Joker - Warner Bros. movie

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by BigRichard

Definitely thought it looked good. I absolutely loved Heath Ledger as The Joker but it always pissed me off that we never got to see how he got to that point.

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Some of the mental illness aspects of this look just a hair too damned real.

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Only thing I don't really care for is the Joker almost seems..... sympathetic?

No one just wakes up one day and says, "I want to be a villain." Everyone has a backstory, and most of them are probably tragic or twisted. Villains with no motivation are less interesting, as are villains who can't encourage at least a little sympathy from the audience. That's what made Thanos so interesting, because he actually believed that the Snapture was a good thing for the universe. Ditto for Magneto. (Not like this is a new thing, though, they've been doing it as far back as Danny DeVito's Penguin.) The bottom line is, everyone has a tragic backstory in life, but it's what you choose to do with that: do you choose to become a villain? In the same manner that movies show how a superpower isn't inherently good or evil, it's what you choose to do with it.

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

He's got the laugh down.

Only thing I don't really care for is the Joker almost seems..... sympathetic?

Still looks ****ing amazing.

sympathetic til he snaps and goes completely nuts....can't wait for that.

hope it's rated R

[FAX]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

He's got the laugh down.

Only thing I don't really care for is the Joker almost seems..... sympathetic?

Still looks ****ing amazing.

In all of literature, sympathetic villains are the very best kind, Mr. Superturtle.

Othello, Shylock, Macbeth ... or say, Karla from the Smiley novels. They each had some sort of heartbreak, enigmatical love, or other relatable rationale as a motivation for their evil deeds.

The best antagonists have an incentive that stimulates audience empathy. Except for, perhaps, that Mr. Black Bob guy ...

FAX

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by FAX

In all of literature, sympathetic villains are the very best kind, Mr. Superturtle.

Othello, Shylock, Macbeth ... or say, Karla from the Smiley novels. They each had some sort of heartbreak, enigmatical love, or other relatable rationale as a motivation for their evil deeds.

The best antagonists have an incentive that stimulates audience empathy. Except for, perhaps, that Mr. Black Bob guy ...

FAX

I generally agree, but I think the Joker is a rare exception. His entire persona relies on being a total mystery. He's pure id, chaotic and unreasonable. His motives always shift and his behavior is erratic enough to stymie the world's greatest detective. Explaining how he got there kind of ruins the fun in some ways.

That said, The Killing Joke gave him a backstory and it managed to be one of the best Batman stories ever written so...

I think a whole movie of him becoming the Joker is pretty unnecessary, but I love Joaquin Phoenix and the trailer looks good so I'm in. Of course I'm the kind of fan that likes when movies do crazy stuff with established characters. All that matters to me is if it's a good movie or not.

[Gravedigger]

Looks pretty damn good.