Film

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

A riotously funny action film where Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn narrates her chaotic team-up with an unlikely crew of DC antiheroes. It's anarchic, visually inventive, delightfully vulgar, and genuinely thrilling. A blast for anyone who loves action movies with personality and doesn't need to take superhero films seriously.

TMDb rating3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy action that is loud and wilfully messy, narrated by a heroine who treats every brawl as a bit of stage business.

Skip it if you find chatty, candy-coloured antiheroes wearing thin, or you want your crime thriller lean and sober, since this one chooses flash and detours over tension.

What it asks of you: Roughly 109 minutes of jumpy narration and shifting tone, with energy surging from sprint to shrug and rarely settling. Its humour and violence both arrive at full volume.

If you liked this

Deadpool2016

Same irreverent energy and fourth-wall-breaking humour, a protagonist who's as funny as they are lethal, and an action film that knows how to make you laugh between the carnage.

But If you find constant jokes exhausting rather than exhilarating, or prefer action films that maintain dramatic momentum without cutting for punchlines.

Deadpool poster

The Suicide Squad2021

James Gunn's gloriously absurd take on misfits saving the world: anarchic action, character-driven humour, and genuine affection for its weirdos. Peak comic-book-movie confidence.

But It's deliberately chaotic and goes for shock value sometimes just because it can. If you like your plots neat and your tone consistent, this will frustrate you.

The Suicide Squad poster

Atomic Blonde2017

Charlize Theron as a spy with both wit and ferocity; stylish action sequences, a killer soundtrack, and a film that understands a woman can be glamorous, clever, and brutally efficient all at once.

But The plot is fairly thin and the espionage stakes feel secondary to the atmosphere. Some find the style-over-substance approach hollow.

Atomic Blonde poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Destroyer2018

Both centre on women reclaiming agency in corrupt systems, but Destroyer treats it as tragedy while Birds of Prey treats it as liberation. Watching them back-to-back is a master class in tonal range.

Nicole Kidman as a damaged cop returning to the criminal underworld of her past. Gorgeously grim and unexpectedly moving—a character study wrapped in a genre film. Same DNA as Birds of Prey but turned inside-out.

But It's deliberately unglamorous and depressing. Kidman's character is unlikeable, the pace is glacial, and if you're coming for fun you'll be disappointed.

Destroyer poster
More like this (8)

The Losers2010

Pure ensemble fun: a ragtag team with chemistry, inventive action set-pieces, and a refusal to take itself seriously. Popcorn cinema that actually earns the laugh lines.

But It's a bit dated now, and the plot is threadbare even by action-comedy standards. If you're watching for narrative meat, you'll be disappointed.

The Losers poster

Gunpowder Milkshake2021

A mother-and-daughter assassin team with stylish action, dark humour, and more female characters with agency than most blockbusters manage. Visually gorgeous and wickedly fun.

But It's overstyled to the point of weightlessness, and the story is genuinely thin. The action sometimes gets lost in the production design.

Gunpowder Milkshake poster

Free Fire2017

Ben Wheatley's contained chaos: a single shootout in a warehouse that becomes a comedy of errors and escalating violence. Darkly funny, technically inventive, and surprisingly warm beneath the mayhem.

But It's deliberately repetitive and slow-burn; if you need a clear narrative or traditional character arcs, you'll find it more irritating than clever.

Free Fire poster

Kick-Ass2010

A genuinely subversive take on superhero movies with real violence, actual consequences, and a willingness to be uncomfortable alongside the humour. Genre-defining for the modern comic-book film.

But Some violence feels gratuitous rather than purposeful, and the film's relationship with its own transgression can feel smug.

Kick-Ass poster

The Gentlemen2020

Guy Ritchie's stylish crime caper with an ensemble cast, interconnected plotlines, and the kind of clever dialogue that makes you want to rewatch it immediately. Criminal fun.

But The overlapping narratives can feel convoluted on first viewing, and the misogyny lurking at the edges will bother some viewers.

The Gentlemen poster

Johnny Dangerously1984

A comedy-action mashup where the jokes land as hard as the punches. Goofy, inventive, endlessly quotable, and genuinely committed to its own lunacy.

But It's very much a product of 1984 comedy sensibilities, which means pacing issues and gags that have aged unevenly. Some stretches drag.

Johnny Dangerously poster

Atomic Hearts2023

Both are outsized character films where action serves personality rather than plot. Both trust their lead to carry long stretches on sheer charisma. Harley is chaos; Polina is ice. Opposite temperatures, same commitment.

A Russian sci-fi action thriller with stunning practical effects and a deadpan protagonist navigating surreal Soviet bureaucracy. Visually inventive in completely different ways, with action that prioritizes impact over humour.

But It's not a comedy; it's slow-burn and moody. Subtitled, and the narrative is deliberately fractured. American audiences expecting Marvel-pace will struggle.

Atomic Hearts poster

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil2010

Both films are about misread women (or men) reclaiming narrative control from people who've already decided who they are. Both use humour as the weapon of the powerless rewriting their own story.

A comedy that inverts horror-movie logic: two hillbillies mistaken for killers by college students who accidentally doom themselves. Clever, genuinely funny, and surprisingly kind-hearted about characters usually played for mockery.

But The premise is the whole thing; once it clicks, the plot just executes the idea. Some find it one-note. The body-horror comedy won't land if you hate gore gags.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil poster

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