Friday, October 18, 2019

Who Is The Best Joker? Part 2



I recently saw the Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. I loved the movie and it got me to thinking about a previous blog post I did years ago where I ranked the best portrayals of the Joker in film. As I was reading it I realized that it had been six years since I wrote that and in that time there has been two more versions of the character to make it to film. Everyone immediately thinks of Heath Ledger as the best to ever play the character. I like that he is such a strange character that has no set in stone origin that as long as you can make it funny, weird, or entertaining I'll watch it. Just make sure his hair is green, his face is white, and he is scary. So in this post I am gonna add to the list. Click here if you want to read that and realize that this post is gonna have spoilers for the latest Joker movie.

Jared Leto as The Joker


It seems that with the Joker the latest one is the best one...except in this case. I think we can all agree that Jared Leto's version of the Joker was pure ass. I was mad when I first saw the images and people said that the tattoos were not real for the movie. Yeah. Ya lied. They were. I am having trouble even trying to figure out what his personality was. They did not give him an actual backstory or anything that was worth remembering. Wait. They show some flashbacks to when he was torturing Harley Quinn. He apparently killed Robin and Batman knocked his teeth out. One of the problems with these DC movies is a lot of telling and not showing.

I know that Leto was hurt that he was not asked back for anymore films but I can bet there is a reason why. Leto was said to have played “pranks” on the cast during filming I guess to get into character. Harmless pranks like not talking to cast members. Dirty condoms and anal beads because if there's one thing you associate the Joker with its anal beads, am I right?! Having a dead pigs head dropped on set for the cast. Sent a live rat. Sticky Playboy magazines. Sent everyone a dildo and switchblade. Sounds like a fun guy. I never need to see anymore of this version of the character. Ever.

Joaquin Phoenix as Joker


This movie is all about Joker. He has a name, a shaky ass past, and they even through in the Wayne family being gunned down in the alley for good measure. Never need to see that ever again. This Joker makes you feel bad for him. He has serious mental issues, is not receiving the proper help, has a mother that is also out of it, his coworkers have no respect for him, and he gets made fun of on national television. Its a lot. They managed to make me feel bad for him and while some of the people he killed for sure deserved it there were others that did not. What made the killings in this feel different is that this movie feels like a more real setting so the killings feel more “Holy shit!” than “Yeah, get 'em!”

I'm not gonna say that Phoenix's version of Joker is the best one but it is by far the most complex and understandable. The most relatable as well which is weird knowing that I'm talking about the damn Joker. Villains have become more complex in superhero/comic based movies. You can't just slap a giant laser in the middle of the city and want to take over the world, blow the world up, or turn everyone into a creature. I don't want every villain made the way Joker was in this because I like some cheese and not everything needs to be grounded in reality. But DC took a really good step forward with this. Please don't try this again. I talked mad shit about this movie when it was announced as a possibility and am happy to be wrong.

Click here for previous Who Is The Best?

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