Although 2016’s Suicide Squad was a total disappointment, that didn’t get any better on a second viewing, there was one shining light in amongst all the crap: Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. But in much the same way that Gal Gadot’s standalone Wonder Woman didn’t quite live up to the character’s potential shown in Batman Vs Superman, Robbie’s venture into a female-centric Harley-led franchise, Birds of Prey, failed to meet the expectations garnered back in 2016.

Sometimes side characters are better left as the show-stealing, fan favourite bits on the side that we love to love.

Taking place shortly after the events of Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey sees Quinn coming to terms with her painful break up with the Joker. Unfortunately for her, this also means the loss of his protection and I think it’s fair to say that she has pissed a fair few people during her time as the Joker’s puddin’, leading the proverbial pack is the eccentric and ambitious Gotham crime lord Roman Sionis aka Black Mask.

In an act of self-preservation, Harley makes a deal with Sionis to recover a stolen diamond from young street pickpocket, Cassandra ‘Cass’ Cain, but Sionis enjoys a game almost as much as he hates Harley so he puts a bounty on Cass’ head and Gotham’s criminals come out to play. In order to protect Cass and, her own life, Harley Quinn teams up with police detective Renee Montoya, Helena ‘The Huntress’ Bertinelli and Dinah ‘Black Canary’ Lance to take Black Mask down.

Although Birds of Prey is quite strong visually, with a brighter, more colourful depiction of Gotham than we’ve ever seen before, the story itself lacks focus or depth. Whilst I appreciate the sentiment, there is something that I find distinctly off putting in an eye-rolling ‘here we go again’ kind of way, about forcing the whole ‘Girl Power’ thing without a strong story to back it up, and unfortunately with the exception of some genuinely funny comedic moments, the plot driving the film forward is just bland and uninspired.

Margot Robbie delivers another quirky and delightful performance as the batshit crazy psychiatrist-come-villainess, and I do really like the fact that you get to see more of her education coming through. Unfortunately, I do feel that in their attempt to appeal more to the female masses, they have lost a lot of what makes Harley Quinn Harley-fucking-Quinn.

And whilst the other characters are likeable enough, most of them felt a little one-dimensional and not the memorable, although to be fair I did spend most of their time on screen comparing them to other iterations that I’ve seen in DC’s TV adaptions such as Gotham and Arrow. Both Mary Elizabeth Winstead (The Huntress) and Jurnee Smollett (Black Canary) failed to leave any sort of lingering impact with their performances, and I found Ella Jay Basco’s Cassandra Cain to be a bit meh.

Other than Quinn, the only one of the central group that felt like a rounded out character was Rosie Perez’s Renee Montoya, and Perez delivers a strong sassy performance as the slightly older, grossly underappreciated cop with a drinking problem. Ewan McGregor also delights with a fantastically camp turn as the film’s central villain, Black Mask, although again his character feels a little undercooked.

It’s not all negative though, from Harley’s confetti filled assault on the GCPD to the climactic battle at Amusement Mile, one thing that this film does deliver on is it’s fight sequences. Although Harley and her group of misfit ladies don’t have a huge amount of chemistry on screen, they sure as hell can deliver on the action.

Despite some great cinematic pieces and strong action sequences, Birds of Prey tries too hard and fails to deliver on the foundations established in Suicide Squad. With Harley Quinn returning in James Gunn’s Suicide Squad sequel and rest of the gang set to return at a later point in The Gotham City Sirens, I am cautiously optimistic that next time we will get something a lot more substantial.