Major Spoilers Ahead
After her phenomenal appearance in Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is back to show us how emancipation can be reached the DC way.
“Psychologically speaking, vengeance rarely brings the catharsis we hope for.”
After defeating Enchantress in Suicide Squad, Harley was put back into prison and then freed by the Joker. After some time, he breaks up with her and leaves her on her own. Knowing that the moment the people of Gotham knew she isn’t under the Joker’s protection anymore, she would be hunted and killed, she continues to live as they would still be together.
Starting her new life, she cuts her hair, dresses differently, joins a roller derby team, and adopts a hyena which she names Bruce, after Bruce Wayne. After overhearing her so-called-friends talking bad about her behind her back, she decides to make a statement and blows up Ace Chemicals, the place where the Joker threw her down into a chemical mix from which Harley Quinn was born.
Of course, everyone takes it as an invitation to hunt her and one of them is the current gangster boss of Gotham, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). He promises Harley immunity if she brings him a specific diamond which is currently in the hands of the orphan thief, Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).
Little does she knew, that Sionis is putting a bounty on Cassandra’s head which makes her mission even harder.
Meanwhile, Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), who is also known as the Black Canary, has been recently recruited by Sionis and gone from being his nightclub singer to his driver, all the while informing Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) about Sionis latest heist. This specific diamond he is after is rumoured to have account numbers of the Bertinelli fortune embedded, the former gangster family of Gotham which was massacred years ago.
Harley frees Cassandra, who was imprisoned in a police station for her pickpocketing, the two girls bond in Harley apartment while the “crossbow killer” is after her. After checking off everyone on her killing list, the “crossbow killer” is after the diamond as well and the reason why is shortly revealed: she is the only one who has survived the Bertinelli massacre, Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is The Huntress.
In a short period of time, Harley has lost everything again. She contacts Sionis and offers him Cassandra in exchange for protection and they agree to meet in an abandoned amusement park. What Harley does not know is that Sionis is not interested in letting either her or Cassandra live. This is the point, where the future Birds of Prey meet for the first time. Everyone driven by their own agenda, form a force against Sionis to protect Cassandra. They succeed and decide to start new lives. Helena retrieves the family bank account numbers and with its money forms the Birds of Prey with Dinah and Montoya who quits the GCPD. Harley takes Cassandra under her wing and starts her own business as a bounty hunter.
“Do you know what a harlequin is? A harlequin’s role is to serve. It’s nothing without a master. And no one gives two shits who we are beyond that.”
Honestly, I did not know what to expect of this movie, but I was sure that it would be bonkers, and it was. Margot will forever be Harley and she does an amazing job showing all of Harley’s sides. Because the “emancipation” in the movies title came after Birds of Prey, I assumed that the Birdies would take a bigger part of the story as Harley’s emancipation. Well, it is the other way around which confuses me. This movie is a 98% Harley show – which I do not mind at all – but then the movie should be called “The emancipation of Harley Quinn, who helps to form the Birds of Prey”.
The movie starts with a “once upon a time” voice over from Harley who tells us in how her childhood was, how she fought for her place in the world, became a doctor, met the Joker, and transformed from Harleen Quinzel to Harley Quinn. Some scenes and references are made to Suicide Squad, which informs the audience, that this movie is taking place in the same timeline.
Even though the Joker is only mentioned and not shown, we can assume that in a potential sequel, we could see him again. Question is, who will portray him after Jared Leto has joined Marvel as Morbius now?
The movie has some great choreographed fight scenes for each of the leading women. Only shame is that Dinah’s power is only shown once in the whole movie. For me, Helena’s character was poorly written and she is not the though Huntress I was excited to see.
I think this movie is great and a must-see for every comic book fan who wants to have a great time with one of the most badass female character ever written. I certainly do hope for a sequel.
If you wonder if you should stay and wait for the after credits to roll out, be informed that you do not have to. The only thing that happens is that you hear a voiceover of Harley asking the audience why they have not left the theatre already and reward them by revealing who Batman really is. Shocking!
