Joker - The Review
Pheonix shines, but is this the modern classic we are led to believe it is?
The High Notes:
You cant talk about this movie without acknowledging the acting performances on offer in this film.
Joaquin Phoenix is superb as the troubled Joker, all the accolades and praise he has received has been very well deserved and in out opinion this will go down in history as maybe his defining role.
Robert De Niro is given a short space of film time but his scenes are a big part of the story arc of Joker, De Niro plays his part very well as you would expect and way he feed off Phoenix creates a near perfect scene.
The directing, writing, editing, soundtrack, are all fantastic and in a way beautiful film.
This is not a happy film, don't expect to come out of this feeling happy and cheerful. Its bleak, dark and in the end the bad guy we know and kinda love wins.
But that ultimately is a nice change, yes we saw Thanos win at the end of Infinity war but ultimately we knew he would lose. Apart from that how many time does the bad guy win?
We are all familiar with the joker form previous Batman films that it is slightly strange to be routing for him in this film.
It wonderfully plays with your mind, is it all real, was some of it a dream? Was all of it a dream? you walk away wondering and even on a second view still dont know.
The Final scenes (from the chat show onwards). This part of the film is amazing, theChat show scene between Phoenix and De Niro will go down as one of the greatest scenes of the past 10 years.
The low notes.
Its not a happy film, this wont be your go to movie on a Friday night very often I doubt.
Is this really a "Joker" Movie? Where does it sit in the DC universe?
Does this joker inspire the joker we all know and love in the comics or will batman grow up fighting an old crippled joker? Arkham retirement home maybe rather than Arkham asylum??
It didn't need the Wayne family. I don't believe the movie needed the Wayne plot line, I didn't need to see a young Bruce (it just made the time line more confusing).
This element could have been left out and it would have still been a good film.
The Bum Notes
I don't need to see Bruces parents die ever again on screen. Its not necessary, didn't bring anything to the film and felt like a cheap tie in.
Even though I was loving the film I had to let out a disappointing moan followed by a disappointed "not again" when I realised what was happening.
Tell me where this fits in the time line!!!!!. You could have taken the Wayne aspect of the film out and moved in to present day and it would have had the same effect and fitted perfectly in to the DC world we know.
Golden Era Rating - 7.5 out of 10.
