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Quote:

Originally Posted by Weapon X

Your opinions make me sad, it seems like the movie angered you for some reason. I hope one day you can enjoy it.

I was never going to watch it, originally, but with all the Oscar buzz, I figured I'd give it a chance. I knew the story going in, and knew I didn't like the story, but was hoping the "fantastic acting" would at least win me over, like it did on The Dark Knight (Ledger wasn't "Joker" as the character is typically portrayed, but he was an interesting villain and Ledger did an excellent job - the Batman/Joker interview scene alone is better than the entire Joker movie). Phoenix's performance was really not that great. He didn't sell that his character had ANYTHING mentally wrong with him. He got the point across that he was pathetic, but there was nothing in the movie that could be seen as a turning point into "The Joker". Nothing that took him BEYOND a mental illness into genius.

I'm not "angry" with the film, more disappointed with it. In my opinion, it wasted a perfectly good character on a mediocre movie. The Killing Joke is a perfect starting point.

Have Arthur be a chemical genius working at a dead-end, invisible job as one of many engineers. He daydreams of being a comedian. He's a bit theatrical at work and causes a scene, and it gets him fired. His wife is diagnosed with a disease, he tries to get hired elsewhere, no one will take him after being blacklisted. He tries to do stand up, no one finds him funny. Without work insurance, his wife gets worse and he can no longer afford his own psyche-stabilizing medications, so things continue to get worse. He gets caught stealing from pharmacies by the mob, who offer to overlook the thefts if he helps them. He agrees. The robbery goes without a hitch, and upon leaving, the mob turns on Arthur, shoot him in the face and he falls into the vat of chemicals.

Arthur gets out of the vat, his skin bleached. He turns on his phone and gets tons of messages and voicemail. His wife passed away while he was robbing the chemical plant. Everything he's been snaps. He goes crazy. He theatrically eliminates the mobsters who double-crossed him. He goes after those who stopped him from saving his wife, and then decides the whole world needs to learn to laugh at the pathetic world, and goes on a crime spree which he theatrically films and posts on social media. Being unpredictable, Gotham PD are clueless on how to stop him.... end the film with Joker dancing, middle of the day, on the steps of the GCPD HQ, not remotely afraid.

That would have been a far better adaptation of The Joker. Something that could actually BE something. What's next for Joker? Crime wave? No, he's just a violent idiot. Chemical attacks of Joker venom? Nope. He's just a violent idiot. Creating a gang that follow him like a religious cult? MAYBE... they set seeds for it, but it was more of a flash mob rather than a cult.

Anyhoo… I'm rambling, and gave this film far more attention than I ever planned to. Thanks for the conversation! cheers!