The lonely and depressive Arthur Flecks lives with his mother and works as an unsuccessful clown over the streets of Gotham City. Arthur sees his life change completely as he embarks on a journey searching his purpose in life while being isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, starting a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as The Joker.
James Blair Review:
The Joker is a movie which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the lead who gives a unique outlook on how society can neglect someone to such a great extent that they are driven into insanity. In my opinion, the theme of the film is what makes the Joker so good. It is very rare for movies to focus on how the results of social rejection can drag someone down a path of violence and crime. The way Phoenix plays the Joker is another reason why this movie is so good: a role which could be so emotionally scarring is never an easy role for an actor to play. Overall, I really enjoyed the Joker, and would definitely recommend it, but only to an audience over the age of 16 due to the intensity of the storyline.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Mateo Gibson Review:
The contrastingly subtle and powerful acting from Joaquin Phoenix along with the orchestral and haunting soundtrack were the two aspects that turned what could have been an average movie (and script) into an entertaining viewing. I do however have some complaints, as I felt that the inclusion of the Batman/Bruce Wayne character-arc was forced, halting the story for the sake of simply intertwining other DC characters for what I believe to be a future DC film/Dark knight setup. I was also not a fan of certain one-dimensional secondary characters who came off as preachy and unrealistic in nature (the biggest contender for this position was the psychiatrist who gave a very unnatural and somewhat cheesy speech on how nobody cares about “outcasts and people like us”) taking me out of Gotham’s gritty and supposedly real atmosphere. Overall, this was a good movie, but I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece as many other people are.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Pedro Moreira Review:
Todd Phillips guides the public through Arthur Fleck’s tormented mind and life with technique and darkness, deeply reminding Martin Scorsese’s past works such as “Taxi Driver” and “King of Comedy”. The photography sets the mood with blue colors (sadness) and green lights (old and deteriorated buildings) adding detail and mood to the piece. Last but not least, Guðnadóttir delivers an award-winning soundtrack to put the final and most crucial detail to tell the Joker’s story. The adapted screenplay is tense, depressive, exciting, and VERY tormented: a classic, but original, Joker movie. There is no doubt in my mind that the Joker deserved to be indicated for the Oscars (11 indications this year actually, being the most indicated movie), but fans can certainly expect a lot of wins for the master of chaos.
Rating: 4.25 / 5
Bosco Merino Review:
It is bold, devastating and utterly surprising. The expectation levels for this movie were really high, but Todd Phillips still managed to surprise us. Everyone knows who the Joker is, but not everyone knows why and how he became the Joker. This movie really manages to emphasize Joker’s ‘human’ side, Arthur Fleck. The film makes reference to two classic movies starring De Niro – who plays Murray Franklin in the Joker – The King of Comedy with a bit of Taxi Driver. This can be considered either as ‘copying’ or honoring. This Joker’s genesis is determinedly mature and uncartoony, compared to Jack Nicholson’s low-level crook Jack Napier falling into a chemical vat in Tim Burton’s Batman, turning him into the Joker with white skin, green hair and a rictus grin. In my opinion, this is certainly the best representation of Joker which is achieved by Joaquin Phoenix’s powerful acting. If there was something I would change, it would be the inclusion of Bruce Wayne/Batman. I felt that it was unnecessary just for the sake of intertwining with other DC characters. Overall, it was a great movie with a lot of positive aspects and only a few negative.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Average Rating:
4.2 / 5.0
