Joker Movie Review – Reliving The Legacy of Joker

One can be critical of the triumph of comic book adaptations. Marvel’s Avengers’ success ensures fans have constant supplies of superheroes even from other competitors like DC as well. But Joker is something different, and we tell you why.

Joker’s Director Todd Philips never liked the representation of superheroes at all. The great success of his Hangover trilogy was several years ago and his last film, War Dogs, was completely lost at the box office.

When Philips was just wondering what kind of movie the audience wanted to see, his eyes fell on the billboard of a comic book adaptation. And following the motto, If you can’t beat them, join them, Philips decided to also enter the promising superhero business. His lack of interest in previous comic films gave him the idea of taking a completely new approach. The film should not connect to existing films but had to be an entirely new concept.

The result was Joker. Although it is a comic book adaptation, Joker is way different from what you would expect. It is different simply because the story is not based on a template. In fact, the connection to DC’s Joker is so minimal that if the movie would not have been named Joker, nobody would have guessed it is connected to Batman’s Joker. In addition to the fact that the past has taught us several times that villains are more likely to suffer if you provide them with a detailed genesis, Arthur Fleck’s(Pre-Joker) views in this film do not match any existing joker characterization.

The film takes place in Gotham City which always looks like New York and the Wayne family plays a role in the film, but all comic links could be removed from the film with little effort. As Arthur, the film would of course only bring in a fraction of the money that the Joker has bought. To be honest, it would have been just another Joaquin Phoenix’s well-admired role if the name Joker wasn’t attached to it.

Joker is a big step for everyone who wants more variety in the world of comic book movies. The lesson that any serious adult film will be significantly more successful when given a superhero connection could make the film landscape even more comic-heavy in the coming years.

Todd Philips threw films like Taxi Driver, King of Comedy, When a Man Sees Red and Falling Down, into a huge pot, stirred and made Joker. You could see its influences so clearly at times that it can only be described as innovative in the context of the comic book genre.

The Plot – Joker Movie Review

Arthur Fleck is a clown agency employee who has set himself the goal of making the world laugh. At least Arthur’s mother is sure that it is her son’s destiny, but his dream of a stand-up career fails not only because of his general lack of understanding of humour but also because of an obsessive-compulsive disorder that leads to Arthur’s uncontrollable laughing fits.

After he was attacked by young people on the street, not for the first time, Arthur receives a weapon from a colleague, which he always carries with him from now on. Arthur’s first act of violence, the murder of three Wayne Enterprises employees, happens after a while later as an act of self-defence but is understood and celebrated by the poorer residents of Gotham as a political statement.

Of course, this is a balm for Arthur’s heart, which craves recognition, which is why he ultimately becomes a follower of a movement that he himself started. An interesting approach, but the film doesn’t make anything out of it. When Arthur becomes a joker in the last half hour, the film really becomes about The Joker. Before that, the film moved so far from all thoughts of the joker that this change seems out of place.

In another film, a cool joker would certainly fit, but here the joker is not a mysterious and stylized embodiment of chaos, but a mentally disturbed murderer who still adheres to some principles. The celebration of his alter ego, which was carried out towards the end of the film is slightly questionable because it is sudden.

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Joker only works really well as a one-man show for Joaquin Phoenix, who is completely absorbed in the role of Arthur and convincingly brings every emotion and behavioural disorder of the Joker onto the screen. The film is successful because of him and his unbeatable acting. But as a comic book adaptation that does not want to be a comic book adaptation, Joker is slightly out of place.