Birds of Prey

Mandatory Movie Battles: ‘Birds of Prey’ vs. ‘Suicide Squad’

Two decades after her inception on Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn has quickly become one of DC’s most popular and recognizable characters. After her somewhat successful live-action introduction back in 2016’s Suicide Squad, it was only a matter of time before she got her own movie. As a pseudo-sequel to the 2016 film Suicide Squad, as well as being a spin-off for Harley Quinn herself, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is that film. After the overall lackluster nature of Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey not only needed to make good on the titular character’s presence but also introduce a new set of female characters into the DCEU. Now that Birds of Prey has arrived in theaters, how does the film stack up to its predecessor? Let’s find out!

Cover Photos: Warner Bros.

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Even though Suicide Squad certainly has some merit, there’s no doubt that Birds of Prey is a movie that is heads and tails above its predecessor in terms of overall quality. Whereas Suicide Squad is often overly dark, unnecessarily nihilistic, with a formulaic plot, Birds of Prey is tonally consistent, fairly optimistic, and it takes chances. Most importantly, however, Birds of Prey is a wholly entertaining film from beginning to end. Ultimately, it’s Suicide Squad’s lack of basic entertainment value that makes Birds of Prey an objectively better film. Jared Leto’s Joker is also a non-factor, so the movie also has that going for it, too.

Overall Winner: Birds of Prey

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