A BIG UGH FROM ME
I’m on an island here when it comes to my critique of The Joker, because unlike all the rest of the critics who loved it, I was thoroughly disappointed. It’s very difficult to find a bad review of this movie, some critics are praising the movie, some even going so far to claim it as a “masterpiece worthy of an Oscar.”
Really?
I’m not going to do go in-depth into my usual Maverick Review where I break down things through a screenwriting and personality behavioral point of view. It’s the storyline that I have a problem with…
GRADE: D
I don’t think this movie is worth the $15.
You should definitely not take your children to this movie.
And if you’re wondering exactly why I thought this, you can read on.
BUT, do not read any futher unless you want to run head on into spoilers
THIS JOKER WAS NOT CANON
SO, if you’re walking into the theater expecting to see an origin story, “the genisis” of The Joker, you will be exteremely disappointed. This interpretation of the Joker is the equivalent of writing an origin story where kryptonite doesn’t kill Superman.
Joker is an artistic interpretation of an iconic character, that takes every single artistic liberty it can to justify grotesque violence.
This Joker is not a criminal mastermind. He is, quite honestly, stupid and incapable of holding down a regular job. Could this Joker go toe-to-toe with Batman? Hell no. He’s not smart enough, not creative enough, and he can’t even defend himself from little kids. And ironcially, as a so called “Joker,” he’s not funny and doesn’t throw out any puns.
The Joker was – well – a joker. But not in this movie. He was a horrible comedian, and I mean that literally.
Watch any clip in the video above, and you’ll get a good sense of what the Joker should be like.
The true Joker is selfish, brilliant, and entertains himself in any matter, even if it means trying to kill himself. He’s also very competitive, especially when it comes to his relationship with Batman. He will win at all cost, which is why other criminals fear him.
In all honesty, this version of The Joker should have been a stand-alone film, set aside from the Gotham/DC Universe, and called “Arthur.” Maybe if that were to happen, I would give it a C.
IT WAS SLOW AND THEN REALLY SLOW
A lot of critics who loved the movie said that a big part of its appeal was that The Joker was painful to watch. Yes, it was painful because it was so damn slow and Jaoquin Phoenix’s body looked very gross. What kept me in the theater, and a partially awake, was the anticipation for the moment where Arthur would become The Joker we all knew, but that didn’t happen.
By the way, I just want to point out here that good movies should be entertaining. They shouldn’t be boring or painful to watch.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE UNDERLYING SUBTEXT OF THE MOVIE
I’ve read that the movie is trying to make a statement about the mental health crisis in America. That may have been the director’s intent, but I really didn’t get that feeling. Arthur’s mom, who was crazy, was committed to an institution. She was accused of abusing her child to the point where Arthur most likely received brain damage. In the real world, if this would ever happen, she would have lost her child to social services and she would be jailed for life. So there’s a big plot hole there.
Arthur Fleck isn’t mentally competent either. He’s been abused and lied to his entire life, and he just doesn’t have any talent. He’s not even good at what he does. But after carrying a gun to a hospital, why isn’t he jailed? And if he is a suspect in a very publicized train murder, why is that only two private investigators are on his case? Arthur isn’t really crazy, he’s just stupid. But is the Gotham Police even more incompetent?
As a side note, there are many people with mental illnesses that lead fully functional lives. In fact, the far majority do. A very small minority of those who suffer from chemical imbalances, end up becoming murderers. So just what is this movie trying to say about mental illness, if this movie was about mental illness? It’s just not an accurate portrayal of the mental illness crisis we have in America.
Well, if there’s one thing that the movie did well is that it painted a rather accurate account of our current liberal political climate.
When Arthur Fleck murdered the three businessmen who bullied him, it gave birth to a movement eerily similar to Antifa. Everything this fictional protest group did, mirrored Antifa to the “T.” Including Antifa’s glorification of criminals and murderers.
In the end, Thomas Wayne, a rich businessman who was running for political office, got killed, by a protestor. By the way, Thomas Wayne never did want to run for mayor in the original DC storyline, that was a bit of creative license there, but why was this license taken? We all know about the wealthy businessman who did run for President and won in real life. And we do know that many artists have created fictional storylines where our President was killed. So, for some reason, this director decided to turn Thomas Wayne into a small-time Donald Trump, and then he decided to kill him. Hmmmmmm…….
So what do I think was this movie truly trying to say? That – I’m not sure. But I have a feeling there will be a lot of Joker mask at the next Antifa rally, and this movie will become a favorite among liberals.
LOOSE ENDS
The Joker is an ambiguous film that leaves you thinking, “What the hell did I just watch.” There’s a lot of loose ends that are not tied up. What’s a dream, what’s not a dream? Who is Arthur’s father? Did he kill that person or not? It’s just one big hot mess…. and that makes it even more confusing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
To sum it up, I’m not sure why I’m supposed like in this movie. From my perspective:
- It glorifies Antifa
- It kills a fictional character that portrays President Trump
- It’s not canon to the original Joker
- It’s slow
- And it’s not a good representation of our current mental illness crisis, which is brought upon greatly by drug and alcohol abuse.
- I’m just confused…really confused…
The real question I have is that why do so many critics, love it?
Steve Young
