The Joker

I recently managed to see “The Joker”, the film with Joaquim Phoenix, representing the most recent take on the popular Batman villain.  I did not feel compelled to see it in the movie theater when it came out, and took my time tracking it down on DVD, eventually finding it in a Redbox kiosk as Netflix listed it as “eternal wait”.  Apparently everyone wants to see this film. 

Before getting into my (fairly brief) review, I’ll profile the other major depictions, limiting myself to the Batman TV series and the movies.  To say I don’t have the patience to watch animated versions or comic book versions in the limited span of my life I have left would be understatement.   I’ll also ignore the 1920s guy who started the whole thing and who I can’t even be bothered to look up on the Interweb.

Batman TV series (1966-68).  Actor: Caesar Romero.  The first one, as far as I’m concerned.  Colorful and charismatic.  I watched some of these as a kid but never saw fit to watch the entire series from start to finish – and I’m not going to start now.  Did he define the role?  I’d say he certainly gave it a start. 

Batman (1989). Actor: Jack Nicholson.   Michael Keaton played Batman.  Nicholson delved into the role with the same enthusiasm and panache as Romero did.   “This town needs an enema,” he professes to his henchman, not to the public at large.  Nicholson balanced menace with annoying and got it just about right, but left me satisfied with the ending.

The Dark Knight (2008).  Actor: Heath Ledger.  Christian Bale played Batman.  This seems to be everyone’s favorite.  I found him immensely annoying, especially this inexplicable power to instantaneously rig Gotham City in its entirety for explosives.  I also didn’t find him nearly as clever as he thought he was, even down to wearing a white nurse’s uniform.  Ledger’s OD on drugs spared us from a sequel.   

Suicide Squad (2016). Actor: Jared Leto.  This seems to be the least favorite, and I found Leto made him just as annoying as the other versions, no more so.  The movie is stolen by Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) anyway.  I liked the rest of the cast.   Batman himself is absent, but Ben Affleck does show up as Bruce Wayne. 

Joker (2019).  Played by Joaquim Phoenix.  Oddly, they set this when Bruce Wayne is just a boy, so Batman is absent from this version.   The twist here is that instead of being criminally insane, but intelligent, the Joker is just a mentally deficient nobody who snaps and kills someone he perceived was making fun of him.  Whoopee, that’s it.  So we’re supposed to believe that his makeup and costume give him enough wit and intelligence to take on Batman on an equal level?  Please.  Count me among the apparent minority who aren’t impressed with this version.   

Harley Quinn.  Actually, having just seen “Birds of Prey”, the standalone Harley Quinn film, a word about her is in order.  Of course I did NOT read any of the comics with her in original format, so my sole exposure to her is “Suicide Squad” and this one.  Apparently Joker broke up with her, so she spends the entire film doing something that doesn’t involve him.   It involves an annoying Asian girl who swallows a diamond, a few other women – oddly, Ali Wong is here as a D.A. and does not get all superheroine-y – and faces off against Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), the latter sinking his teeth into an unusual role and enjoying every minute of it.  Rosie Perez also does well here. 

To be honest, I find Harley Quinn only marginally less annoying than the Joker, the difference being that as a female at least she has some remote sexual attractiveness which the male characters, by their nature, lack.   But over several characters, the Joker himself is ultimately an eccentric, highly annoying asshole overly impressed with his own wit.  Bravo (slow, sarcastic applause).