'Joker' trailer: Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips riff on 'Taxi Driver' and 'The King of Comedy' in first look at supervillain saga
If you've ever wondered why Warner Bros. loves going back to the Joker over and over again, especially when many other DC villains haven't received their turn in the limelight, the answer seems pretty simple: he's a cash cow. The Clown Prince of Crime is arguably one of the easiest characters to market in Hollywood history, an instant asset to any superhero film that incorporates his penchant for comic villainy. Just look at Jack Nicholson's turn in Tim Burton's Batman, Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, or even Jared Leto's supporting role in Suicide Squad, a film that was vastly more anticipated simply because of his presence in the cast.
So even though a standalone origin story for the Joker seemed unnecessary on paper, it's not all that complex when you really dig into it. However, what seems to have taken most people by surprise is the thought that this upcoming film, simply titled Joker, might actually be good.
At first, a gritty, R-rated riff on Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy through the prism of a superhero movie sounds.... well, like kind of a stupid idea. Didn't we already move past DC's dark'n'gritty phase? But throw Joaquin Phoenix into the mix, and suddenly things get a lot more interesting. After ecstatic reactions at last night's CinemaCon, Warner Bros. released the full trailer for Joker this morning- watch it below!
In my estimation, Joaquin Phoenix is one of the best actors working today. In a rare Hollywood move, he previously resisted roles in the mainstream superhero genre, opting to collaborate with Paul Thomas Anderson, Lynne Ramsay, James Gray, and Jacques Audiard rather than signing a multi-film contract to play Doctor Strange in the Marvel movies. So when I learned that Phoenix had finally agreed to do a comic book film, my hopes were immediately high. Somehow this looks even better than what I expected?
Despite all the talk of this film being almost a straight remake of Scorsese's The King of Comedy, which features an aspiring (and deranged) stand-up comedian played by Robert De Niro seeking fame and fortune by kidnapping his idol (Jerry Lewis), I'm sensing that the Taxi Driver influence is much, much stronger. The grimy streets, the dirty movie theaters, the sheer overwhelming presence of an industrial city- these are all very clearly nods to a certain kind of 1970s sub-genre. After already riffing on Taxi Driver a little in Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here, I'm slightly surprised to see Phoenix go back to that well so quickly, although this looks like a very different performance from him. He's disturbingly thin here, and there's something both unnerving and immediately fascinating about this brief glimpse of his Joker.
By and large, this is a marvelous and eye-catching trailer, indicating that we might see something pretty spectacular come October. I like the emphasis on the Joker as an actual clown, roaming the streets of Gotham; if you look closely, there's a perfect little nod to Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times. Plus, take one look at this supporting cast and you'll probably be sold- Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro (!), Brian Tyree Henry, Shea Whigham, Frances Conroy, and more. This one is gonna be legit.
Joker opens in theaters on October 4, 2019.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
So even though a standalone origin story for the Joker seemed unnecessary on paper, it's not all that complex when you really dig into it. However, what seems to have taken most people by surprise is the thought that this upcoming film, simply titled Joker, might actually be good.
At first, a gritty, R-rated riff on Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy through the prism of a superhero movie sounds.... well, like kind of a stupid idea. Didn't we already move past DC's dark'n'gritty phase? But throw Joaquin Phoenix into the mix, and suddenly things get a lot more interesting. After ecstatic reactions at last night's CinemaCon, Warner Bros. released the full trailer for Joker this morning- watch it below!
In my estimation, Joaquin Phoenix is one of the best actors working today. In a rare Hollywood move, he previously resisted roles in the mainstream superhero genre, opting to collaborate with Paul Thomas Anderson, Lynne Ramsay, James Gray, and Jacques Audiard rather than signing a multi-film contract to play Doctor Strange in the Marvel movies. So when I learned that Phoenix had finally agreed to do a comic book film, my hopes were immediately high. Somehow this looks even better than what I expected?
Despite all the talk of this film being almost a straight remake of Scorsese's The King of Comedy, which features an aspiring (and deranged) stand-up comedian played by Robert De Niro seeking fame and fortune by kidnapping his idol (Jerry Lewis), I'm sensing that the Taxi Driver influence is much, much stronger. The grimy streets, the dirty movie theaters, the sheer overwhelming presence of an industrial city- these are all very clearly nods to a certain kind of 1970s sub-genre. After already riffing on Taxi Driver a little in Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here, I'm slightly surprised to see Phoenix go back to that well so quickly, although this looks like a very different performance from him. He's disturbingly thin here, and there's something both unnerving and immediately fascinating about this brief glimpse of his Joker.
By and large, this is a marvelous and eye-catching trailer, indicating that we might see something pretty spectacular come October. I like the emphasis on the Joker as an actual clown, roaming the streets of Gotham; if you look closely, there's a perfect little nod to Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times. Plus, take one look at this supporting cast and you'll probably be sold- Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro (!), Brian Tyree Henry, Shea Whigham, Frances Conroy, and more. This one is gonna be legit.
Joker opens in theaters on October 4, 2019.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
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