ROAR
Joker (2019)
The infamous villain in the DC universe, Joker, had a whole movie to show how he became such a terrifying madman. It was heartbreaking to see Arthur got mistreated even though he suffered so much... Full comment.
My rating:
Movie Info
"Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks -- the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he's part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker." Rotten Tomatoes
RATING
R
(Disturbing Behavior | Brief Sexual Images | Language | Strong Bloody Violence)
DIRECTOR
Todd Phillips
RUNTIME
2h 2m
STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures
WRITERS
Todd Phillips
Scott Silver
PRODUCERS
Todd Phillips
Bradley Cooper
Emma Tillinger Koskoff
Top Cast
Critics
Stephanie Zacharek
Joker purports to be a statement about our own troubled era, and it bristles with sensations, like molecules vibrating in Brownian motion. But sensations aren’t the same as ideas, and Phillips (perhaps best known as the director of the Hangover movies) and his co-writer, Scott Silver, spin out dozens of alleged profundities that either fall flat or contradict one another. Just before one of his more violent tirades, Arthur muses, “Everybody just screams at each other. Nobody’s civil anymore.”
Sam van der Meer
That’s to say, I think the minimal plot of Joker, working in a tonal, character-centric approach is perfectly fine. We don’t need elaborate twists and turns because Arthur’s transformation is the star of the show, and Phoenix sustains our attention throughout. Yet there are logical inconsistencies with the “hard facts” of Joker‘s world and some extraneous moments of style that felt head-scratching. On the flip side, if the film opted to add more substance to its world, perhaps the hints at a greater picture beyond Arthur’s apartment would seem more worthwhile.
David Ehrlich
Todd Phillips’ “Joker” is unquestionably the boldest reinvention of “superhero” cinema since “The Dark Knight”; a true original that’s sure to be remembered as one of the most transgressive studio blockbusters of the 21st Century. It’s also a toxic rallying cry for self-pitying incels, and a hyper-familiar origin story so indebted to “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy” that Martin Scorsese probably deserves an executive producer credit.