The Jokes on you now Deadpool!

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2019)

The Clown Prince of crime has returned to the big screen in his very first, ground-breaking, solo movie! JOKER! Though anticipation is through the roof for this movie, can Joaquin Phoenix deliver us an uncanny performance enough to beat Heath Ledgers Joker of the Dark Knight Trilogy or equal him? All we know is, we need to review this film before we start laughing our heads off!
Plot
In a time before the Batman. Gotham City has become a corrupt, lawless hell on Earth. Our story follows Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian suffering from a mental illness that effects his emotional state. As Arthur's life continues to take a turn for the worse, he slowly descends into insanity which eventually leads him into becoming Gotham City's most feared criminal of all time. The Joker.
Likes
The Joker is portrayed as a dark, classic, psychological style thriller with themes inspired by a 1970's society. It blends the superhero genre and elements of classic crime films and noir style storytelling. And the cinematography and camerawork is impressive and captivating within its themes.
The plot is simple and extraordinarily well written. Even from the first act of the film you are left at the edge of your seat in awe as the story occurs which in a way is portrayed so differently, that it makes it very unpredictable to know what happens next. And in this day and age of Superhero films, different is better.
Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker is the best thing about this movie and even his performance itself makes it clear why this film exists. His take on the Joker is original and fresh without any inspiration from Joker actor previous. Not only does Phoenix Joker give us a fully developed, fleshed out look into his origins, but also defines the ruthless nature and injustice that made him what he is today. Just seeing how his previous life in Gotham has been tragic for him every day and learning of the trauma he had as a child makes you feel pity for him having suffered so endlessly from bullying and rejection. Making you think just how small your issues really are in comparison to himself. I even have to admit that Phoenix portrays the character so well that he even makes the Joker sound like a real-life person.
Which is clearly enough to rival even Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. And it's also safe to say that he is 100 times better than Jared Leto's dull and crappy portrayal of the Joker from Suicide Squad. Unlike him, Joaquin Phoenix portrays the Joker accurately to his Personality and his appearance.
Also loved some of the nods that this film throws around in the story. Such as The Jokers past taking some inspiration from Alan Moores The Killing Joke. And also having Bruce Wayne and his parents feature as a plot point in the movie (And not forgetting his parent's deaths which would result in his transformation into Batman). Even if Todd didn't read that many comics during production. He certainly didn't forget the most important references within the lore.
Dislikes
Now, for some reason the Joker has been causing recent controversy in the media for its glorified violence and allusion that it would inspire people to become Mass Shooters. Well... The Joker only shoots 4 people in this movie (three even in self-defence) and kills the other 4 unarmed so how is all that bad compared to character body counts in other movies? But since this controversy is obviously pointless to list here, I'll just go with my own non-political criticisms.
Now there are aspects of the Jokers story that does leave more questions than answers. Like, whatever happened to the romantic sub-plot between Arthur and his estranged girlfriend (Zazie Beets)? At first they were going somewhere with it then all of a sudden the plot just disappears halfway through the movie and she is never mentioned or seen again.
Why did Arthur kill one of his former co-workers for? Sure he may have been a jerk to him but he did have respect for him and wanted to help out.
Spoiler Warning!: Since Arthur is already Identified as the subway killer earlier in the movie by the police, shouldn't that mean Jokers identity is pretty much exposed since he killed Robert De Niro live on TV and started riots? But I feel the plot just ignores it saying "Nah, he's too much of a loser for the city to even know him." Still realistically in a world of Television, Forensic scientists and detectives, his identity would be as good as revealed soon after.
Lastly, it didn't really portray the definition of Mental Illness that well like I hoped it would. Like, Arthur strives to do his best in life with what he gets, but he seems to treat his growing mental collapse as if it is incurable. That is wrong. People can in-fact fight back against it and some have even managed to find the right help so as to be able to control it and perhaps even cure it. But that seems to be the exact opposite of what this film's moral indicates. I'm autistic and I have lots of problems. But the last thing I would want is to kill innocent people just because I didn't put enough effort in restraint. But I guess Arthur Fleck is just as human as everyone else I suppose.
Verdict?
Just when you thought Deadpool was the undisputed R-Rated Superhero film of all time. The Joker may have just knocked the Merc with the Mouth off of his Perch. Though it can't help being controversial to many with its violence and subliminal message, Joker offers every Batman fan a chance to experience the clown prince of crimes story first hand in the most imaginative way possible. Offering an original twist with thrilling moments of suspense, drama and dark comedy that the Joker himself has become well known for. Right or Wrong, The Joker is a crazy good time that might even have the Oscars turning their heads this year.
I give Joker an 8/10.