Birds of Prey

When the Joker breaks up with Harley Quinn, she struggles to find her purpose and (now-unprotected) way in a city where almost everyone hates her. But a new mission is on the horizon . . . Roman Sionis and his cronies are after a diamond, which (due to some bad choices) is in the stomach of a young girl. Harley tries to help her, but she can't do it alone—she'll need Huntress, Black Canary, and even a cop to help her. Together, can these Birds of Prey save the day?

Told through Harley Quinn's snarky viewpoint, this movie had some potential but didn't quite deliver. There are flashes of greatness here in dialogue, characters, message, and sets, but the goodness is overshadowed by the typical pitfalls: overly fast development, plot leaps, and so on. I couldn't quite buy Huntress; she seemed more like an angsty teen in need of therapy than a polished assassin. The others were better, though I thought the child would have more of a role. And the assembly of the team was way too rushed. This is a short film, so they could have added some content to improve in these areas. Ultimately, the message seems to be a line Quinn delivers near the end: "you made me want to be a less terrible person." And that's not bad, though it's also clear Quinn still wants to be bad. Just not *so* bad. Meh. It's better than both Suicide Squads (films with similar tone), surprisingly, but not what it could be.

Rating: C+