Mixed bag at best

Rating: 5/10 (8 October 2019)

I'll start by saying I'm not a fan of comic books, nor their movies. I thought Martin Scorsese's recent quote about them "not being cinema" is dead on. I thought this film, based on the buzz around it, would be the redemption. It wasn't.
As I write this, I see the top posted review says the storyline was unpredictable. That just isn't true, most elements of it were totally predictable. Such as the hallucination of romance, and they go so far as to insult the viewer and spell it out for you later on that it wasn't real after all (duh).
Robert de Niro is wasted in this film (no pun intended), playing a 2 bit late night host, with a catch phrase so bad it seems right off of some youtubers channel. For how weak that role was, they could have gotten anyone else to play the part. Once they set up how much the show meant to Arthur, I figured it was a given he would seek revenge on Murray for showing his awkward clip from the comedy club. I feel they only showed Arthur putting the gun to his chin as to not completely reveal that he would shoot Murray instead.
That Joker so easily finds Wayne's house and lures a young Batman within arms reach is a bit much. And then Wayne isn't on edge at all when they meet in the bathroom later, surely knowing this man had put his hands on his child and choked his guard. For such an important character to the universe, Thomas Wayne leaves a bit to be desired. Even to the last, as his half assed plea to the shooter in the alleyway has no sign of desperation about it at all.
Arthur Fleck is a twisted individual, another victim of child abuse & mental illness, who breaks after being pushed too far and becomes his own personal vigilante. I dont feel like there was anything that new or fresh here. The last scene even felt tacked on and could have been left on the cutting room floor. Disappointing.