by: keaton marcus

He started an outcast

In the haunting and dramatic final trailer for Warner Brothers’ “Joker”, the stand-alone prequel for the villain, the fanatic started out an outcast in a clown suit. In the beginning, he was a street performer, and not a very good one in fact, we also Joker was mercilessly bullied and beat during his job, something just ticked inside of him. After the many years of walking the streets, he began to own his clown suit, becoming proud of who he was. Protests, fires and trouble with the police, apparently, this was the start of the troubled time-line of the murderous criminal. While we will get much more when the anticipated film is released, the second teaser certainly tells the story of a nobody-turned-somebody tale for all the wrong reasons.

Considering his back-story, “Joker” is obviously more of a drama than an action film. It’s much more different than his previous appearances in films such as “The Dark Knight” starring Christian Bale, or even “Batman” released in 1989 and starring Michael Keaton. It’s not just as much of a blockbuster, he also stands alone as he main character, which could be a refreshing plot turn from the fatiguing hero-beats-villain shenanigans. Joaquin Phoenix is playing the title role, and he looks a bit too excellent, perfectly chosen for the dark-humored, smiling monster of a human. Closing, the first major thing we have noticed is that his backstory looks like something worth a damn watch.

Robert De Niro is a huge part of the story

Another notable, and surprising note happens to be Robert De Niro becoming a big part in the origins of Joker, or should I say Arthur Fleck. De Niro plays talk-show host Murray Franklin, straight outta Gotham. Audiences are comparing his part of Franklin to his role in “The King of Comedy”, where he plays another talk show host. We didn’t quite know this before, but Franklin and Arthur actually meet in the duration of the picture. De Niro’s character actually happens to showcase Arthur for stand-up comedy in a scene, but it looks to be another one of Joker’s signature traps. As Arthur’s one request is that he is to be introduced as the “Joker”. Why so serious?

It doesn’t quite fit in with the “Batman” films

There have been various Jokers in the DC comic-film inter-connected series. Jack Nicholson was the first to play the villain in a feature film in 89’s “Batman” (mentioned before). He was not however, the best, but far from the worst either. If you really want the real deal, go and watch Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”, which features a darker, and more horror film antagonist Joker than the previous attempts. “Joker”, however, is different, and is more of a “gritty character study”. There’s no hero to stop him, no explosive action sequences, none of this meets the booming quota for the DCEU. Despite the franchise’s honorable efforts, this 40 million production is an R-rated, drama, and does not connect in any way to the 200+ million tagged for “Batman v Superman” or “Man of Steel”. This could be a good thing, as many installments have certainly not met the quality bar they were aiming for.

This could be the best film in the franchise

The DCEU’s average Lemonradar being only 54/100 “sour”, it could be a refreshing new start to a struggling, action laden superhero franchise. Sure, “Wonder Woman”, “Shazam!” and “Aquaman” are all above 60% on the Lemonradar, which means the series has been improving, but the majority of the pictures are in the “sour” range even still. “Joker” is directed by Todd Phillips who is known for helming a range of comedies, which could be a risk. Phillips directed “Old School”, “Borat”, and even “The Hangover” franchise, which is sporadically impressive, but not quite for this film. This conflicts with the whole “this might show the real side of the DCEU” sort of thing, with the modest budget and all, but there should be some comedic moments in “Joker” However, back to the “sporadic” point, this is not a comedy, it’s not supposed to make audiences laugh! Though who am I to Tell Mr. Phillips off, it’s a bold move for the guy, and believe me, he’s got the talent to pull it off.

Its a clown revolution!

We don’t know for sure who started it, but in the trailer, there are many violent protests. In the rallies, the protesters seem to be donning clown masks, and even a poster saying “we are all clowns”. This could be defending Arthur’s alternate identity, Joker, after his crimes, but it didn’t reveal too much. It sure is dramatic, and does spell some big trouble with the coppers, and adds considerably to the film’s hard R-rating for some anticipated brutal violence. We will see when the film is released, but the protesting looks to be a key part of the film.

The picture opens everywhere October 4th this year, so do the clown-masked villain a favor and put on a happy face!