'Joker' review — All clown, no bite
Joker reimagines the iconic Batman villain as a mentally ill, impoverished standup comedian.
One-sentence review: Joker is well-made and full of interesting choices that all feel hollow when you consider what the movie is trying to say — the answer: not much.
Details: ? Todd Phillips // ?? U.S. // ⏳ 122 minutes
The cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert DeNiro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Where to watch Joker: Now playing in theaters.
Joker is not a comic book movie. That's not where it draws its inspirations from. Sure, The Joker is a comic book villain — maybe THE comic book villain — living in the fictional city of Gotham. However, director Todd Phillips is trying to emulate Martin Scorsese more than he is any version of a comic book movie we've seen before. Even Christopher Nolan's darker and grittier Dark Knight series has nothing on Joker. But that's part of the problem.
Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) can't catch a break. He's a clown for hire that has to deal with bullying everywhere he goes…