Pros:
1.) If there is one thing that Suicide Squad did well, it is Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and her performance still lands well in this movie. She is crazy but not as psychopathic as the Joker, she can be kind but as much as an insane woman can be. Margot pulls off her character like she was in the comics, and she is clearly the stand-out performance for this movie (for one reason or another).
2.) This movie can pretty colorful at times. Plenty of moments occur where there are plenty of different colors from red to blue, and they kind of stand out for obvious reasons. It fits into Harley’s crazy persona, and it is how she sometimes views the world at times. It certainly makes up for the bleak and dark look with the past DCEU movies, but the latest ones make up for that, including this movie.
3.) The action scenes are not only fun, but also brutal. This is the first R-rated DCEU movie, and it makes full use of it through its action. Some of these action scenes are so brutal, it is similar to Mortal Kombat fight scenes (not really, but since the DC Universe and the MK Universe had crossovers in video games, they might as well use this movie as an excuse to have an on-screen crossover due its violence since Warner Bros. owns both of them). It helps that Chad Stahelski (the director of the John Wick movies) helped shoot many of the action scenes. While it may not look as good as the John Wick movies, this movie does have its similar style and fun.
Cons:
1.) For a movie called Birds of Prey, these four characters do not truly form until the climax, and they joined up because…they felt obligated. Even then, they do not really interact with each other beforehand other than a few scenes, making the team-up not having much meaning. Harley Quinn has more spotlight than the other three, and it just makes the remaining members not have much to do compare to what she is going through. The team dynamic is not strong nor is it earned.
2.) Other than Harley Quinn, many of the major characters do not have much time to shine. When they are on-screen, they come off as kind of generic. Renee Montoya is just a stubborn detective, Black Canary can fight and has her iconic Canary Cry (which she only uses once) and barely any other characteristics, Black Mask is some nihilistic drug lord (though Ewan McGregor really hams that role), and Huntress has the most potential considering her origin story but is reduced to an angry woman with a crossbow. Nothing about them stands out, so you might as well watch the Justice League while you are at it.
3.) There is one character in this movie that I was worried about how she is depicted, and after watching this movie, my fears came true. I HATED how Cassandra Cain was depicted. I may barely know a few things about most of the characters, but Cassandra Cain I know so much about, and as a fan, I am insulted with this movie. In the comics, she was raised by two assassins, she is a skilled martial artist and can read body language, she becomes the second Batgirl (and my favorite out of all the other Batgirls) and eventually Black Bat and Orphan, and she has many other characteristics that put Batman to shame at times.
What did this movie depict her? She is a foster child who pickpockets from others and cannot throw a single punch.
She can be called Melissa and nothing would change. There is no way that girl is THE Cassandra Cain. Nothing against the actress, but her character is not the second Batgirl in my eyes.
Overall:
With the next movie of the DCEU, Birds of Prey (I am not going to type in the rest of the title again) seems to make up for the Suicide Squad movie (until the next one comes out). While it does make up for a few things here and there, I overall thought that this movie is forgettable. Margot Robbie may be fantastic as Harley Quinn and the action scenes are entertaining, it does not make up for its lackluster story and characters. It had potential with its characters, but if there is only one character I will truly remember, it is Harley Quinn, and that is the problem: for a movie called Birds of Prey, she was the only one that gets the attention. I doubt comic book fans will like this movie due to many of the depictions of these characters, and I doubt anyone will remember this movie as part of the DCEU over Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam!
5/10
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