Starring Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ewan McGregor

Directed by Cathy Yan

Warner Bros., out February 7

Newly single Harley Quinn must deal with the challenges of life without the protection afforded her as Joker’s girlfriend, in a city full of people she’s pissed off at one time or another. Crossing crime boss Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, leads her on an adventure that will bring her new friends and really make her name. If she can live through it.

I have a feeling that in the coming weeks we are going to see an awful lot of mentions of how much Birds of Prey owes to Deadpool, in terms of its narrative structure as well as its approach to language, violence and black humour. But whereas it’s true that you can see a little bit of the DNA of the Merc with a Mouth’s cinematic offerings in there, this is a movie which is very much its own thing.

Starting out with a brief monologue from lead character Harley about her breakup with Mister J (during which, like the rest of the movie, we never actually see him bar for one fleeting half-second shot from Suicide Squad of the back of his head), the movie then scrawls its narrative across the screen for nearly two hours in a way that seems appropriately random but is also finely tuned. Jumping from scene to scene and often stopping to back up and explain something relevant from elsewhere, there’s a real sense of the fractured nature of Quinn’s personality as she keeps pausing the action to say ‘Hang on, let’s back up a minute so this next bit will make more sense’. So far, so Deadpool, but where that film’s unconventional structure was used to mask a lack of budget and only a couple of big action scenes, here it genuinely drives the story, gets us in the mindset of our lead character and has nothing to hide as we see some of the best choreographed and shot action scenes I’ve witnessed in a long time.

It’s genuinely difficult to overstate just how good the action is here. Every fight sequence is great, with several tripping effortlessly over the line into iconic. Harley taking on an entire police station single-handed is one highlight, but there are many more as the thing breathlessly pounds along. The violence is at a level that makes that warehouse scene in Batman v Superman – which garnered so much attention at the time – look like a Saturday morning cartoon by comparison. I’d be intrigued – given how much of her own stunt work Robbie did in Suicide Squad – to know how much of what we see here is her as well. At any rate, this one definitely earns its ‘mature’ tag and is most certainly not for the kids. The profanity is similarly present and correct, assuring us that this is a movie that isn’t here to give a damn about anything in particular, much like our protagonist.

But where it really does its job far better than its direct predecessor (and yes, several mentions confirm this film directly links back to Suicide Squad) is in ensuring that its whole cast get their turn in the spotlight, despite this very much being Quinn’s movie. We have full backstories and character development for Black Canary, Huntress, Renee Montoya and Cassandra Cain, all of whom get their moments to shine and all of whom step up ably to match Robbie, having a complete blast here as Quinn. Huntress in particular is an absolute delight, as her capabilities and training jar massively with her social skills, making for some of the film’s best laugh out loud moments. Even Cain transcends the expected ‘kid sidekick’ character, getting equal laughs and screentime all the way through as everyone else.

Facing off against our heroes are Ewan McGregor’s Roman and his sidekick Victor Zsasz, played by Chris Messina. Both take an obvious amount of relish in matching the movie’s tone and Robbie’s Harley by ratcheting their performances up to eleven. McGregor is a creepy, needy, sadistic manchild who despite all his wealth and power still feels the burning need to prove himself and Messina is his twisted enabler, providing the reassuring voice in his boss’s ear and calming him by mostly suggesting/doing awful things to other people. Both are genuinely nasty villains, against whom it is easy to root even for a flawed protagonist like Quinn.

What’s perhaps most impressive is that despite mentioning both the events of Suicide Squad and the character of Batman by name, the film never once feels beholden to either. This is Gotham, but seen from the view of its seedy underbelly, and there is no sense – unlike certain other villain-centric cinematic DC efforts lately – of this being someone playing in Batman’s toybox but with different characters. Even the Joker himself only ever gets mentioned as some abstract figure behind the scenes, spoken of in passing but never seen. This actually makes him feel more formidable than any of Leto’s performance ever managed, his very absence as a factor in Harley’s life letting the dogs loose after her so thoroughly as to leave you in no doubt just how much power he holds over the Gotham underworld.

