Todd Phillips’s “Joker” is a crazy movie, and no, I’m not referring to any of the aspects of the film that some consider problematic or socially irresponsible or whatever. I have thoughts about those things, but for now I’m just thinking about the film as an adaptation of a comic book character, and how what it depicts just doesn’t really line up with the character as established in all the other media he’s been present in.
So, it’s crazy because it’s tough to connect the dots between the character of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and the character of the Joker as depicted in every other piece of media that the Joker has ever been included in, because this guy just doesn’t really feel like the Joker. In fact it makes us wonder if he’s not even the real Joker at all.
Yes, like most depictions of the Joker, Arthur is clearly not a mentally well human being. In this version, he has a grab bag of mental illness and trauma — basically he has all the things wrong with his head. Honestly, Phillips and his co-writer Scott Silver might have gone too far with that depiction, because it invites the audience to assign any and every mental condition to this person, and possibly associate mental illness with villainy, which is very problematic.
But problematic depictions of mental illness aside, that element at least possibly tracks with the Joker that we know. What doesn’t line up is that Arthur is just not a smart person. I’m not saying that’s a side effect of whatever is wrong with him mentally — since the movie doesn’t seem interested in establishing what his condition is beyond “weirdo,” I can’t in good faith draw any conclusions about specifically why his personality is the way it is. But I can say that Arthur definitely doesn’t seem like the kind of person who could pull off elaborate criminal schemes and go toe-to-toe with Batman.
Imagine, if you will, Arthur trying to pull off all that crazy stuff that Heath Ledger’s Joker did in “The Dark Knight,” like the flawlessly executed bank heist, or taking over all of Gotham City’s criminal organizations, or infiltrating the police, or rigging ferries with bombs and holding the entire city hostage.
Or imagine him coming up with deadly (and genuinely funny) joke weapons, figuring out how to weaponize smilex gas AND managing to get it pumped into hundreds of consumer products, somehow convincing Gotham citizens into attending a parade that will get them all killed, or inspiring the loyalty of his weirdo gangster henchmen like Jack Nicholson’s Joker did in Tim Burton’s “Batman.”
Hell, try to imagine him somehow convincing Dr. Harleen Quinzel to not only fall in love with him, but give up her life and career as a psychiatrist to help him escape Arkham asylum and follow him into a life of crime as Harley Quinn, like Mark Hamill’s “Batman the Animated Series” Joker and Jared Leto’s “Suicide Squad” gangbanger Joker.
It’s impossible to fathom because Arthur simply does not at any point demonstrate that he is the kind of person who could do any of that. He never once displays basic attention to detail or at least some kind of skeptical critical thinking. He has literally no demonstrable skill at dealing with complexity. And he lacks even the vaguest hint of anything resembling charisma.
Yes, I know people can change and grow over time, but Arthur is already pretty old. I don’t know how old Arthur is supposed to be in the movie, or at least I don’t remember if the movie established that at some point — but Joaquin Phoenix turns 45 years old this month. People don’t generally go from being a guy-who-creeps-everyone-out who is also not-a-genius to being a super mesmerizing genius during their middle age years.
Whatever the explanation Todd Phillips and co. want to come up with, Arthur as established in “Joker” just does not line up with the Joker as we have ever known him. So I can’t help but wonder if this whole thing is just misdirection. What if Arthur is not actually the Joker, but just the inspiration for whoever is going to become the real Joker somewhere down the line.
One big potential clue is the Wayne murders, which are carried out by a random protester in a clown mask. As you may recall, the Tim Burton “Batman” movie had the Joker be responsible for the Wayne murders in his previous life as a common criminal. While that idea was original to that movie, it’s possible that Phillips and Silver were going for a similar angle here.
For what it’s worth, Phillips does allow for the possibility that Arthur Fleck isn’t really the Joker, as he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “Maybe Joaquin’s character inspired the Joker,” Phillips said. “You don’t really know.” Not the most committal answer — maybe Phillips himself doesn’t even know, and he’s just going to leave it up to us to decide. Since “Joker” isn’t going to get a sequel and will never be incorporated into the great universe of DC Comics films, we probably aren’t ever going to get a definitive answer.
If Phillips is going to answer that way then I guess I’m just gonna run with this idea as the truth. It’s the only way I can think of to rationalize the fact that Arthur just seems incapable of becoming the Joker for real. Because if Arthur really is the real Joker, then I’m not convinced he’ll ever actually become the major Batman villain that he’s supposed to be. He just doesn’t have it in him.
