In BIRDS OF PREY, Harley Quinn Leads a New Squad of Anti-Heroines

A followup to American superhero movie Suicide Squad (2016), the rip-roaring, also strongly violent, Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), opens in cinemas, rated R [R-16 in the Philippines], without cuts. Made at a relatively modest $81 million, Birds of Prey expects to be healthy at the box-office, with early favorable enough reviews to boot.

"Directing her first studio feature, Cathy Yan [also the first Asian woman to direct a superhero movie] keeps it all hurtling along with impeccable ferocity. Her action scenes have a deftly detonating visual spaciousness, capped by crowd-pleasing moments..." says Variety.

Mashable, on the other hand, thinks: "Birds of Prey, then, is Harley's big chance to grab that spotlight for herself. And while the film itself is a misshapen cake slathered with Funfetti frosting, it makes an excellent case for Margot Robbie's HARLEY QUINN as a star supervillain in her own right."

The latest installment to DC Extended Universe, Birds of Prey is primarily a breakup movie, where Margot's flamboyant supervillain Harley calls it quits - finally - with her on-again, off-again relationship with the sinister Joker (Jared Leto, who played the Joker in Suicide Squad, doesn't appear in the movie though).

But there's more to the major breakup - and ultimately moving on!

In search of a rare diamond stone, absurdly etched with mob secrets, Harley, alongside her newfound protégé, the juvenile pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), is left with no choice but to team up with three other anti-heroines Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) when Roman "Black Mask" Sionis (Ewan McGregor) and his notorious men gang up on the women.

Perhaps a cross between Deadpool and Katy Perry - the film has one significant musical number! - Birds of Prey is a boisterous chick flick on steroids! It's loud (again), twisted, and full of EYE CANDY (literally, similar to the visual splendor of films Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or The Wizard of Oz).

More importantly, besides the kick-ass superwomen empowerment, diversity and inclusion are also wildly celebrated in the film; in a way, only Harley does it - all thanks to the film's lead producer, Margot herself, who pushed for this direction from the get-go.

As the main anti-heroine, Margot's Harley is hard to resist: who wouldn't love her fondness for big gun confetti, pigtails, breakfast sandwiches, and a hyena for a roommate? Harley runs this eccentric, and sometimes foul-mouthed, romp - and nobody's complaining!

Directed by Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey is written by Christina Hodson, with production design by K.K. Barrett, cinematography by Matthew Libatique, editing by Jay Cassidy and Evan Schiff, costume design by Erin Benach, and music by Daniel Pemberton.

The film is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. Birds of Prey opens across the United States on 7 February 2020. In Southeast Asia, the film opens in Philippine cinemas on 6 February 2020.

Photos: Warner Bros. Pictures