The reviews are in for DC’s Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). In the years since they moved away from the MCU shared universe model, Warner Bros. and DC have come to enjoy a healthy blend of critical and commercial success with their films. Last year’s DCEU-adjacent Joker is even in the running for Best Picture at the Oscars this weekend, after becoming the first R-rated movie to pass $1 billion worldwide. Harley Quinn herself, Margot Robbie, is also up for Best Supporting Actress thanks to her work on Bombshell.

Kicking off 2020’s slate of women-led superhero movies, this weekend’s Birds of Prey is a loose spinoff of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad directed by Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs) and written by Christina Hodson (Bumblebee). Early Birds of Prey reactions were largely positive, comparing the film to the Deadpool movies and their brand of R-rated antihero irreverence. Now, critics have begun to weigh in with their own thoughts on the film.

WB officially lifted the embargo on Birds of Prey reviews this morning, a day ahead of its Thursday evening preview screenings on February 6. To see what critics are saying about the movie, check out these spoiler-free excerpts (you can also click on the links to read through the reviews in full).

Molly Freeman, Screen Rant

Brandon Zachary, CBR

Birds of Prey is a true ensemble in the sense that it doesn’t work because one person or one part is excellent, but because they all are. In addition to Hodson’s script, what truly elevates Birds of Prey is Cathy Yan’s directing and vision for the film, which is realized in the action, costumes and music. The fighting sequences are absolutely brutal and choreographed in a way to showcase the characters’ respective abilities. Harley’s gymnast moves make a return, and when she gets her hands on a bat, the Cupid of Crime really lets loose - and it’ll leave audiences breathless with exhilaration.

Hoai-Tran Bui, /Film

Each piece of the filmmaking process comes together and gels incredibly well in this movie, leading to an effective and effortlessly enjoyable film. Each member of the titular Birds of Prey is looking for something they need, and each of them finds surprising but believable depths in themselves during their missions. None of this feels forced or artificial, either. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a shot of adrenaline right into the heart of the DCEU, giving it a sense of style, emotion and color that feels wholly unique, but still fits within this version of the DC Universe.

Laura Prudom, IGN

Birds of Prey certainly errs on the side of style over substance - if you dig too far into its flashy surface, you may not find much underneath. It’s not saying anything deep or groundbreaking about the female experience or the nature of revenge. Birds of Prey is reveling in being as gonzo and stylish as it can be. But when the fights are this thrilling and the humor this absurd, whatever’s underneath the surface doesn’t matter all that much.

Alson Duralde, The Wrap

In terms of sheer fun, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) delivers in spades. Its zany energy, visceral fight sequences, and focus on one of DC’s most fascinating characters ensure that it continues Warner Bros.’ winning streak of big, bombastic comic book adaptations that are unafraid to embrace their inherent ridiculousness. While its emphasis on Harley Quinn doesn’t leave much room for the Birds of Prey (though each scores a standout moment), the movie is a stunning showcase for Margot Robbie, who commands the screen and gives her damaged protagonist all the dimension she deserves.

Leah Greenblatt, EW

Yan keeps some tricky plates spinning: With the anarchic Quinn on the loose in a somewhat straightforward crime piece, “Birds of Prey” is required to jump from serious to silly and back again at a moment’s notice, and the director always has a firm grasp on the material. As for her female gaze, it’s most apparent when Roman humiliates a female guest at his nightclub; the camera pulls back discreetly, refusing to be his accomplice. (Here, the drooling close-ups are reserved for breakfast treats.) When it comes to the film’s titular wonder women, however, we are firmly drawn in as they fight for their lives and for their own agency. And if we don’t get quite enough insight into Renee or Dinah or Cassandra, hey, that’s what sequels are for, and “Birds of Prey” left me wanting one, which is about the most anyone can hope for in a big-screen comics adaptation.

Angie Han, Mashable

It’s still mostly up to Robbie, though, to carry the story, and she does it with a giddy mix of mad-dog ruthlessness and girlish glee; a kiss blown with a brass-knuckled fist. Her Harley isn’t looking to be redeemed, but beneath all the red-lipped nihilism, she doesn’t want to be alone, either - even if her closest companions are the Taiwanese takeout guy down the street and a pet hyena named Bruce. Does the movie’s pop-feminist message need to be as consistently, cartoonishly violent as it is? Almost definitely not. But in a world gone mad, the catharsis of Prey’s twisted sisterhood doesn’t just read as pandemonium for its own sake; it’s actually pretty damn sweet.

Ian Fraser, Empire

Though the title nods to Harley’s reluctant companions, Birds of Prey is really the Harley Quinn show, down to its structure. The story zips back and forth in time, embracing animation, on-screen captions, dream sequences, and intermittent voiceover to capture Harley’s hyperactive state of mind, and it goes heavy on both bone-crunching violence and tongue-in-cheek jokes. These efforts aren’t always to the movie’s benefit. The time-jumping is oddly paced, making the narrative unnecessarily confusing in the early going, and the brutality and humor don’t always sit well together… Thankfully, Robbie’s shining performance cuts through the murk like a neon sign in a dark alleyway. Suicide Squad showed Robbie’s Harley as a force to be reckoned with, and Birds of Prey allows her to add more depth and shading. She’s still equal parts obnoxious, lovable, and terrifying, but she also lets slip hints of uncertainty, vulnerability, and even tenderness.

These Birds of Prey reviews suggest the movie is a lot like Harley Quinn herself: vibrantly colorful, usually bouncing off the walls, and fiercely loyal to her sisterhood. Most agree Robbie’s performance as the character was (easily) the best thing to come out of Suicide Squad and it sounds like her spinoff only allows her to go even further and deeper with the role, to terrific effect. And though it’s always been obvious based on the trailer footage, these reviews confirm Birds of Prey looks and feels refreshingly different from any other DC film released in the last five years. Thanks to Aquaman, Shazam!, Joker, and now Birds of Prey, the DC comic book movie brand has quickly evolved to encompass a vast spectrum of tones and filmmaking styles, and is all the more interesting (and exciting) for it.

At the behest of star and producer Margot Robbie, the working title for (deep breath) Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) was ‘Fox Force Five’. For the uninitiated, ‘Fox Force Five’ is Mia Wallace’s (Uma Thurman) never-aired TV pilot in Pulp Fiction concerning five female secret agents each with a distinct identity and skill - a knife thrower, a kung fu master, a demolition expert and a French girl whose “speciality was sex”. It’s a particularly apt part-time alias for Robbie’s passion project, the first big-screen outing for DC’s all-women superhero squad. Because Birds Of Prey not only shares the DNA of a girl gang who can kick your sorry ass - Cathy Yan’s film also boasts some of the subversive and rockabilly spirit of QT’s ’94 classic. It doesn’t all work, but it’s a gaudy, muddled, mostly entertaining glitter-grenade celebration of just how women can fuck shit up.

On the flip side, Birds of Prey seems to share some of Harley’s less admirable traits - namely, being too erratic or confusing for its own good at times - and is leaving most critics wishing they got to spend more time with the Birds of Prey themselves, in addition to Harley. Fortunately, being part of a franchise means there’s immediate potential for spinoffs and/or sequels. In fact, WB’s counting on them, and has already contracted the Birds of Prey cast for additional films. There’s a strong chance they’ll happen too; Birds of Prey is outpacing DC movies like Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman in pre-ticket sales, and shouldn’t have any trouble covering its $97 million budget at the box office. That’s to say, the odds are good this won’t be the last audiences see of the Birds of Prey and their newly-emancipated teammate.

Source: Various [See the above links]

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