Birds of Prey (2020) Review
- Director: Cathy Yan
- Starring: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ewan McGregor, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco
- Released: February 7, 2020
- Rated: R
- Runtime: 109 min
The Verdict
- The all-star cast is a blast, with Margot Robbie and Ewan McGregor’s campy Black Mask standing out. Fresh, fast-paced action and unique storytelling keep it moving.
- The villains are charismatic but too weak to feel like a real threat. The trailers overshare, and the movie could lose 7 or 8 minutes of bloat.
Synopsis
Full Review (Spoilers)
Characters
Each character in Birds of Prey was amazing. You had a mixture of personalities and everyone had a part to play. I think the standout is Margot Robbie and Ewan McGregor. Ewan’s Black Mask was just campy enough to make him enjoyable.
Reviewer’s Curve
The major thing working against Birds of Prey was the trailers. Besides the oversharing of the trailers, everything else worked with the movie. The all-star cast, fresh paced action, and unique storytelling.
Plot
The plot was erratic but that’s the style of Harley Quinn so it worked. Birds of Prey suffers from weak villains even though they’re charismatic.
Pacing
The pacing really kept a consistent speed. There were barely any slow spots in the movie.The only nitpick would be shaving 7 to 8 minutes of the movie because of small bloating.
Spoilers
Black Mask was an amazing character until it came to him actually doing some action. He barely held up to the combo of Harley and Cassandra. The main villain of your movie could give your lead some trouble but that wasn’t evident at all. He was funny, charming and just a tad bit eccentric. If they could have made him more formidable that would have been great.
Huntress was surprisingly well played. She was kind of awkward and that worked for the character. I would say seeing her stand-alone movie would be exciting. They covered a decent amount of her backstory and she was basically the connecting piece between the Birds of Prey and the villains.
Hollywood needs to change! The overuse of trailers is becoming ridiculous. You have plenty of scenes showing up during the trailer. Another thing that wasn’t the best was the erratic storytelling. Harley’s narration was fine at times but I could see it becoming a bit much for a normal viewer.
Birds of Prey (2020) Cast and Details
Birds of Prey (2020) is directed by Cathy Yan and stars Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ewan McGregor and Rosie Perez. It runs 109 minutes and is rated R. You can look up the full cast and crew on IMDb. You might also like my The Rhythm Section review.
DC's Hypothetical Corner
Let’s say I change one thing. Maybe that one thing will make this movie better or more watchable.
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