"If you want boys to respect you, show them you’re serious. Shoot something, blow it up!"

Finding a perfect middle ground between the disastrously bad 2016 Suicide Squad and the fairly impressive 2021 The Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey is at its best when the music is loud, the action is fierce, and the dialogue is muted.

During the action scenes, Prey has some genuinely well choreographed fights, cleverly shot sequences, an evocative and vibrant color pallet, and enough adrenaline to fuel a small country. Outside of these scenes, it loses a lot of its identity and becomes incredibly unbalanced and uninspired. If you liked Deadpool, you'll love Prey. They have similar vibes and beats without as much of the try-hard attitude present in Pool.

That being said, director Cathy Yan and writer Christina Hodson are ones to watch. As a minor reboot to the series, Prey does an amazing job of paying homage to its roots while also completely distancing itself... almost like the story revolves entirely around this theme. In this way, I loved Birds of Prey and am excited for further entries into the universe. I think DC is really beginning to hit their stride with their darker, grittier hero films.

Slightly cringey and a little off-balance at times, Birds of Prey isn't one that you'll return to very often, but with its dazzling action and original take on toxic relationship emancipation; it isn't one you'll soon forget either. So, gather your newly single friends and get empowered by Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey.

"Do you know what a harlequin is?"