From the opening of Birds of Prey, the audience already knows what kind of rollercoaster ride is coming their way. The film opens with our lead actress Margot Robbie (who plays Harley Quinn).  In the first twenty minutes, she narrates what crazy conflicts exist and describes what her ridiculous priorities are which include graphic violence. Robbie steals the opening act with her violent, spunky, and neurotic personality. Birds of Prey is the one film where I believe DC makes its mark as it almost rivals Marvel’s Deadpool. That is because it opens almost the same way with vulgar yet funny language, and acts of violence intended for laughs. However, Birds of Prey takes the hysterical violence to a whole different level.

The plot of Birds of Prey is gearing on life with Harley Quinn after breaking up with the Joker. Viewers are used to viewing Quinn as the villain, but in this one she is geared more on being the protagonist. She falls into a position where a wealthy and egotistical villain, Roman Sionis (played by Ewan McGregor), and his assistant Victor Zsasz (played by Chris Messina), are after a young woman named Cassandra Cain (played by Ella Jay Basco), because she has something that is worth a lot to Sionis. This puts Quinn in a position where she falls into a scenario of building up a team of other crazy ladies who include Renee Montoya (played by Rosie Perez), Helena Bertinelli/the Huntress (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and Dina Lance/Black Canary (played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell). The film becomes a ride of over-the-top, lethal, and loud violence that will make viewers laugh.

The acting by Robbie is superb and McGregor is also outstanding. However, I found that some of the violence seemed repetitive. I figured that this was done to keep the audience laughing. An example of this is there are scenes where Harley or others break people’s legs. The leg breaking is comical, but it was just repetitive. Also, I felt that the film was only gearing on breaking of body parts as a goal to keep the action going. The dialogue is top-notch, but the fighting moments are repetitive.

What grabbed my attention the most with Birds of Prey was how both Robbie and McGregor play such egotistical characters. Each had moments where they felt they had more power over the other and then it would be the other way around. That made the film interesting for me because it gave me a hint that later one character had something that the other character was not aware of, and then another catastrophic moment would come around. The film is full of surprises.

Overall, Birds of Prey goes over the top by utilizing the same acts of violence, but it’s still a funny and entertaining time for those superhero fanatics. I find that it is one of those films that DC has been needing. A film where the violence goes up many levels because that is what gives a DC movie its mark by making the intensity and realism feel dark and heavy. I am giving Birds of Prey three stars.