Harley Quinn takes flight
Embattled women flock together in ‘Birds of Prey’ superhero sequel
When the all-star “Suicide Squad” opened in 2016, the general expectation was that this latest entry from Warner Bros.’ DC Comics would spawn a sequel.
Which it has, with Friday’s “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” — but this film is notably missing the “Suicide” crew of Will Smith’s Deadshot, Jared Leto’s Joker, Ezra Miller’s Flash or Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang.
This “Birds of Prey” comprises a new crew, and as the end of that lengthy title proves, it’s a feministtinged superhero sequel centered on Margot Robbie’s violently insane Harley Quinn.
Its feminist bonafides are not just with a film that celebrates female friendship, it’s scripted by Britain’s Christina Hodson (who did the Transformers origin story “Bumblebee,” which centered on a 17-year-old girl) and directed by Cathy Yan, the first female Asian to direct a superhero film, whose only other feature credit is the Shanghai-set Chinese “Dead Pigs” (2018).
“Birds” stands as the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe, which like its Marvel rival, loosely connects the world of its comics with intersecting stories and characters.
“Birds,” which reportedly cost nearly $100M to make, follows DC’s hit streak of 2017’s all-star superhero stuffed “Justice League” and “Wonder Woman,” the following year’s “Aquaman” and “Shazam!” in 2019.
“Birds” begins as Harley Quinn, speaking directly to the audience, explains that she and Joker have split, separated. His absence seems fortunate due to Joaquin Phoenix appropriating the character for an origin story with the current Oscar-nominated billion dollar hit “Joker.”
Robbie, who serves as producer as well as star, pitched “Birds” to the studio in 2015 — before the release of the 2016 “Suicide Squad.” It follows “Joker” as the rare superhero entry to be rated R.
The villain here is the sadistic Roman (Ewan McGregor), who masks his infantile rage and vicious executions as a bubbly club owner. That’s where Harley first meets chanteuse Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), whose piercingly effective scream wins her the moniker Black Canary.
As Harley determines to become her own woman, independent and free, she is pursued for criminal acts by police detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez).
Harley will also in her manic, supremely violent adventures meet and bond with the avenging Huntress (Mary Elisabeth Winstead) and endangered teenager Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).
Eventually Harley and her compatriots will bond and become the invincible Birds of Prey, ready, of course, for future film adventures.