting to flashbacks to give emotional context to a scene that had none when you first see it. At least that Police Station scene was so incredible that the context isn't necessary, right?
Pros: Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, visuals, stunts, police station scene
Cons: villains, side characters, plot, editing, dialogue, whole movie feels like a huge set up to an actual Birds of Prey movie
Just go see it for the Police Station scene. It's so good.