Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), to give it its full name (until that changed to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey) is the first and only movie released in 2020 that I'm covering in 2020, but to be honest there's not many 2020 movies out there. It's also the last movie I saw in cinemas before the COVID-19 pandemic. I've seen this movie three times this year, and each time I love it that little bit more.

It's the antidote to 2020. A wild, brash, profanity-laden colourful comic book come to life. Harley is unreliable, bubbly, unique and unpredictable, but sticking her with a girl gang was ultimately the best choice for her character development. Women supporting women supporting a young girl who needs help when she steals a diamond from the narcissistic, misogynistic crime lord Roman Sionis (who also stole the diamond too, to be fair). Harley is joined by Black Canary, Renee Montoya and Huntress to protect young Cassandra Cain from Black Mask and his violent and sadistic tendencies.

Building on the groundwork first developed by Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie really shines and brings depth and character to Harley, who's more than just a pretty face in shiny hot pants for this movie, and I'm happy about that. This might be called Birds of Prey, but it's really all Harley's movie. That might be a bone of contention for some. Me, I'm just glad this movie exists at all, and that it's so much brazen fun!

And remember, psychologically speaking, vengeance rarely brings the catharsis we hope for. Unless you make me drop the perfect egg sandwich. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on Birds of Prey!

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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe Facebook

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