Every DC Comics Movie Ranked, Including 'The Suicide Squad'
Films based on DC properties go back nearly a century to those ancient Batman and Superman serials. That's a lot of history -- how does James Gunn's violent and hilarious "The Suicide Squad" stack up against everything that's come before?
39. "Jonah Hex" (2010)
Despite the efforts of Josh Brolin and Michael Fassbender, this is one of the worst comic book movies of the modern era.
38. "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987)
Christopher Reeve is by far the best Superman. But "Superman IV" is a bomb in every sense -- partly because of its heavy-handedness about bombs. Nuclear bombs. The film finds Superman trying to eliminate the world's nuclear threat, but his best intentions run afoul of a silly, badly dated villain named Nuclear Man.
37. "Supergirl" (1984)
We had a female-superhero movie in 1984, and it was pure cheese. But hey, at least they tried. The best thing I can say about it is there are worse things in life than this movie.
Best known as "the one Shaq was in back when he tried acting," "Steel" is pretty bad. But the fun kind of bad.
34. "Justice League" (2017)
The Joss Whedon cut of "Justice League" is a disaster on so many levels before we even talk about Superman's weird CGI mouth.
33. "Man of Steel" (2013)
Could have been worse, I guess. But it's still morally gross and has a plot that doesn't make sense. That it's very pretty to look at doesn't override those things nearly enough to make it watchable.
32. "Joker" (2019)
This is not a good characterization of the Joker as a human being, and aside from that it's just a soulless, meaningless experience.
31. "Catwoman" (2004)
Thoroughly horrible, but somehow amusing even so. Sad that it's seemingly been swept into the litter box of history.
30. "Batman & Robin" (1997)
Rightly hated, but it's tremendously entertaining here and there. Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzeneggar are going so far over the top I can't help but admire them.
29. "Superman III" (1983)
Featured a brilliant corporate rip-off -- one later referenced in "Office Space" -- but the attempt to funny things up with the addition of Richard Pryor didn't gel. There was also a weird bit about a weather satellite creating bad weather, which isn't what weather satellites do. Seeing Clark Kent fight Superman was pretty cool, though.
28. "Green Lantern" (2011)
Overreliance on cartoony visual effects during a period when big blockbusters were moving away from that aesthetic meant this was a movie nobody liked. Not that it was especially horrible. It just looked like a dumb cartoon and is hard to watch.
27. "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)
Probably wasn't intended to be a grim and gritty Shumacher Batmovie, but that is indeed what it is. This is Nolan going full Hollywood, smashing plot points into place by sheer force of will rather than because they make sense. An extremely theatrical Tom Hardy as Bane is amusing front to back, and a nuke with a countdown clock on it will never get old.
26. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016)
A total mess that hates Superman and turns Batman into a total maniac. None of those things are good. Ben Affleck can't save the thing, but he's excellent nonetheless and gives it a huge bump it probably doesn't deserve.
25. "Watchmen" (2009)
I have no particular affection for the revered "Watchmen" comic the way a lot of other nerds do, so my distaste for this adaptation isn't personal. It just doesn't add up to nearly as much as it thinks it does.
24. "V for Vendetta" (2006)
Felt nothing watching this. I tried, OK. It's impeccably made, though, and very watchable.
Giving this its own slot because it fundamentally changes the narrative of the movie and the character of Superman in the DC Extended Universe. This version is still not great (especially at three freaking hours), but it's a monumental improvement over the theatrical version.
21. "Red 2" (2013)
Did you even know these were comic book movies? Whatever, it's a great cast in a serviceable action movie and everybody's having a good time. Hard to remember, but fun.
20. "Red" (2010)
Better than its sequel, but they're basically the same.
19. "Batman" (1989)
Fondly remembered mostly because it was the first Batmovie in a couple decades. It isn't actually very good, though. The reveal that a younger version of the Joker killed Bruce Wayne's parents is as hamfistedly dumb as it gets in a "Batman" movie.
18. "Superman Returns" (2006)
Actually a pretty decent attempt by Bryan Singer to do a Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie in the present day, but Brandon Routh couldn't pull off the charisma it takes to be the Man of Steel. It was his first movie, so that's not surprising. But it's a shame, because Routh has gotten much better in the years since.
