Joker Review: Not As Dark As I Thought But Still A Great Origin Story About The Clown Prince of Crime!

I finally went I saw the infamous Joker movie. After months of rhetoric about how the movie will be a gateway for breeding potential mass shooters, as it turns out, it’s got nothing to do with a mass shooting, or even mass killing of any kind. It’s about how one man’s entire life could’ve gone another direction had he not been adopted by a psychotic woman. It’s also about how society can play a role in a person spiraling into madness.

I really don’t know what to say, the Joker movie really captured what makes the Joker great. Joaquin Rafael Phoenix did a fantastic job bringing the Joker to life. Heck, everyone did an amazing job in this movie but Joaquin is the star of course.

His performance as the Joker was damm near eery but great. Every action, body movement and lines delivered were all exceptionally done well. You can see the madness in his eyes as continues to descend into insanity. Despite what certain people will say, the film was clearly about how society can be cruel at times, and when we have the chance to be nice to one another, we often choose to be cruel and cold. Arthur was dealt with an unfortunate hand of cards from the moment he was born. It highlights how sometimes, people are the ones that can create monsters in their own societies. Of course, Gotham is a special case as that city has always been plagued with problems but it can be seen as a reflection.

From Arthur’s counselor not caring enough to listen to him, his so-called friend setting him up to fire him, to the comedian Murray Franklin making jokes about him as his own expense, and those kids jumping him for no other reason but to be mean. I know the media has been going ham about how this movie seems to be about sympathizing with the “incels”, but I feel like that’s not what this movie is necessarily about. At its core, it’s an origin story that details the life of the Joker, before he came to the Clown Prince of Crime, however, the message to some degree, in my opinion, is how we can all do a little better to be kinder to those we meet in our lives. A little kindness can go a long way. So, if they really wanted to solve their “incel problem”, they can start by showing some kindness to them as opposed to treating them as a problem.

I mean, the Joker actually could care less about the Rich been rich or the poor being poor or not getting the girl. This is a man who’s known in the comics to just watch the world burn in carnage and laugh about it. The entire time, all Arthur wanted was for the world to laugh, and unfortunately, that version that he has in his mind is completely twisted and messed up. In fact, aside from Joker’s actual mental illness, the rest of society in Gotham is the crazy one. Think about it. They saw a clown kill off three affluent people and decided that the smart thing to do would be to rally behind a killer to fight those who’ve done well for themselves (whether ethical or not). An envy that has grown into sheer madness. It’s kinda ironic when you think about it.

That being said, there is some criticism I have for the movie as a comic fan.

I might be one of the few people out there that holds this sentiment, but this movie wasn’t as dark as I thought it’d be. Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand that this was the Joker’s origin story, still, I felt like there should’ve have been a bit more carnage than what I saw on screen. And to be fair, it really didn’t feel like a comic book movie. Which is probably what director Todd Phillips was going for with Joker.

I don’t know, maybe I walked into this movie with a bit more expectation than I should’ve had. The guy only killed like 6 people in this movie, it really isn’t anything to go hysterical. Which is funny considering that all the media are painting him as a mass murderer, yet we have John Wick out here praised for slaughtering dozens of people on screen.

I feel like this movie will hit people completely differently, each with valid opinions and a lot of people will get a completely different message from the Joker. For example, as I was about to leave the theater, I heard two guys discussing what the movie meant to them, and from what I could gather, to them, the movie was about how everyone is a little crazy on the inside and that the Joker was right to call it out. I thought that was interesting. I knew people can be cruel at times, and yeah, life can drive everyone a little crazy but I saw it more of how there’s an issue in society that can be fixed with just being nice to someone, as you have no idea what they could be going through in their life. An example is how the small man was spared by the Joker as he was the only one that was nice to him at his old job.

Overall, it’s a great film, not as dark as I was expecting but still eery enough to live your skin crawling. And the potential for a great Nemesis between the Joker and Batman has been set. All little Bruce Wayne will remember is a man with a Clown mask killed his parent because a man in a Clown Mask accidentally sparked a revolution. It gives a reason for Batman to truly hate him and make is a sense of justice even stronger when encounters the Joker.