Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is no longer with the Joker, which means everyone who hates her feels free to try and kill her. Top of this long list is Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), also known as Black Mask, a rising crime lord, though heâs even more concerned with picking up a MacGuffin diamond, which has ended up in the stomach of a MacGuffin teen, Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Harley wants the diamond, and thus the kid, to get everyone off of her back. Police detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) wants both to make a case against Sionis. Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), also known as Black Canary, doesnât particularly want either, but would prefer if Cain wasnât killed, and The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is on a revenge quest and just crosses paths with the others. Eventually, these four women will have to team up, though not for a long time.
Margot Robbie is spectacular as Harley Quinn. She was before in Suicide Squad and she is now. Sheâs funny, sympathetic, and exciting. Get her on screen, and even bits that are scripted dryly become a lot of fun, which is handy as the script could use some punching up. But who cares as long as youâve got Harley. Ewan McGregor is a hell of a lot of fun as Roman, mixing effete and nerdy and psychotic into a nice ball that is an excellent foil for Harley. Yes, like Robbie, he isnât given the greatest lines, or the best things to do, but he elevates what he has. Harley v Roman is top flight entertainment, and with solid fight choreography, some nice tunes, and themes worth the time, Birds of Prey is headed toward being topflight entertainment.
Of course it never gets there. This is a DC film; what did you expect? They had an easy win here, but they just couldnât bring it home. The problem, as an astute reader would have deduced from the previous paragraph, is that sometimes, Harley Quinn and Roman Sionis arenât on screen. Most of Romanâs dirty deeds are performed by his henchman Zsasz, who is so generic I didnât include him in my synopsis. Heâs as memorable as Henchman #16, yet he get more screen time than Roman. On the other side we have The Birds of Prey, who for 80% of the film are not with Harley, so have to carry their own scenes, and they donât. They are a void. Black Canary has some charisma though not much personality, which puts her way out front. Huntress is a non-entity, an empty spot where a character should be. And Montoya is a sad â80s cop stereotype. Yeah, they realized that and hung a lampshade on it, but pointing out that sheâs a rotten character does not make her less of a rotten character. And her scenes take up so much time. The kid is a nothing as well, but she is a walking MacGuffin, so I can let her off the hook. If this was all they were going to do with the three Birds of Prey, why put them in the movie? Harley could have held up her end just fine.
Part of the reason the three are so bland is that they are in a movie with Harley. Most any character is going to look dull next to her, so you need to turn things up, and they didnât. Sure, the theme here is abusedâand therefore damagedâwomen taking control (not that they do much with that besides saying âRah! Rah!â), but that doesnât mean they have to reflect real-world people. Harley isnât real. Sheâs amped-up reality, representing someone with trauma, not replicating one. So do that with the others. Montoya is driven to prove herself and is an alcoholic. Fine; raise that to Harley levels so that sheâs a drunken master with bottle tossing skills. For Huntress, lets see some wild, cruel, over-the-top, revenge. And for Black Canary⊠OK, sheâs pretty much mentally stable, so who knows. But they needed something. Anything.
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn has a so-so script, a clichĂ©d plot, and workman-like direction. Thereâs nothing special except for Robbie and McGregor. Theyâre left carrying the entire movie, even the parts that are over-sized anchors, and they do a good job of it. Imagine if theyâd gotten some help.