My Film Review for Joker
Rating: 5/5
Non-Spoiler Section
Finally. A good film from DC. Not just good: Great!
The Joker is one of my favourite villains of all time so I was a little hesitant when they announced they were making a film. Then I watched the trailer. Then I saw who was behind and in front of the camera. Then I watched the film.
I was not disappointed.
If you have read my How to Write Great Villains post, you will know why I appreciated this film so much. You got inside the head of this man. You felt what he did and you empathized with him, even when you stopped agreeing with him.
Spoilers Ahead
As horrified as I was by his actions, I was almost happy for him when he got what he wanted. The writing behind the character is incredible – the ambiguity messes with your head.
There are several major points in Arthur’s story which increase in violence and destruction, all leading to the creation of Joker. I felt myself leaning slightly towards support of his actions against the men on the train.
After that, I stopped. The next three moments were huge in his story and important, but that is where the empathy becomes a mixture of pity and horror.
Diving quickly into the look of the film, I loved everything about it. The colours were perfect and the focus on Joker’s face and movements kept the viewer enthralled. It was a pleasure to watch.
The focus on Arthur’s illness and the lack of care and consideration Gotham city gave to its lower classes is so powerful. The riots and the murders drive home just how cast aside people are.
The end of the film is just the right place to stop. With the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce just standing there. I’m sure there will be theories that the Joker organised it, but I would disagree. His actions certainly caused it though.
I really hope there is no sequel or spinoff to this film. It needs to be left alone, at least for now. This version of the Joker has had his story.
Any future films with Batman or anything would detract from the incredible job this film does at making you care for, or at least understand, Batman’s greatest villain.
Go and see this film!
