Overhyped

Rating: 5/10 (3 January 2020)

As expected, Joker is not the masterpiece everyone makes it out to be.
The first 3/4ths of the movie is a generic tear-squeezing sob story about a socially awkward guy who is constantly abused by right about anyone (seriously, he gets beaten up by randoms twice within the first hour or so), and eventually snaps into violence. Up until the final half an hour I leaned towards a 2-3/10, but it finally managed to produce some tense, if predictable scenes. Funnily enough, the movie got better when the titular character started resembling more of its classic version, while all the "bold reimagining" only managed to produce an unlikeable and unrelatable loser.
From the technical standpoint, Joker looks slick with pretty good cinematography. As for acting, Phoenix grimaces too hard here, and I was overall left unimpressed. Have to give credit for the severe weight loss he underwent for the role, though. The music, while mostly fitting, sometimes also adds to the already overly-forced sobbing atmosphere with the least subtle violin ever played. The handful of Batman references here are largely unnecessary for the plot and only work to sell the movie to the broader audience, which, as we all know, worked out pretty well.
All in all, Joker tries to be pretentious, artsy and deep, but is only capable to churn out an outplayed moral that our society is toxic and violent, an overacting Phoenix and a few bloody scenes to look more edgy. Forgettable and overrated, although I expected nothing more.