DC's attempts to create an extended universe in the mould of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been, at best, stuttering. To date, it's the women who have stood out. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was the stand out high point of BATMAN V SUPERMAN:DAWN OF JUSTICE and her solo outing is probably the best entry to date. In the misfiring SUICIDE SQUAD Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was the only bright spot in an otherwise turgid affair. Now, she gets her own solo outing and your reaction to the character on the page of a comic is likely to determine how you react to this film.

BIRDS OF PREY and the fantabulous emancipation of one Harley Quinn is, like its title, a gloriously chaotic affair. As narrated by Harley Quinn herself, the plot pinwheels backwards and forwards, takes detours down side alleys and repeats itself from different angles. This perfectly matches the inside of the main heroine's head, but some might find the structure annoying or possibly even confusing.

That plot is deceptively simple before it is jumbled through the main character's viewpoint. A teen pickpocket steals something she shouldn't. A major bad guy wants it and doesn't care how he gets it. Harley Quinn plans to use it to get everyone to stop trying to kill her. A cop, a singer with a killer voice and an assassin on a vengeance kick are then folded into the mix.

This film is all about the girls having fun. Margot Robbie has made the character of Harley Quinn her own. Her performance is delightfully unpredictable as she makes the most of the witty dialogue she is given and switches moods at the drop of a hat. Harley is clearly crazy, but in a fun, psychotic sort of way and she dominates the proceedings. It is just a shame taht she has to be saddled with a young girl to look after that. This is a tired trope that is aimed at humanising her, but just weakens the character. She doesn't need to get in touch with her motherly side. It's OK when it comes to Rosie Perez's hard-bitten cop, since she has to look after the innocents. She and Jurnee Smollett (playing the Black Canary alter ego Dinah Lance with barely hint of her vocal powers) play their roles absolutely straight, even when there are jokes flying all around them. Mary Elizabeth Winstead gets to have more fun as the woman everyone calls the crossbow killer, showing her deft comic timing. Add in a female writer and director and this is a girl-power movie that shows the boys how to do it.

The action sequences are fast, energetic and colourful. Quinn gets to take out an entire police station with a glitter gun, beat up Hells Angels in an evidence locker room and take out an entire chemical plant all by herself. When all the heroines come together to take on Roman Sionis's army of henchmen in a funhouse, it's a climax to savour..

Ah, Roman Sionis, the film's big bad. If there is one major weakness, Ewan McGregor's Black Mask is it. His performance is suitably chilling and creepy at times, but overly camp at others. He doesn't make for a villain equal to Harley Quinn on her own, let alone the four Birds of Prey together. Fortunately, Chris Messina makes for a memorable henchman in Mr Szasz, a man who simply exudes danger and creates much of the threat that Sionis lacks. It's still not enough to fill the villain-shaped hole and his transformation into the Black Mask goes completely unexplained and almost completely unnoticed.

BIRDS OF PREY and the fantabulous emancipation of one Harley Quinn is DC finally breaking out of the restrictive grit and greyscale grip in which Zac Snyder has held it. It's bright, funny, full of fun characters and inventive fights, all scored to a great soundtrack. There's certainly enough fun to be had here to warrant a sequel, for the main character at least. This will hopefully not be the last we see of Harley Quinn.