Pros:
1.) There are plenty of people who have played Joker: Cesar Romero, Mark Hamill, Jack Nicholson, and Heath Ledger (Jared Leto does not count). All of these actors play Joker in their own way from cartoonish and comedic to insane and dangerous. For this film, Joaquin Phoenix does a fantastic job playing the Clown Prince of Crime. He goes from depressed and hopeless to joyful and demented, and you can buy it with his performance (and appearance since he looks disturbingly anorexic). Phoenix is a great Joker, and I hope to see him more in future films if he is up to it, and depending on where this DC Dark is going.
2.) Speaking of Phoenix’s character, Arthur Fleck’s downward spiral to becoming the Joker is compelling to watch. This is a man who despite being a clown when we first see him is absolutely miserable. By the end, he changes to a psychopath who enjoys all the chaos that is happening to a sick degree. In between those moments, you sympathize and understand what he is going through (and even the people who are opposing him have understandable motives). His character arc is convincing enough to grab your attention and makes you understand why he is committed to his sad yet insane actions.
3.) What makes this film so interesting is how it is open to interpretations. There are so many things that can have different meanings that it is intriguing. “This character does this, because it is how he feels.” “This moment represents what is happening in our world.” “This character may be dead despite the fact that we did not see it.” I can go on, but I would end spoiling many moments. You can interpret the many scenes of the film or Arthur Fleck himself. Either way, the film is compelling enough for many interpretations, and even the director, Todd Philips admits to that.
Cons:
1.) This is not a typical superhero film (or in this case, a supervillain film). If you expect it to have plenty of action scenes Avengers-style, you will be disappointed. This is a slow film that looks at the life of Arthur Fleck and his downward spiral to madness. It takes its sweet time, and when it gets to the few action scenes it has, it does not hold back. Until then, you have to wait a bit for those to happen. The events in between are great, but you still have to wait.
2.) There are a couple of plot points that I can nitpick. Certain conflicts could have been avoided if things happened differently, but it does not ruin the film in any way. Revealing what they are would spoil the film, but it is worth noting that there are a couple of areas that are questionable at best.
3.) This is not really a con, but if you are one of those people who hate the idea that the Joker has an origin/background, then I do not recommend this to you. I can argue you should still watch it because it is an amazing film as well as one interpretation I thought of the film, but if it still bothers you to watch it, I cannot stop you. Still, I implore you to give it a chance since this is an alternate version of the Joker anyway, not the comic book version.
Overall:
Just to be clear, Joker has nothing to do with the DCEU (so Jared Leto is still the Joker in that universe, unfortunately), but it is instead part of DC Dark: a film universe that focuses more on the darker aspects of the DC Universe. How does this universe start? It begins with the most popular DC supervillain of all time: the Joker. There were plenty of concerns about this film. Some say that they do not want an origin story for the Joker since his background is unknown for the most part, and they prefer it to leave it that way. Others have recently said more political and social issues on why this film should not have been made (issues that I will not be discussing here). Regardless of what people say, Joker is one of the darkest and most uncomfortable films to watch, and I love it. I do agree that the Joker does not need a backstory, but what the film gives us is compelling to watch. How this man turns from ignored and hopeless to acknowledged and destructive is a well-written character arc. I can go on with so many great things about this film from the writing to production, but I think I made it clear enough. If you still do not want to know the Joker’s origin (or the other reason) and want to avoid this film, I understand, but you would be missing out on one of the best superhero (or supervillain) films ever made. It is dark, disturbing, and morose at times; and you know what? It brings a smile to my face.
9/10
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