The review embargo has lifted for
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) and it's definitely good news for the DC Comics adaption! The verdicts are overwhelmingly positive for the most part but the prevailing opinion seems to be that it makes for a better Harley Quinn movie than a Birds of Prey one!
That's not necessarily bad news but fans of characters like Huntress and Black Canary could be disappointed (it's been obvious for a while that Harley would receive the spotlight, though).
The main takeaway here is that the movie has all the makings of a critical hit and
Birds of Prey definitely sounds like it will be a fun ride and a unique, colourful adventure for these characters. Now, we're rounded up excerpts from a number of reviews to bring you a better idea of what to expect.
So, to check out these spoiler-free verdicts, hit the "Next" button below to take a look!
Jumbled plotting aside, Cathy Yan and Christina Hodson's 'Birds of Prey' is a delightfully entertaining showcase for Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and the rest of her anti-heroic gal pals. (8/10)
SOURCE: Forbes
This whole film is a femme-fatale meet-and-greet which detoxifies the recent spree of male-dominated skulkings around Gotham City. It has gangster's moll energy where the molls take over. (3/5)
SOURCE: Daily Telegraph
It's relentless, hyperactive, and viciously entertaining. Just like Harley herself. (4/5)
SOURCE: Total Film
Thankfully, Robbie's shining performance cuts through the murk like a neon sign in a dark alleyway.
SOURCE: Mashable
Cathy Yan lets her heroine's mania guide her through a story that's scrappy, weird and ultimately fun as hell. (4/5)
SOURCE: Time Out
Birds of Prey's freedom to discard the classic superhero story is a freedom well won.
SOURCE: Polygon
It's all as tasty, chewy and disposable as bubble gum.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DC Comics fans have been waiting years and years for a great Harley Quinn solo movie, and here they get it... albeit it's packaged inside a more so-so Birds of Prey movie. (3/5)
SOURCE: Cinema Blend
Cathy Yan has created a music-infused celebration of female badassery. (8/10)
SOURCE: We Live Entertainment
Some pacing issues aside, Birds of Prey is a neon-blood-soaked, funny, violent, anti-hero caper. It manages to be authentic without being heavy-handed, and happily obliterates the male gaze in a technicolour firework display. (4/5)
SOURCE: Digital Spy
However popular the film becomes, though, I doubt that anyone will adore it as much as it evidently adores itself. (2/5)
SOURCE: BBC
Birds of Prey may not hit every beat, but it uses its characters and concepts well enough. Does it reach the creative heights DC executives had hoped it would? No. Does it give it an honest go? Absolutely. (7/10)
SOURCE: Starburst
I was pleasantly surprised just how much I enjoyed the bizarro world of the Birds of Prey, and thrilled at the prospect of it continuing long after this adventure ends. (4/5)
SOURCE: Nerdist
Birds of Prey's most thrilling aspect, instead, is its stylish disregard for pain and the human body. (3/5)
SOURCE: Vox
It may not be the promised total emancipation (at least not yet), but it is fantabulous in its own way. (B-)
SOURCE: indieWire
The latest DC superhero movie isn't quite a solo jam for Harley, nor has she gone straight, but it is an entertaining lark that introduces a few good women - and four-letter curse words - into the canon of Superman and Batman. (3/4)
SOURCE: USA Today
A giddy treat of an R-rated comic-book movie, borrowing elements from inspirations as disparate as 9 to 5, Bugs Bunny and Modesty Blaise to create an adventure that tweaks its genre familiarity with delightful bursts of anarchy and wit.
SOURCE: The Wrap
This film is a blitz of bad taste, a cornucopia of crass, and it is weirdly diverting - more than you might expect, given the frosty way Suicide Squad was received critically - and engagingly crazy. (3/5)
SOURCE: Guardian
Cheeky and unapologetically brassy "Birds Of Prey" is super overwrought and sometimes exasperating, but at least there's never a dull moment. (C)
SOURCE: The Playlist
But those hoping for a Deadpool-like fusion of mayhem and wit should lower their expectations: Harley may be known for her unpredictability, but Birds plays by action-movie rules.
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter
Cathy Yan keeps it all hurtling along with impeccable ferocity. Her action scenes have a deftly detonating visual spaciousness, capped by crowd-pleasing moments...
SOURCE: Variety
A pulpy, kaleidoscopic funhouse ride that feels simultaneously high-stakes and low-stakes all at once, Birds of Prey is as cheeky, irreverent, and erratic as its central character, Harley Quinn. (7.5/10)
SOURCE: Slash Film
Although we'd have preferred to see a true team-up with fewer narrative detours, Birds of Prey provides a perfect setup for a host of other intriguing spinoffs in the DC cinematic universe - can we request Poison Ivy next? (8/10)
SOURCE: IGN
With a wicked sense of humor and exhilarating action, Birds of Prey is fierce, fun and a total blast - and an empowering girl power superhero romp. (4/5)
SOURCE: Screen Rant
Welcome to the mind of Harley Quinn, enshrined in all the sequin-encrusted girliness and bone-smashing violence of Birds of Prey. (4/5)
SOURCE: Independent
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. (B+)
SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly
What Birds of Prey is, is loud, bright, and fun as all hell.
SOURCE: io9
Total mixed bag, doesn't merit a rotten OR fresh tomato. But representation is important, which JUST tips the scale to fresh. Robbie, McGregor & Smollet-Bell do the best work. (5/10)
SOURCE: Beyond The Trailer
Birds of Prey is electric! The style, the humor, the music, the performances, Ewan McGregor, the fight sequences. The more creativity and energy we get like this on the big screen, the better. (8.5/10)
SOURCE: Collider
At no point is the film ever uninteresting and its ambitiously gonzo fluidity is much preferred to the mindless Macguffin-based quests at the center of many superhero flicks from both studios. (3/4)
SOURCE: Observer