Joker (5 Stars)

I saw this film in the cinema in October 2019, and I was amazed. It didn't look like a DC film at all, and I say that as a compliment. It takes a different angle on the character who's been in the comics since 1940 and in films since 1966. In all the previous iterations of the Joker, he was a monster that we immediately hated. This time Joaquin Phoenix has done what he does best: he's presented a bad guy with a heart and soul that we can sympathise with. When he kills the Wall Street workers on the subway train, we can understand why he did it. Even when he kills his mother, we see that it's because she treated him badly as a child. By the end of the film we know that he's a bad person, but we can't help asking ourselves if we'd be any different if we'd been in his position.

There have been on and off rumours about a sequel ever since the film was made. All I can say is that I hope not. "Joker" is such a colossal piece of art that I can't imagine anything living up to it. Joaquin Phoenix won an Oscar as Best Actor for this film. Now let him quit while he's at the peak.

It's curious that the film isn't available on Blu-ray in the USA. I hope it's only temporarily out of print. I know that streaming services are being pushed more aggressively in America than in other countries, but by now people should know that Blu-ray offers better quality than streaming.

Success Rate:  + 17.5

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