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‘Joker’ Pulls Its Punches
It’s more mediocre than masterpiece
I waited until Joker arrived on Redbox before I watched the film that so many paid reviewers working for the production company went on record as calling a triumph. I always find my wife is a good sounding board for whether something is quality or not. Three quarters of the way through Joker she feel asleep, and I had the volume cranked to 59!
Some people call Joker polarizing, but in my opinion it wasn’t nearly polarizing enough. After watching the film it’s interesting to sort through the lies and misdirection contained in the advertising campaign. Yeah, there’s a bit of a shooting at the end, but any controversy of showing this in a movie theater is a completely artificial creation designed to sell tickets.
It was nice to look at
I will say that whoever was in charge of the cinematography did a great job. Also, Joaquin Phoenix gives an interesting performance. When he finally dons the full on green hair and face makeup at the end, he cuts a striking figure as the Joker. Unfortunately, he never has a moment of “becoming” and pretty much remains a sniveling little weakling right up to the last.
What the filmmakers seemed not to understand was that when you want to make a truly terrifying villain, it’s scarier if the audience…