“Birds of Prey” Movie Review

    Harley Quinn was without a doubt the breakout character of “Suicide Squad” so it seemed like a no brainer for Warner Bros. to bring her back for another adventure.  As it turns out, Warner Bros. had several Harley Quinn projects in development with “Birds of Prey” just being the one to be made first.  With a more female driven film overall, would the film be able to find success with a different audience?

    The film takes place after the events of “Suicide Squad” and tells the story of Harley Quinn after the Joker breaks up with her.  A lot of people want to see Harley dead and without the Joker’s protection, a good chunk of Gotham aims to take her out, top of that list is Roman Sionis aka the Black Mask.  Black Mask has made some enemies of his own however in the form of Gotham City Detective Renee Montoya and trained assassin The Huntress.  After a young girl named Cassandra Cain steals a diamond from Roman and he places a price on her head, Roman’s driver Dinah Lance aka Black Canary warns Detective Montoya and ends up angering Black Mask as well.  With no choice but to join forces, Harley Quinn, The Huntress, Black Canary, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain must face down Black Mask and his gang once and for all.

    The first thing you should know is that “Birds of Prey” is more of a Harley Quinn movie as opposed to an adaptation of the Birds of Prey comic books.  Yes, the Huntress and Black Canary are present in the film (though we will get to that in a bit) but the key member of the Oracle is replaced with Harley Quinn.  I enjoy Harley Quinn but wish she wasn’t the main focus of a Birds of Prey movie.

    So, on the subject of Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie was once again fantastic in the role.  Robbie seems to have had more fun in the role this time around, no doubt due to the fact that she is more comfortable and confident in the role.  Robbie is so perfectly cast as ‘Mr. J’s Pudding’ that it would be hard to see anyone else in the role.  Unfortunately, even though Robbie leads a ‘female driven cast’, Robbie is the only actress whose character is given any development thus making her the only memorable character of the group.

    The supporting cast (and members of the Birds of Prey) is made up primarily of Mary Elisabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, and Ella Jay Basco.  Winstead is completely wasted as the Huntress.  Winstead is a great actress and the character of the Huntress is interesting in the comics but this film fails to capitalize on the actress or character.  Smollett-Bell does a good job as Black Canary but, like Winstead, isn’t given much to do to shine.  Rosie Perez has a few moments of levity but fails to steal any scenes.  The real breakout of the supporting cast is the young actress Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain.  Basco is funny and holds her own against her more seasoned co-stars.

    Although the cast is primarily female, the main villain of the film is played by a male.  Ewan McGregor once again delivers an excellent performance as Black Mask.  I left the film wishing his character had been given more screen time and development.  While I personally didn’t have a problem with it, I do wonder if making all the males in the movie evil and all the females ‘good’ might send the wrong message to the film’s primary demographic.

    The film had some surprisingly good action sequences.  Many of the action scenes are on par with the “John Wick” franchise (which isn’t a surprise since John Wick’s director Chad Stahelski helped choreograph and film parts of this film’s action shots).  Aside from the excellent fight scenes, the film was also legitimately funny at times and I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times.  Director Cathy Yan managed to craft a very unique, if sometimes uneven, film with a little something for everyone.

    “Birds of Prey” or “Birds of Prey (and the Fabtabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” as it’s officially titled isn’t a perfect movie but it is enjoyable and a must see for any Harley Quinn or Margot Robbie fans.  I appreciate the fact that this film takes some risks and is a different overall tone than “Suicide Squad” was.  While this isn’t the best film of the DCEU so far, it’s a fun side adventure until we see Harley Quinn return next year in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad”.

Grade: B-

“John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum” Movie Review

    Well I am a little behind on my updating my blog with new movie reviews this week due to a mini vacation I took to Cedar Point this week.  I have many new reviews from movies Mill Creek Entertainment provided I still need to finish and a few others I have been working on.  Still, the other day we decided to catch a movie to cap off our little vacation so we both settled on “John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum”.

    The film follows former assassin John Wick on the run after a huge bounty is placed on his head.  Assassin after assassin try to kill John Wick as he leaves New York for Casablanca to try to get his excommunicado status waived.

    Now, I really enjoyed the first film in the series but I actually have not seen the second movie yet.  The first movie caught me off guard with how well done it was and how good Keanu Reeves was in the film.  Going into this movie however, I had an idea of what to expect.  This movie delivered exactly what I expected it would, killer action.

    The film starts off with action immediately and doesn’t let up until the credits roll.  This non-stop action approach typically doesn’t work well in most cases but it actually turned out fairly well for this movie.  Much like “Mad Max: Fury Road”, the fact that you already know the character from previous installments already gives you a sense of investment in them and makes you care what happens to them at the end.  The film doesn’t have to give you room to breath as a result (although it doesn’t work as well as a stand-alone movie as a result).

    What makes the John Wick movies feel so special is that Hollywood doesn’t really make action movies like these anymore and when they do, it is usually a sequel to an 80s franchise with an aging star.  While Keanu Reeves isn’t a young man, it doesn’t look his age at all and he is still a good decade or so younger than someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone.  The film also embraces elements of noir films in it’s visual style.  This helps set it apart from many other films because it literally has a unique look of it’s own.

    Keanu Reeves once again returns to the franchise as John Wick and delivers another great performance.  Joining him on his adventure this time is Halle Berry as a woman who owed John Wick a debt that he cashed in on.  Berry does a very good job creating a character you relate to in a short amount of time.  Also joining the cast is Mark Dacascos as the main assassin after John Wick.  Dacascos’ character of Zero is both threatening and amusing because he is a bit of a John Wick fanboy and sees himself as a mirror of John Wick.  It is good to see Dacascos in a more prominent role since “Brotherhood of the Wolf” and the tv series “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven” seem like forever ago.  Stuntman Chad Stahelski directed the movie and his love for in-camera stunt work is front and center in this movie.  Interestingly, Stahelski was Brandon Lee’s stunt and body double on “The Crow”, meaning that he and Dacascos essentially played the same role in two different projects.  Rounding out the cast are returning “John Wick” stars Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick.  All three men help elevate the project from a standard action film.

    “John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum” delivers on the action and leaves you on the edge of your seat until the end.  You more than get what you paid for with this movie ticket, that’s for sure.  While I didn’t think this third chapter was as good as the first movie as far as the story, it was still a thrill ride best seen on the big screen.

Grade: B-