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?
No comments:
Post a Comment