Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1211430
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2020 16 FILM ALTHOUGH it has reportedly all but made its budget back at the time of writing, the studio heads Birds of Prey, And the Fantabu- lous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn are reportedly mulling the idea of retitling the ostensible se- quel to David Ayer's Suicide Squad (2016) into something snappier so as to better meet box office expec- tations. In other words, Cathy Yan and Christina Hodson's energetic little superhero flick is already be- ing described as a failure, perhaps as an ongoing attempt to aid and abet a narrative that female-led blockbusters simply don't make bank. Whatever the reasons behind its supposed financial failure, the fact remains that Birds of Prey is a damn good time. Stripped of the excesses of its ostensible prede- cessor in the continuously patchy but somewhat healing cadre of DC Comics universe installments, its script – penned by Christine Hodson – may lack a certain fi- nesse, but its hyperactive nature is more than matched by the harried state of mind of our protagonist Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), whose titular emancipation in the wake of a toxic relationship leads to a technicolour shit-show whose chaos and silliness is a welcome jolt to the increasingly sleek-but- staid output of superhero fran- chise entries. Harley Quinn and the Joker have broken up, an introductory animated sequence narrated by Quinn herself informs us. Quinn is heartbroken but determined to get over it – a process that begins and threatens to end with a series of drunken binges and murder attempts by every single low-life that Gotham City's Bonnie and Clyde have wronged throughout their inglorious career… without Joker's protection, Harley is vul- nerable, so much so that he goons won't even let her finish her glori- ous egg-and-bacon sandwich (and crucial hangover salve) before opening fire. Minor goons will turn out to be the least of Harley's problems, however, as she also steps into the crossfire of sadistic mobster and nightclub owner Roman 'Black Mask' Sionis (Ewan McGregor), who is after a diamond snatched from his face-slashing henchman Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina) by the underage thief Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Aided by the wavering support of his nightclub singer turned driver Dinah 'Black Canary' Lance (Jurnee Smollett- Bell), who turns informant on Sionis after being contacted by beleaguered Gotham City Police Department investigator Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Sionis puts a hit on Harley after he dis- covers she's in close proximity to his diamond… but the rogue has a trick up her sleeve… one that could come undone by the ap- pearance of a crossbow-wielding mystery assassin (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The story's a bit of a quick gr- ab-bag of pulp-crime tropes and thrown together action sequences with comedy bits spliced in, but Birds of Prey is executed with the kind of brio that betrays just how much fun everyone was likely hav- ing on set, a mood that will likely infect an audience primed to par- Colourful, energetic and silly in all the right ways, this femme centric sequel to 2016's Suicide Squad course-corrects its predecessor's many messy excesses by way of an empowerment arc for Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn Teodor Reljic Keep it crazy but stay light Hammer Time! From left: Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Margot Robbie, Ella Jay Basco and Jurnee Smollett-Bell form an unlikely alliance after they collectively fall under the crosshairs of a notorious Gotham gangster