17. "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (1993)
Remember that time they released a "Batman" cartoon theatrically? It gets lost amongst all the live-action ones, but "Mask of the Phantasm" is better than most of them.
16. "Superman II" (1980)
Made kids everywhere cry as they watched Superman give up his powers for a normal life with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). There are different edits of this movie, and we frankly can't keep them straight. But the sight of a powerless Clark getting beat up in a diner made Superman as sympathetic as he's ever been.
15. "Shazam" (2019)
It’s just so much fun! It’s a blast to watch, and is just a really nice celebration of the good parts of humanity. “Shazam” is a movie that simply feels good to watch.
14. "Wonder Woman" (2017)
Has the standard origin movie problem of "too much story, not enough time." And the standard DC Extended Universe problem of "We gotta have a nonsensical CGI battle at the end." But despite those caveats it's an enormous delight, and a big step forward for the DCEU.
13. "Birds of Prey" (2020)
This film is sensory overload, but (mostly) in all the right ways. And it's got the best action we've ever seen in any DC or Marvel movie. This would be a top 5 DC flick easily if the storytelling wasn't such a huge mess.
12. "Wonder Woman 1984" (2020)
Patty Jenkins' has the same sort of qualities that made "Superman: The Movie" so appealing. It's earnest, sincere and serious, but not silly or gritty or full of irony.
11. "Zack Snyder's Justice League" (2021)
It's obnoxiously long and actually makes less sense than the theatrical cut. But this is still the quintessential Zack Snyder experience -- and thus it is just such a cool movie to watch. What it lacks in brains it makes up for with sheer audacity.
10. "Batman Forever" (1995)
Hits just the right tone for what Joel Shumacher was trying to do with the two films he directed. Tommy Lee Jones, as Two Face, is doing stuff in this movie that is hard to believe even today, given his perpetual sour face in nearly every other movie he's been in.
9. "The LEGO Batman Movie" (2017)
Funny, sweet and self-deprecating -- exactly what we needed in the wake of the disaster that was "Batman v Superman."
8. "The Dark Knight" (2008)
Should be way shorter, but Heath Ledger's Joker is far and away the best villain in any of these movies. Ledger elevates what would otherwise be just another self-indulgent Christopher Nolan exercise into an endlessly watchable picture.
7. "Superman: The Movie" (1978)
This is the gold standard of Superman movies, and was the best superhero movie bar none for many, many years. John Williams' score soars, and so does the believable and compelling romance between Superman and Lois Lane. The film convincingly blended camp (in the form of Gene Hackman's wonderful Lex Luthor), an epic origin story that actually felt epic, and funny lines. The scene in which Supes and Lois fly together is one of the most beautiful metaphors for new love ever captured on film.
6. "Batman Returns" (1992)
One of the best of the franchise because it's really just a political thriller. The Penguin emerges from the sewer and runs for mayor of Gotham! It's great stuff, especially as we continue to watch the rise of Trump in our world.
5. "Constantine" (2005)
A happy balance of serious and ridiculous, manages to find exactly the right tone for this weird religious fantasy and a cast led by Keanu Reeves. They all seem to get it.
4. "Batman: The Movie" (1966)
Has a timelessness that none of the other films do, and it's just a delight from beginning to end thanks to Adam West's winking Batman and the coalition of villains who can't stop cackling maniacally. Watching it again recently, I found it functions almost perfectly as a parody of the super-serious Christopher Nolan Batfilms, which is incredible.
3. "Aquaman" (2018)
It's not often that we get a comic book movie that is: full on ridiculous; loves how ridiculous it is; and is made with skill by a legitimately great filmmaker. James Wan's "Aquaman" is all of that, and it's just a wonderful experience.
2. "Batman Begins" (2005)
The most complete film, on its own, in the entire live-action franchise. It's just, like, a regular movie... except it's about Batman. It has actual characters and everything, and Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne even has emotions. It's weird.
1. "The Suicide Squad" (2021)
After Disney caved to a bad faith campaign to have director James Gunn fired, Gunn responded by making one of the best and most raw comic book movies ever. It's gross, funny, mean and heartfelt -- this is the work of a director at the very top of his game.
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James Gunn’s cynical action flick is a blast, but how does it stack up against the other great movies based on DC Comics?
Films based on DC properties go back nearly a century to those ancient Batman and Superman serials. That's a lot of history -- how does James Gunn's violent and hilarious "The Suicide Squad" stack up against everything that's come before?
