It took me a while, but I finally watched Birds of Prey. I heard and read good and bad reviews about the movie and I agree with both sides. The movie was both good and bad. I’m a fan of the character Harley Quinn and love Margot Robbie’s portrayal of the character. I also enjoyed it when all the leading female characters got together and played off one another. Too bad that’s not until the end. There were points in the movie I was bored and the movie seemed repetitive and gratuitous.
The film takes place after Harley and Joker break up and she goes on a post-breakup binge of drugs, alcohol, and lots of fighting. Word gets out that she no longer has Joker’s protection and everyone is after her, including the leading villain, Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor. Chaos ensues leading Harley to team up with the Birds of Prey (Huntress, Black Canary, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain).
But you are not reading this for my review or a synopsis, you are reading to know if the movie is appropriate for kids to see. The answer for my kids is, “no.” There is cursing all throughout the movie, graphic violence, and drug use. In one scene, Black Mask humiliates a woman by making her strip down to her underwear. The main reason I don’t want my younger kids to see it is that the violence is comedic and it isn’t how I want my kids to view violence towards others even if they are villains. The humiliation scene is too much for a comic book movie and there’s a scene where a man tries to have his way with a drunk Harley. The closest comic book movie I can compare it to is Marvel’s Dead Pool. This is not your Christopher Reeve DC.
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn is rated R for language, violence, and drug use.