Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 16, 2020

Wildly unpredictable and gleefully violent, Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey is a film that revels in sharp contrast. On paper, it reads almost nothing at all like most of DC's recent live-action superhero blockbusters, careening wildly between scenes (and sometimes shots) with reckless abandon, and probably doesn't even care whether or not you're along for the ride. Ironically, this film also shares the least similarities with a controversial pair of anti-hero films it's most closely tied to: 2016's poorly-received Suicide Squad and last year's surprisingly great Joker. Yet while Birds of Prey feels somewhat unique in that sense, it suffers from the same familiar problems as DC's less impressive outings: a feeble script, weak supporting characters, and almost no commitment to tonal balance. But hey, girl power!

For a full synopsis of the main feature, please refer to my review of the stand-alone Blu-ray edition. Warner Bros. has also offered a separate UHD release (also available as a Steelbook) that does justice to Birds of Prey's source material, even if the slightly underwhelming Atmos audio track is identical on both discs. This is clearly still the better option for those already set up for 4K, whether you're a die-hard DC fan or seeing it for the first time.

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If you're worried that Birds of Prey carries the same sense of 4K disappointment as Suicide Squad, don't be: this is far and away a better UHD presentation than "the previous film" (not really a fair comparison, since they really are apples and oranges from a technical perspective). For starters, Birds of Prey was shot digitally at 3.4K resolution and given a full 4K intermediate, which is an entirely different beast than a 2K upscale. The increase in overall clarity, crispness, and color saturation between this and its Blu-ray counterpart is readily apparent, not the mention the better encoding and much higher bit rate displays fewer instances of compression artifacts, obvious banding, and other digital eyesores -- in fact, they're virtually absent from start to finish. The other benefit, of course, is HDR enhancement: Birds of Prey is an extremely colorful film at times, but one that also employs a more subtle palette during darker scenes. Both opposites clearly benefit from this enhancement, but the former is more immediately apparent and absolutely pops when the film ventures into more neon-infused territory. From the on-screen "graffiti" to colorful costume designs, the glittery police shootout, and the cheeky animated introduction, there are an awful lot of moments where this 2160p transfer comes out pretty far ahead of its 1080p counterpart. It's easily one of the better upgrades I've seen this year; while the Blu-ray is still far from disappointing in comparison, this is obviously the better of the two.

Please note that the images on this page are sourced from the included Blu-ray disc. For information about that disc's 1080p transfer (as well as 20 additional screenshots), see my review of the standard Blu-ray.

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For information about the Dolby Atmos audio mix, please see my review of the standard Blu-ray.

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release (one Blu-ray, one DVD) arrives in a dual-hubbed keepcase with vivid cover artwork, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. All extras are on the included Blu-ray disc.

For a full list of the on-disc bonus features, please see my review of the standard Blu-ray.

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey is a step up from Suicide Squad, but that doesn't necessarily make it a great movie. It's at least tighter than Aquaman and way more fun than Joker, yet still suffers from a weak script and a narrative flow that often shoots itself in the foot. It's still just fine in small doses, though, and the film's visual design -- not to mention Margot Robbie's enthusiastic lead performance and the terrific fight choreography -- often elevate its weaker moments to at least tolerable territory. Perhaps the strongly hinted sequel might finally hit the sweet spot? Until then, Warner Bros.' UHD is clearly the best version currently available: even with a less-than-perfect Dolby Atmos track and limited but well-done bonus features, the 2160p transfer is more faithful to the film's true 4K roots.