By Veronica Longo

“Birds of Prey” follows the fantabulous emancipation of the unreliable narrator Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), who recounts the story in a non-linear confusing style and renames herself mercenary-for-hire after breaking up with the Joker. Complications come along as the rest of the rogues in Gotham City find out she is free. 

Quinn’s past actions haunt her as former enemies Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina), and the dangerous Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) plot to revenge against her numerous transgressions, many of them listed on screen. Quinn finds support to fight her adversaries through unlikely allies Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Dinah Laurel Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Helena Bertonilli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and her sidekick Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).

The film’s predecessor, “Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer, released in 2016, involves a shady government using a group of villain prisoners including Harley Quinn, to confidentially work dirty tasks for them, such as spying and killing in exchange for freedom; failure to comply increased their penalty. Quinn’s interesting backstory and fighting talents led to her protagonist in “Birds of Prey.”

“Suicide Squad” failed largely due to the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters and choppy directing, according to Rotten Tomatoes. “Birds of Prey” was feared to be another badly written script about villains, but ended up being a hit with the critics. But critical acclaim has not helped fill seats at the theater.

“Birds of Prey” only made $33 million out of a $45 million projection during its opening weekend, underselling compared to “Suicide Squad” which generated $325 million overall, even when disliked by both critics and viewers. 

Ewan McGregor's rendition of the Black Mask is unnerving and audiences will find that his violent chemistry with co-star Chris Messina works well to establish their villain role.

In a grisly scene, Zsasz peels off the face of one of the Black Mask’s rivals after their witty and entertaining banter during the murder. On another shocking scene, Black Mask hits Quinn so hard that it causes her to hallucinate, recreating Marilyn Monroe’s scene from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” By the second strike, Mask has been effectively established as the movie’s villain.  

A new character, Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) comes to challenge him with her sharpshooting fighting skills. She is also the most seldom seen. In a blink the audience might miss the rapid-fire version of her backstory. But she has the best reason to go against the Black Mask and Zsasz, as they were both involved in her family’s murder. 

“Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey” has an ingenious way of getting around the issue of missing Joker (Jared Leto), who is mentioned in flashbacks and introduced to the audience through an unnecessary return in the form of an animated short rendering. According to Hollywood Reporter, Leto’s presence in the movie was limited as a new Joker took the screens four months ago; sources said Leto was extremely upset.

But there’s a charm to the story’s clear intent to pay homage to the older DC comics.

Audiences will enjoy this movie, especially those who are just looking for a fun action movie and nothing more. “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey” stands on its own as a superhero film, without relying on “Suicide Squad” or “Joker.” The three-hour film does a good job of avoiding turning Quinn into a hero.

Quinn remains a villain and troublemaker at the end of the film, although a sympathetic one; Margot Robbie’s performance alone is reason enough to watch this film and the stunning visuals should seal the deal.