First things first, thank you Margot Robbie. And Cathy Yan. And Christina Hodson. And Erin Benach, and every single other woman who worked on this film, because I never realized how desperately I needed something like this until it was placed in front of me and I was locked in to my theater seat. 

I knew going in that I was going to have fun with it. I love Margot Robbie, and I love Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Suicide Squad (2016) was a train wreck that you couldn’t look away from, but I had a blast because of Harley. And it seems like Robbie did too, considering she was an executive producer for Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020). But this movie is so much more than that to me. So, so much more.

There are film genres that I’ve always disliked. They’re genres that I have found repetitive, unexciting, and, quite frankly, boring as all hell. Heist movies, action movies, and yes, superhero movies. My eyes were cracked open last year when I gave Ocean’s 8 (2018) a try, and realized that it wasn’t heist movies I had a problem with, it was the team of narcissistic and self-aggrandizing men who were too focused on inflating their own masculinity to display any sense of humility. Ocean’s 8 saved heists for me. 

And this is what Birds of Prey did to action movies for me (and, to as big of an extent that you can categorize it as one, superhero movies). 

To be blunt, it was the first time I have ever seen women be badasses on screen on their own, without some random guy either giving them permission, or else coming in when the going got tough to take the reigns, only for him to be credited with the success. And not only that, they aren’t doing it for the camera. There are no extraneous hair flippings (in fact, that 3 second scene where Harley Quinn gives Black Canary a hair tie during a fight sequence will go down in history for me), no come hither glances over their shoulders at the looming bad men, no latex suits (more on that later). It’s women, fighting as women, but not fighting as sex objects. There were a couple times that I could literally feel myself being overcome with emotion, simply because I had never seen women be so invincible before. And after the movie, I felt invincible! If this is what men feel like all the time, with their action movies and war movies and superhero movies, I can only wish that they learn how goddamn lucky they are (in more ways than one). 

Also, the costumes. A major standing ovation for Erin Benach for that one. The women were gorgeous, without being defined by their looks. They were sexy, without being sexualized. They were human, and they were hot as hell. To the men complaining about the women not being attractive in this movie: I’m also attracted to women, and I had no problem finding them attractive, even though they weren’t in thigh-high boots and push-up bras, so maybe the problem isn’t the wardrobe department, maybe it’s just you! To see Harley Quinn take down a posse of men in a loose t-shirt and shorts was awe-inspiring. There was never a moment I had to ask “how the hell did her boobs not fly out of her bustier?” or “I wonder what lipstick she’s wearing, since it’s never smudged through this?”. This is why we need more women in film and production spaces; there are so many experiences that cisgender men have absolutely no fucking clue about, while it’s our every day lives.

I have so many thoughts about so many parts of this movie, but I don’t want for this to become a novel. To keep my last major point short: the villain is one of the most terrifying men I have ever seen in a film (and this is coming from someone who watches horror movies for fun!), but all in ways that I would never be able to explain to someone who doesn’t live their life clutching their keys between their fingers, or watching their shadow as they walk down the street to make sure no one is following them home. He believes his control to be absolute, and that he owns everyone, yes; but this takes on a different mask (so to speak) with his female victims as opposed to their male counterparts. I can describe this in more detail if anyone is interested, but I’d hate to spoil anything up front for people looking forward to seeing this.

To sum this all up: is this the best movie of all time? No. Is it the best action movie of all time? Not for most people. But to me? I will always count it as a monumental achievement because this movie and its team have done so many things that shouldn’t be groundbreaking, but definitely are. Not to encourage academia, but I can’t help but be reminded of a media theory I read in one of my upper division media courses posed by Laura Mulvey; to paraphrase, it is the concept of audience members treating protagonists in film (and other media) as their surrogate;  they project themselves onto that character, and make up the groundwork that separates them from the character. With a white, male protagonist, women and people of color have to further project, overlooking their race or their gender in order to enjoy the feature. 

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m tired of projecting. And regardless of any criticisms one may have, Birds of Prey is one of the choice few movies that, for once, I don’t have to project. I can finally just sit back, and enjoy.