Director Todd Phillips’ original, standalone origin story “Joker” explores the world of—and according to—Arthur Fleck. Indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, Arthur is a man facing the cruelty and outright scorn of society, along with the indifference of a system that allows him to spiral from vulnerability into depravity. A clown-for-hire by day, he strives to be a stand-up comic at night…but finds that the joke always seems to be on him. He’s out of tune with everyone around him, as evidenced by his uncontrollable, inappropriate laughter, which gains momentum as he attempts to contain it, exposing him to further ridicule—and even violence. Arthur, who devotes himself to caring for his fragile mother, seeks out every father figure he’s never had, from wealthy businessman Thomas Wayne to TV host Murray Franklin. Caught in a cyclical existence teetering on the precipice of reality and madness, one bad decision brings about a chain reaction of escalating, ultimately deadly, events.
Okay. This one was rough. IF this was a movie about someone struggling with their mental health and their downward spiral into being psychotic, this would be one of the best movies of the year with a lock for Best Actor for Phoenix. Like my best friend said - they could have even called it Clown if they wanted and had him paint his face as part of his act or whatever - still awesome. Perhaps if it was even advertised as an artistic character drama - still all good. But as an origin story of Joker - this fails on pretty much every level. This should never have been tied to a known entity much less several known entities because they will go nowhere with it moving forward PLUS its a totally different origin than we have been shown more times than I can could already. Imagine watching a new Spider-Man but he gets stung by a bee instead. Like that is how this felt. It basically annoyed the hell out of me that this was tied to a known character and essentially prevented me from liking it.
Whether I recommend it or not really doesn't matter. If you want to see this you are still seeing this. It is just MASSIVELY falsely advertised and 100% should not have been about Joker.
Okay. This one was rough. IF this was a movie about someone struggling with their mental health and their downward spiral into being psychotic, this would be one of the best movies of the year with a lock for Best Actor for Phoenix. Like my best friend said - they could have even called it Clown if they wanted and had him paint his face as part of his act or whatever - still awesome. Perhaps if it was even advertised as an artistic character drama - still all good. But as an origin story of Joker - this fails on pretty much every level. This should never have been tied to a known entity much less several known entities because they will go nowhere with it moving forward PLUS its a totally different origin than we have been shown more times than I can could already. Imagine watching a new Spider-Man but he gets stung by a bee instead. Like that is how this felt. It basically annoyed the hell out of me that this was tied to a known character and essentially prevented me from liking it.
Whether I recommend it or not really doesn't matter. If you want to see this you are still seeing this. It is just MASSIVELY falsely advertised and 100% should not have been about Joker.