But above all else, it is definitely Quinn’s story, and Robbie brings that same manic, unpredictable energy to the role she did before, elevated even further here by sharing the screen with a cast of equally compelling characters and a screenplay which stands in a different postcode from its predecessor in terms of quality. Digging deeper into the character’s backstory allows the script to make Quinn a believably powerful character in her own right, able to wrong foot and upset her opponents with her brain as much as her physical abilities, even as that brain still occasionally misfires as a result of the trauma and abuse she’s suffered. Quinn isn’t a good guy, but she’s not necessarily a terrible person either, and whereas the movie sensibly avoids anything so predictable as her getting mushy or becoming ‘good’, it treads the line of that divide very carefully, and arguably a lot better than the current DC Universe show the character has.

If it has a flaw, for all its anarchic brilliance and refusal to stick to the usual template for most of its run time, it becomes a little staple for the genre in its third act showdown, but then earns a stack of goodwill back with its execution and also with its postscript. There is a post credits reward of sorts for those who stick it out, and to this viewer it definitely felt worth it.

Verdict: A violent, expletive-ridden, beautifully shot and tremendously fun thrill ride which is impressively generous in sharing its screentime among its cast despite very much being Harley Quinn’s story. 9/10

Greg D. Smith

Harley Quinn has finally broken up with the Joker. After announcing this by driving a petrol tanker into Ace Chemicals, she revels in her newfound emancipation. The fact that the entirety of the Gotham underworld now wants her dead? Or the search for the mysterious Bertinelli diamond? Or the pickpocket she has to track down in order to live?

Yeah, not so much revelling there. And do not even get her started on the tragic loss of her breakfast sandwich…

Right now there’s a lot of press about Birds of Prey and it underperforming at the box office. Some of that is legitimate, perceptive commentary on the fact Warner Bros. seem to know how to market maybe one move in five. The rest is people looking at a film filled with women having opinions and doing things, and being horrified.

Do not be horrified.

Run towards the movie.

Because it is such a good time.

Much like stablemates Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam! it finds strength in minimizing continuity. We get some, in one case really very sweet, callbacks to Suicide Squad and the Batman is mentioned as is the Joker. Neither is seen, but the consequences of their presence in Harley’s life triggers the story. Christina Hodson’s script instead cleverly uses Harley’s past trauma as a lens to better examine her through. Her arc here is fascinating, going from heartbroken to moments of clarity as she realizes who she used to be and carefully picks the bits she wants to keep. It’s smart, subtle (yes even with the rollerskates) work and Margot Robbie as Harley leaves it all on the screen. From the gentle, quiet moments to the endless parade of bloody knuckled action she runs at everything with the same exuberance, the same professionalism and the same perfect comic timing.

She’s not alone either. Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary feels like she’s stepped fully formed into Harley’s world. Likewise Rosie Perez (and how freaking great is it to see her back on the big screen?!) as Detective Montoya. The three of them spark off each other, and Ellen Jay Basco’s Cassandra Cain beautifully. If you want a criticism, I’ve seen people unhappy that Cass is so unlike her comic incarnation. That’s fair but Basco is so good, and the ensemble so charming you don’t care after about the first ten minutes.

Oh and it’s right around then that Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Huntress shows up. Winstead is never bad news and here she’s on top form as a fiercely competent, socially awkward vigilante. Her bone dry comic timing comes to the fore in the third act and she’s genuinely hilarious, as well as deeply terrifying, to watch. Likewise Ewan McGregor, chewing the scenery he isn’t trying to buy, as Black Mask and having great fun as the embodiment of the male gaze in a movie defined by its absence from the centre stage.

Everything here works. The script is a twisty piece of modern noir that riffs on Shane Black but does better things with it than he’s done for years. Cathy Yan’s direction is startling and I defy anyone to not be impressed by either the police station fight or the stunningly good half hour or closing action sequence. Harley lives in a post-John Wick world and the movie locks the camera off as much as it can, creating a welcome, grounded, bone-crunching aesthetic for its action.

And as if that wasn’t enough? The thing is so damn sweet. These five deeply badass, terrifying characters hold each other up in some deeply touching ways. Combined with literally everything else, that makes this as refreshing a movie as it is a fun one.

Verdict: Go see it, you will not be disappointed. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart