Birds of Prey and the Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Warner     
 Release Date: May 12, 2020
Rating:  R
Film:  4/5
 
 Plot
 When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz (Chris Messina), put a target on a young girl named Cass (Ella Jay Basco), the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley (Margot Robbie), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez)’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.
 
 My Thoughts
 The DC films have been very hit or miss for me. I loved the Nolan trilogy—especially the first two films of it—and I’m a fan of the old school Superman (RIP Christopher Reeves), but I can’t say the past five years have been great for the studio. Sure, Wonder Woman was outstanding and Shazam was fun to watch, but Batman vs. Superman and Justice League were very disappointing with Aquaman falling somewhere in the middle.
 
When Suicide Squad came out a few years ago, I really didn’t like it at all. I felt the casting wasn’t that good and the story was underwhelming. The only bright spot for me was Harley Quinn, portrayed by Margot Robbie. When I heard she was getting her own movie, it piqued my interest enough to request the UHD for review but not enough to venture out to the theater. To my surprise, I really enjoyed this movie a lot. Sure, the plot isn’t very deep and meaningful, but the movie is a lot of fun mainly due to Robbie’s take on the character, which is outstanding.
 
Quinn is overcoming her breakup with Joker and finds out she has a target on her back since she’s no longer under his protection. Needless to say, there’s a lot of action and well-choreographed fight scenes throughout the film. Sadly, the film didn’t do too well at theaters and I’m not sure if we’ll see the character again, but I’d definitely venture out to the theater to watch Robbie do her thing.
 
The UHD presentation is excellent. The image has a lot of depth and detail and primary colors are especially bold and bright. The Atmos track is very immersive and makes great use of the LFE channel with plenty of gunshots and some explosions.   
  
 Video 9.5/10 
 
 Audio 9/10 (Dolby Atmos)
 
 Special Features:

• Birds Eye View Mode
• Birds of Prey: Birds of a Feather
• Grime and Crime
• Wild Nerds
• Romanesque
• Sanity is Sooo Last Season
• A Love/Skate Relationship
• Gag Reel
• Blu-ray+ Digital Copy

 

 
 Conclusion
 I went into this film not knowing what to expect and kept my expectations in check and was rewarded with a fun way to spend a couple of hours. Robbie’s performance is definitely the highlight and I found her portrayal to be convincing and fun. Throw in an excellent A/V presentation and you have an experience that I wouldn’t mind repeating at some point in the future—then again, I’d probably pay $5 to watch Robbie read the phone book.  
 
 Reference Review System:
  
 Reference Review System:
 JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High Definition Front Projector
 (Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
 Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Fixed Screen
 Anthem AVM60 Audio/Video Processor 
 ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
 Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player 
 System Controller: URC MX-980
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
 Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
 SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
 HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
 JL Audio Fathom F110 Subwoofers x 2 (stacked)
JL Audio Dominion D110 Subwoofer x 2 (stacked)

Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
 Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
 PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[Barry]

I also reviewed it for us. 

https://discuss.avscience.com/index.php?topic=2406.msg15927#msg15927

[David Vaughn]

I also reviewed it for us.

https://discuss.avscience.com/index.php?topic=2406.msg15927#msg15927

But you didn't like it

Normally this is the type of movie that I wouldn't like, but Robbie pulled me in and wouldn't let go. I just loved her portrayal of the character. 

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

I am with Dave. Lots of fun.. 


Regards,

[claw]

Yep. Good fun.

Atmos was very active.   Not an overpowering LFE, but there when needed.

I was not able to backup the disc yet so instead of playback with MadVR, I had my Oppo output the Dolby Vision layer as LLDV to my JVC RS500.   

[David Vaughn]

Yep. Good fun.

Atmos was very active.  Not an overpowering LFE, but there when needed.

I was not able to backup the disc yet so instead of playback with MadVR, I had my Oppo output the Dolby Vision layer as LLDV to my JVC RS500. 

Claw, the scene where Quinn drives the truck was arguably the best LFE scene to me. The gunshots were pretty good too