As one of the latest movie in DC universe, obviously I had my eyes on the film. With advance ticket sales since last week, my wife and I bought the ticket for last night's show, sadly though not at our favorite theater with Dolby Atmos system as that one was likely booked for a special screening of sort. Anyway, we went to another cinema which had a big screen that I liked as well. So let's get down with the movie.
Brief Story Line
After breaking up with Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Focus etc) who had been under his protection suddenly found herself in the pursuit of enemies and the police, in particular Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez - White Men Can't Jump, Fearless etc).
Meanwhile the owner of a night club and a criminal mastermind Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor - Doctor Sleep, Star Wars prequel trilogy etc) with his right hand man Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina - The Mindy Project TV series etc) were looking to increase their grip in the crime world. Their intention however was ruined by a young girl named Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).
Harley Quinn was somehow entangled in this matter and had no choice but to join forces with Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell - Friday Night Lights TV series etc), a mysterious killer (Mary Elizabeth Winstead - Gemini Man, Final Destination 3 etc) and Renee to fight against Roman and his group of killers.
End of Brief Story Line
At first when I saw this movie, I thought the story telling was a bit chaotic. It was done in a non sequence way and rather unusual. However, as the story progressed and I got a bit used to the way it was told (plus the narrative from Harley Quinn really helped), I could start to enjoy the film better. The movie's direction was something that was really unique and to be honest, the fun part was really emphasized in here and I really felt it was truly suitable for Harley Quinn's character who was, well you know, a bit "crazy and chaotic".
The star of this movie was definitely Margot Robbie who performed her role perfectly as Harley and continuing where she left off with amazing performance in Suicide Squad. She was so fun to watch with her various anti-social behavior and disregards towards other people. The rest of the cast were quite OK, although the introduction to the rest of the group might be too short making Harley Quinn really took the deserved spotlight. Oh, but Ewan McGregor was also wonderful in here as this annoying crime lord (my wife also praised his performance).
The movie had a rather light tone, with some humor here and there, again mostly related to Harley. The action for me was the best highlight. This is a film that did not heavily rely on CGI and the fights were good old fashioned hand to hand using whatever means necessary with some explosions. It might not be the really fast paced fight type but it was enjoyable to see. And because of the violence (plus the language), this was rated 17+ in Indonesia (R Rating in US). So definitely not suitable for kids. The fights were stylish but there was still the cartoon-ish feel like really coming from the comic books. I thought the director Cathy Yan did great job in making those action sequence, plus ensuring she could bring out the best of Margot Robbie.
Btw, this movie has a very long title of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) which was unique in itself. A funny thing related to the movie was only realized by me and my wife towards the end. Oh because of the rather chaotic style I mentioned plus the probable lack of depth in certain characters, there is possibility that general audience might not be receptive. But my wife and I were entertained by this film. It definitely had its great moments (the grand finale was 1 of them) and dark humor. Before I forgot, we waited till the closing credits and there was something quite fun in the end.
Overall this was an enjoyable movie. Fans of DC comics (especially Harley Quinn character) would certainly love this one. But the cartoon-ish and really colorful style may need a bit of used to. The stylish action and the humor was something to really look forward to. So if you are in the mood for a light superhero action movie, with the fabulous performance from Margot Robbie as this unique character should definitely see this.
Happy watching!
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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