JOKER (2019): Early Buzz & Reactions from 21 Film Critics

Joker Early Buzz and Reactions from 21 Film Critics

Todd Phillips’s Joker (2019) made its world premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and reviews from the premiere have begun pouring in. Almost all of reviews are positive, many lauding the film and in particular Joaquin Phoenix‘s performance in the film. A few of the reviews mention social issue implications of certain events in the film. My rejoinder to that is that Joker is a comic book-based film starring a fictional character that slowly goes clinically insane. Joker should not be taken seriously.

Joker Early Buzz and Reactions from 21 Film Critics

https://twitter.com/davidehrlich/status/1167851481011240962

#Joker is a masterpiece. It's FUCKED UP. This film is sinister and uncomfortable in the best way; I'm actually just shocked it exists… This is a DC film. And it is DARK AND DISTURBING. I am in pure awe and I'm actually delirious. I was not at all expecting that… #Venezia76 pic.twitter.com/tFFVGR2Alh

— Awais (@OasisAwais) August 31, 2019

There will be before Joker. And there will be after Joker. I don't know if the world is ready for this movie. Or maybe it is? It is GNARLY. It is crazy. It is audacious. It doesn't hold back. Wow. I can't believe it exists. But it does. And it's coming.

— Alex B. (@firstshowing) August 31, 2019

https://twitter.com/wayoutstuff/status/1167849407099867136

I’ve seen #Joker and I fully endorse @JimVejvoda’s decision to give it our first film review 10/10 of the year. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. https://t.co/DjD1hi8LFm

— Terri Schwartz (@Terri_Schwartz) August 31, 2019

Joaquin Phoenix gives an absolutely ASTOUNDING performance as #Joker. His work will leave you breathless. I actually said, "Wow" into the darkness as the credits started to roll. This film/performance is going to be up for an Oscar, mark my words. pic.twitter.com/KFdfpfxl9h

— Jenna Busch (@JennaBusch) August 31, 2019

Joaquin Phoenix's performance in #JokerMovie is nothing short of Oscar-worthy. He fully commits to the role mentally and physically. Todd Phillips delivered a game-changing comic book film, and I cannot wait to see it again. #Joker pic.twitter.com/cnrL9bsdR2

— Dorian Parks @ Sundance (@DorianParksnRec) August 31, 2019

I now understand why @wbpictures decided to play the #JokerMovie in Venice and #TIFF. 'Joker' is a great movie. It just so happens to be a comic book movie. #JoaquinPhoenix will absolutely get nominated for an Oscar and the film has a real chance at end of the year awards. pic.twitter.com/0KGyvWZrfi

— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) August 31, 2019

What I love most in JOKER – aside from Phoenix’s guttural performance & some terrific cinematography- is seeing the humanity in this character, even if that humanity slowly slips away. It’s unlike any comic book origin story you’ve seen. Divisive? Probably. But ferociously unique pic.twitter.com/lXtmCyWoIz

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) August 31, 2019

#JOKER will change superhero cinema forever. Sure to be controversial. The film is a literal riot. I just flipped a car with two of the guys from IndieWire. A Guardian reviewer fell down and we all kept running. I stepped on his hand. REALLY impressed with Todd Phillips

— ben mekler (@benmekler) August 31, 2019

I saw #Joker — and it is unlike anything before it. The movie is dark, thrilling, and chilling. An insane masterpiece.

The movie absolutely transcends being a comic book film and acts as a character study which, at times, will make audiences uncomfortable in wild ways. 10/10 pic.twitter.com/2B2mCkzbZy

— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) August 31, 2019

Joker feels like if Scorsese made Taxi Driver as a comic book film. Amazing performance, great score, but I’m not sure it knows what it’s trying to say. Could potentially be dangerous for the wrong person to watch. Some fun twists that make me want to see it again and discuss.

