Joker | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

It had me at the beginning and the last half hour or more is superb, but Phillips earnest, deliberate efforts to tie it into the DC Comics universe and heavy-handed stab at making it germane to socioeconomic issues hurt my suspension of disbelief.

Joker, directed by Todd Phillips, is the worst kind of bad film. It’s a technically proficient and gorgeously presented falsehood. One that rejects responsibility as it strives to understand and empathize with the stereotypical white mass murderer.

The environment and its atmosphere are a central aspect narratively, that is why Joker begins with a description of that city which, like New York from Taxi Driver, is represented as a putrid place with social violence and rising class resentment.

Joker is what so many controversial films turn out to be: it’s fine — neither masterpiece nor trash fire, well-executed in some parts and poorly thought out in others.