Joker (2019) Movie Review or The Emancipation of one Arthur Fleck

Hello guys and welcome back for another round of reviews with Movie Nerd, a place where you can be nerdy about movies and that's OK!

So, I did not get the chance to see Ad Astra, unfortunately, like I said but, thankfully, I saw the movie Joker, a movie that I was very excited for and very curious to see what Todd Phillips, the director of such movies like Old School, The Hangover Trilogy and War Dogs, can do besides comedy and what he will do with the most famous Batman villain. More of that in a bit but, for now, a little synopsis, to get a better understanding of what this movie is about, if you haven't seen it yet:

Failed comedian Arthur Fleck encounters violent thugs while wandering the streets of Gotham City dressed as a clown. Disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

So, what Todd Phillips managed to do with this character was to give it an amazing, albeit very disturbing but very plausible, origin story that spark some controversy with critics, saying that this movie was, quote, irresponsible, end quote. Who said that, I have no idea but I did not see any sings that can begin a debate like that.

The movie is so grounded in reality that it does not feel like a comic book movie because everything that was silly about the Joker character is gone, leaving a more serious and a much darker version of the character, that feels more real, more in tone with what's happening in the world today, the rich and the powerful not giving two shits about everyone else. It's like Nolan did with his Dark Knight Trilogy but Phillips took it a few steps further, taking some inspiration from Heath Ledger's Joker for his version. It's not the same but you can definitely see the similarities. Also, some other movies that this one drawn inspiration from are Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, both Scorsese movies and both telling a story of a character that is pissed off on the society and the way that he was treated by it that he chooses a darker path to follow. This version of the Joker ends up being the hero and the villain. Or so we think...

It has an amazing soundtrack, very disturbing and very applicable to the whole atmosphere of the movie, which is bleak, dark and depressing. Stunning visuals, with some great camera work and some great angles, excellent performances, the stand out, being, of course, Joaquin Phoenix, who does an amazing job by showing the slow descent into madness of the character with great facial expressions and body language. I am not saying that he was better than Heath Ledger or Jack Nicholson but he was clearly up for the task and delivered a haunting performance.

It has a couple of twists along the way and a big one at the end. Unfortunately, I was not surprised by the first one but, if I'm being honest, I was a bit blown away by the last one, which changes the whole aspect of the movie. In a good or in a bad away, it's going to be totally up for you to decide but I enjoyed it.

This movie is not everyone, that's for sure. First of all, although it's based on a DC character and a DC comic book, don't expect to see a lot of action sequences, fights, explosions or CGI because this movie is more of a character study of Arthur Fleck, who, in the end, becomes the Joker. It does have a few action scenes and one a few fight scenes but there not very long or intense. Second of all, the movie is slow, it moves at a very slow pace, being filled with, mostly, dialog scenes but those scenes make this movie very intriguing, showing you an in depth behind the scenes of a criminal mastermind. Thirdly, it is Rated R so don't bring your kids to it because this is not a movie about a friendly clown named Joker, it does contain some disturbing scenes, that contain some extreme violence.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It clearly has some real world issues that it addresses, from mental illness and how people that suffer from pseudobulbar effect or uncontrollable laughing are viewed by others and the powerful and rich that don't care about the ones that are not as fortunate as they are. It takes the comic book adaptation onto a darker path and it is a showcase of Phoenix's acting abilities. The story is not as great as I was expecting it to be but it was satisfactory enough. You can go see it in theaters but, if you can wait until it comes on digital on a streaming platform, you can do that as well. Totally up to you. For me, this was a very good movie. 8.5/10

OK guys, that is my review for this one. Next on the list would be Gemini Man but no promises. We shall see. Until then, take care, stay movie nerdy and keep on reviewing!