— /Film (@slashfilm) August 31, 2019

Ben Mekler

“Crowd at #Venezia76 went absolutely ballistic for #JOKER. Film is dark, sick, twisted. I’m with a crowd of fellow critics right now, running through the streets of Venice just screaming. Hollering. My legs are tired. We’ve been doing this for hours. Joaquin is an Oscar contender.”  –Ben Mekler

Owen Glieberman

Many have asked, and with good reason: Do we need another Joker movie? Yet what we do need—badly—are comic-book films that have a verité gravitas, that unfold in the real world, so that there’s something more dramatic at stake than whether the film in question is going to rack up a billion-and-a-half dollars worldwide. Joker manages the nimble feat of telling the Joker’s origin story as if it were unprecedented.

Dan Casey

With Joker, Todd Phillips has proven that he is much more than “The Hangover guy” and created one of the most unexpected and rewarding comic book movies since Logan. But simply calling Joker a “comic book movie” does it a disservice; it is a story that feels like it could be about any number of disaffected people who are marginalized by the ruthless world in which we live.

Terri White

Phillips has said that though elements were drawn from 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke (in which the Joker is an unsuccessful stand-up), the film doesn’t follow the comic books. A bold move for a universe with such an ardent fan base, but it’s the film’s greatest asset. Not only does it, and the character, sit completely apart from the rest of the DC Cinematic Universe, but it stands apart from comic book movies entirely (even The Dark Knight, as grounded as it was). It’s a character and a movie that’s liberated, entirely. Free to be whatever and whomever it choose.

Jordan Farley

Going to deeper, darker and more disturbing places than any comic book movie to date, Joker isn’t just a captivating character study, it’s a superhero—or should that be supervillain?—movie like no other.

Joker is so radically different from contemporary comic book cinema – structurally, tonally and morally – that it has more in common with Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy than it does with The Avengers or The Dark Knight. On multiple levels, it’s the most challenging, subversive and nihilistic comic book movie ever made.

Steven Weintraub

If you’re going into Todd Phillips’ Joker movie expecting to see a number of costumed heroes joking around between massive action set pieces, you need to adjust your settings. That’s because Phillips has crafted an intimate, standalone character study that’s extremely influenced by another era of filmmaking. From the way the opening credits play, to the final frames of the movie, Phillips has taken the colorful comic book movie to the dirty, gritty streets of the late 1970s with fantastic results. Trust me, you have never seen a comic book movie like Joker and I’m not sure we will ever get one like this again. – Steven Weintraub (Full Review)

Mark Hughes

“Get ready to rethink what’s possible in comic book movies. Again. In a little over a month, Warner Bros. releases the latest DC Comics adaptation Joker — an origin story of Batman’s arch nemesis — and if you thought The Dark Knight and Logan pushed the boundaries of adult storytelling and Oscar quality for these types of films, Joker is about to up the ante.” – Mark Hughes (Full Review)

Eric Eisenberg

“Joker is bound to be the subject of controversy upon its release, but it’s a controversy that it invites by leaving a great deal open for interpretation. Everybody is going to have their own moment where they view Arthur going one step past “the line.” Everybody is going to have their own take on what’s real, and what’s fantasy. Everybody is going to have their own particular political read. And then all of those opinions are going to flip when the movie is screened a second time. You’ll definitely feel like you’ll need a shower after seeing it, but once you’ve dried off and changed clothes, you’ll want to do nothing else but parse and dissect it.” – Eric Eisenberg (Full Review)

Paul Shirey

“Phillips and Phoenix have crafted a truly unique take on this character and raised the bar of their individual work to boot, paving the way for (hopefully) a wealth of more diverse, compelling and riskier takes on these iconic characters that will challenge our perceptions and leave us with something to chew on for years to come.” – Paul Shirey (Full Review)

Joker Plot Synopsis

Joker‘s plot synopsis: “A failed stand-up comedian…[seduced into Gotham’s criminal underworld in the early 1980s and] driven insane…[to] becomes a psychopathic murderer.”

Joker Cast

Todd Phillips’ Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Shea Whigham, Glenn Fleshler, Brett Cullen, Marc Maron, Douglas Hodge, Josh Pais, and Jolie Chan.

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