Birds of Prey. Where do we start with Birds of Prey? One of the few bright spots in 2016’s movie Suicide Squad, a very… not great movie, was Margot Robbie‘s interpretation of popular DC character Harley Quinn. Usually relegated to the role of “Joker’s Girlfriend,” Robbie’s Quinn was charming, self-aware, and appropriately menacing within the bounds of a PG-13 movie about a group of people who are villains for a living.
So, DC went ahead and built a new movie specifically around Robbie’s maniacal clown queen, teaming her up with a squad of female anti-heroes for Birds of Prey, or, as it’s officially titled, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Don’t let that bad attempt at a cutesy long title throw you off; this one looks fun:
First, mercifully, there’s nary a Jared Leto to be found here. Instead, Robbie is joined by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary (Oh! I get the other part of the name now), Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, and Ewan McGregor as the super bad guy vs. Harley’s team of kinda bad guys, Black Mask. Second, this looks like a blast! Fun writing, a great look, and a really strong lead performance to anchor things. Robbie’s a born star, and it’ll be great to see her sink her teeth into an expanded role.
The new movie is directed by Cathy Yan and will be released on February 7, 2020.