| Crystal Clear |
08-09-2020 04:44 PM |
So, I finally watched Joker two days ago.
It was slightly better than I anticipated and definitely worth the watch.
Joaquin was worthy of the acclaim for immersing himself into a physically and emotionally challenging role. He and Adam Driver definitely gave the best performances of recent times (Driver for his lead role in 'Marriage Story'). I still wish the Oscar could have been awarded to them both. :pout:
I was kinda worried about where the movie was going when they hinted at Arthur being a fugitive character similar to Charles Bronson's role in the DEATH WISH trilogy (killing people who deserved to die - the Joker? REALLY?) But luckily, it did a U-turn and showed that not everything was as it seemed.
The best scene was when
:spoiler:
Arthur shot DeNiro's character (forgot his name, he was the TV presenter).
The scary thing is that I found myself semi-agreeing with his argument for why he was targeting DeNiro. He absolutely DID humiliate Arthur by showing those clips of his stand-up comedy performance on live TV just to mock him. :nod:
There were some shocking scenes, e.g. Arthur bashing the employer to death (he appeared to do that in some sort of defense of the mistreatment of the co-worker who was being bullied over his height).
I'm not sure that the tie-in to young Bruce Wayne really worked but I was relieved that they didn't go all the way in making Joker the half-brother of Bruce Wayne. In theory, it makes sense in terms of his madness but changing canon like that takes serious balls (and is not sensible when you have many angry fans ready to jump every rule of the comics that is messed with). :whip:
Did I love the film? No. I predicted the basic plot from the start without even reading spoilers. I knew they would make Arthur semi-sympathetic by adding in a backstory of depression and caring for a sick relative, just as the trailer hinted. It's a risky thing to give the Joker any sense of humanity given what we know of him in the Nolan trilogy, and I thought the scenes where he was romantic with the female neighbor were kinda forced.
It's one of those films that I don't think would have been half as good, were it not for the lead role of the experience that Joaquin has had over the years. He pulled a Christian Bale and did a creepy body transformation to show his commitment, which I think scored him a lot of points. Oh and that laugh was impressive. :evil_lol:
Do I think it deserved all the Oscar buzz? No, to be honest. It didn't feel much better than your average gangster/crime movie.
But it was a decent watch and a good psychological take on what the Joker's backstory very well could have been. :cool:
|
