The rehabilitation of the DC Extended Universe continues with ﻿﻿Birds of Prey (And the
Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)﻿.
The movie has screened for critics, and early viewers are taking to social media to heap
praise on the Margot Robbie-led film.
This is what they're saying.
Joining Harley in her quest to bring the pain to Ewan McGregor's Black Mask are a pair of
kickass antiheroes, a Gotham City cop, and one scrappy kid.
Jurnee Smollett-Bell portrays Black Canary, while Mary Elizabeth Winstead holds down the
role of Huntress; they are flanked by Rosie Perez's Detective Renee Montoya and Cassandra
Cain - a youngster who has incurred the Black Mask's wrath - played by Ella Jay Basco.
Critics near-unanimously opined that this cast, as they say, freakin' killed it.
Courtney Howard of Fresh Fiction tweeted:
"Delightfully devilish & deliriously wicked, this irreverent, rule-breaking riot delivers
a contact high.
Cathy Yan is a genius.
Robbie, Smollett, Winstead, Perez & Basco are perfection."
Some critics disagreed amongst themselves - not about whether or not the cast aced it,
but rather around the question of who aced it the hardest.
Angie Han of Mashable tweeted that Winstead's Huntress is the movie's clear MVP, while FanSided's
Kristen Lopez opined that Smollett-Bell's Black Canary was, on the contrary, the movie's
real show-stealer.
"What?"
"You are so cool."
Yolanda Machado of The Wrap, meanwhile, refused to take sides.
She tweeted:
"It's truly an ensemble with every woman bringing it.
Christina Hodson's script was lively, funny, & everything I've been waiting for in the
DCEU...Cathy Yan created a Gotham that I can't wait to revisit."
Chemistry among the cast is great, but Birds of Prey is a superhero movie, and critics
also agreed that it delivers the action-packed goods with some of the craziest, most visceral
fight scenes ever put to film.
You heard that right: Yan and company have apparently created a true action showcase,
the likes of which the DC films had not yet seen.
Lest you think we're being hyperbolic, here's what Rosie Knight of IGN has to say.
She wrote:
"Damn [Birds of Prey] delivers!
It's a glittery hard action comedy that has the best choreographed fight sequences I've
seen in a superhero movie.
It also features my fave comic book film needle drop ever."
Her colleague Laura Prudom agreed.
She tweeted:
"[Birds of Prey] is a riot - oozing with attitude and some of the most inventive, bone-crunching
fight sequences in the superhero genre to date.
I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had.
It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but has style to spare."
Jill Pantozzi of io9 called the fight scenes "phenomenal," and CinemaBlend's Sean O'Connell
echoed this sentiment, admitting:
"[Birds of Prey] is worth seeing for the kick ass action and the Funhouse Fight Scene, alone."
The trailers for Birds of Prey gave every indication that McGregor would give an unhinged,
gleefully scenery-chewing performance as Black Mask, and we're happy to report that this
indeed appears to be the case.
"For all your noise and bluster, you're just a silly, little girl with no one around to
protect her."
In fact, we'd go so far as to say that early reactions indicate that we just might be looking
at the best villainous performances in a DCEU movie to date.
Griffin Schiller of The Playlist tweeted:
"COULD NOT get enough of McGregor's Black Mask; hysterical, eccentric, & deliciously
pathetic.
A rockin' kick ass good time!"
ComicBook's Brandon Davis called McGregor's performance sinister and hilarious, while
veteran film critic Katie Walsh simply tweeted:
"FYC: Ewan McGregor, Best Supporting Actor."
McGregor did have a bit of competition, however, from Chris Messina - who played the Black
Mask's psychopathic sidekick Victor Zsasz.
Angie Han tweeted:
"Would like to send a lil prayer of thanks for the costume, makeup, and hair people responsible
for Chris Messina's entire situation here because wow yes thank you."
Of course, some reviewers jumped online to point out some of the flick's faults.
Some critics felt that the flick worked better as a Harley Quinn solo vehicle.
Others had minor issues with the pacing or the plot.
For instance, Germain Lussier of io9 tweeted:
"Birds of Prey is solid.
The unpredictable structure keeps the first half moving and the action boosts the rest.
Robbie is excellent, as is McGregor.
It's tamer than expected and the basic story can get lost in the complex setups but it
works more often than not."
Yes, this is pretty much the closest any critic came to a negative assessment.
All in all, the flick was heralded as one of DC's best - thanks in large part to Yan
and Hodson, who have apparently crafted something pretty special.
The DC Extended Universe may have gotten off to a rocky start, but it looks like the franchise
has finally hit its stride thanks to more universally well-received flicks like Aquaman
and Shazam!
Placing an emphasis on solid standalone movies made by gifted, committed filmmakers has paid
off - go figure - and some critics went so far as to place Birds at or near the top of
the DCEU pack.
Mike Rougeau of GameSpot tweeted:
"[I'm] happy to report that [Birds of Prey is] my favorite modern DC movie yet.
Like Shazam!, it carves its own path with totally unique aesthetic, action, and tone.
Margot, Ewan and all the rest are 100% fantabulous."
Mashable's Alison Foreman called the flick, quote, "Leagues better than Suicide Squad,"
and opined that this was, quote, "in large part because we get a rare glimpse into the
rich inner life of a female supervillain (and it actually delivers on what was promised
in the trailer.)"
Discussing Film's Ben Rolph summed up the consensus with his tweet.
He wrote:
"[Birds of Prey] is a stylishly fantastic ride.
Margot Robbie is [in] top form, Harley has never been quirkier and more lovable.
Well-made, shot with beautiful color and overall, a sleek piece of grand entertainment.
Also, McGregor is THE BEST.
We need more Birds of Prey, it's great."
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a lot to look forward to.
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) hits the big screen on
February 7, 2020.
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