Birds Of Prey (2020) Non-Spoiler Review: A Cluttered Yet Enjoyable Time.

Since the events of "Suicide Squad", Harley Quinn and the Joker have broken up, which results in the former to find her own calling. She stumbles unknowingly upon a deal gone wrong, when a pickpocket kid steals a very valuable diamond from mob boss, Roman Sionis. As she pursuits after the kid in order to save her own hide, she also gets involved with Sionis's nightclub singer Dinah Lance, GCPD detective Renee Montoya, and the assassin known as the Huntress, which leads up to their eventual team-up against Sionis's forces. While the story itself is standard, the main issue with it is that the movie needed more time to expand on certain elements or characters. The pacing of the film is quick, trying to squeeze in the details of characters or plot points, but there's not much time where it slows down and allows the characters to breath or have chemistry amongst each other. With that said, it can't be denied that the over-the-top tone and zaniness is a huge draw for those that don't care much for the story for their comic book films. It's not an extremely funny film, but it's just more random and goofy, matching the narration and mindset of our protagonist.

Margot Robbie is once again fantastic as Harley Quinn. From the look, the accent, and the personality, the character delivers yet again to help make a film more enjoyable. She's not alone chewing up the screen though, as Ewan McGregor does a very fun and unique performance as Sionis also known as Black Mask, playing both an intimidating mobster and an eccentric nightclub owner. Rosie Perez does a great job as Renee Montoya, the hard-boiled detective who doesn't deal with nonsense, while the performances of Lance, Huntress, and Zsasz are good, though get overshadowed by the others. If there is one character though that doesn't work for me whatsoever,  it's Cassandra Cain. For one, she is completely different from the comics to the point of being insulting. True, the other characters aren't completely comic-accurate, but the concept of their personalities and traits are still intact. Not only is Cain a name-only character, her role in the film is not strong as she is supposed to serve as the reason why Harley stands up against Sionis, but they barely have any chemistry together that it feels rather pointless. In fact, most of the chemistry between the characters aren't really strong enough prior to the team-up, except for the rather hinted gay romance between Sionis and Zsasz. Regardless, the cast are clearly enjoying their time performing and present mostly enjoyable characters.

Uprising director, Cathy Yun, hails the film with style and dedication. To begin with, there is the colours and visuals of the film, which makes it one of the more eye-pleasing films of the genre with a lack of monotone colours, unlike the mostly bland-looking "Suicide Squad". Gotham is much more colourful with the interior sets such as the nightclub and the abandoned amusement park, but the cityscape still looks grounded, emphasizing the more small-scale story of the genre. I also like the costumes of our characters, particularly Harley and Sionis since they have multiple different outfits throughout the feature that establishes their personality. The editing is for the most part solid, though I noticed quite a few rough cuts in certain areas. The cinematography by Matthew Libatique is great with a lot of great shots from varying distances as well as the scope and tightness of the action sequences. Speaking of the action, the film utilizes engaging, brutal close-quarter fights that uses great stunt-work and the use of the R rating to its advantage. While it's not overly graphic, the impact of hits just feels brutal than typical superhero beatdowns. Yun also appears to be inspired by martial arts films, due to the physicality, slow motion, and the length of the fights in order to take the audience's breath away. While I can't even recall the score made for the film, the soundtrack is really good for the film's tone and utilization.  Overall, Yun did a really good job stepping into the superhero genre and I look forward for her future projects.

"Birds Of Prey" is a film that's going to make it or break it for people. On the one hand, there are things to complain about from Cassandra Cain, the lack of depth in the story and chemistry of characters, unmemorable original score, and many changes from the source material such as the costumes, personalities, etc. However, it's hard to deny the qualities such as the over-the-top tone, wild humour, performances from the wide range of characters, Yun's directing, visual style, cinematography, soundtrack, and well-made action sequences. It's easy to see the division of fans, critics, and moviegoers alike. For me, I would say that you would most likely enjoy the film if you just want some fun at the theatres since it gets a lot of entertainment value. However, if you obsess over the comics or complex narratives, this is not the film for you. It has its issues, but you just have to take it for what it is.

Verdict: 7/10. Good, but one can see the missed potential. Still a win for the comeback surprise that is DC Films though.