Joker (2019)

Praises the gritty, socially conscious take, Phoenix's chilling compelling turn, and its relevance as a study of how monsters are made.

The critic calls it a brilliantly visceral reinvention with a devastating, magnetic performance from Phoenix, highlighting its nightmarish vision of capitalism and psychological depth.

More character study than comic book movie, Joker is a bravura blockbuster anchored by an Oscar-worthy Joaquin Phoenix that goes deeper, darker and more disturbing than any other in the genre.

The critic hails the film as a hypnotically perverse and gripping urban nightmare that expresses real-world issues through its comic-book lens. He singles out Joaquin Phoenix's astonishing, mesmerizing performance as the damaged protagonist for particular praise.

It delivers a fan-servicing blockbuster that highlights what is captivating about the character while offering a sobering critique of the nihilism; praises Phoenix's raw talent and the psychologically complex character study.

The critic highlights Joaquin Phoenix’s mesmerising physical performance as the film’s ace card in this divisive reimagining of the comic villain. The film draws on Scorsese influences for its dyspeptic worldview but earns raw power from the lead turn amid moral backlash over its embittered tone.

The critic praises the film's atmospheric neo-noir style and Phoenix's riveting performance as the Joker, highlighting the pathos brought to the disenfranchised character and its social commentary.

The critic praises Joaquin Phoenix's magnetic performance as the alienated antihero but criticizes the film's ideological confusion and superficial ideas, while noting it is a thrill to watch on entertainment factor.

The critic dismisses the film as an empty and shallow exercise in second-hand style that is not interesting enough to argue about. He singles out its lack of coherent themes or imaginative contact with the real world for complaint.

The critic finds the film tedious and opportunistic, criticizing its repetitive one-note portrayal of violence and resentment, though acknowledging Phoenix's performance.

The critic calls the film a miserabilist manifesto and a calculated product rather than a work of art, complaining that it invites viewers to watch violence grow without serious interest in its causes. He praises Joaquin Phoenix's physical performance and control.

The film is a bold, devastating and utterly beautiful reimagining of the comic book movie, liberated from the DC Universe and focused entirely on character. Phoenix delivers an astonishing, captivating performance as Arthur Fleck.

Joker is a surprising, impressive and entertaining high-impact pastiche of Scorsese films with a tour-de-force performance from Phoenix, but the film endorses resentments in a way that leaves a hateful aftertaste.

The critic argues that the film bungles its relation to violence through derivative Scorsese aping and fails to meaningfully engage its politics or social themes. Phoenix's grotesque physical performance is singled out as compelling yet ultimately part of a flawed, aesthetically driven whole.

The critic hails the film as an instant classic and outstanding edge-of-your-seat psychodrama, crediting Phoenix's tour-de-force performance for making an anti-hero both repulsive and compelling. It singles out the assured direction and melancholic tone punctuated by shocking violence for particular praise.

The review praises the film as a gritty, unsettling character study unlike typical comic-book movies, with an extraordinary transformative performance from Phoenix at its center. It singles out the strong '70s New York-inspired world-building and sustained edge-of-your-seat tension for praise.

The critic describes the film as an exercise in empty provocations and button-pushing that is not a total failure but ultimately celebrates its own nihilistic emptiness, with Phoenix's performance and striking images providing some compensation amid the trolling and self-referentiality.

The critic finds Joaquin Phoenix's physical performance impressive yet ultimately unable to elevate the material, as the film offers a shallow portrait of its protagonist and fails to deliver meaningful commentary. Phillips' stylistic choices prioritize grim imagery over substance or insight into mental illness or class issues.

The film is a visually impressive but ultimately disjointed and unpleasant origin story that falls apart after the midpoint into directionless nihilism. Phoenix's committed performance stands out amid otherwise wasted supporting roles and a lack of moral or thematic coherence.

The film is an exquisitely crafted but ultimately hollow period piece that borrows heavily from Scorsese without adding much new to the Joker's backstory beyond mental illness and abuse. Phoenix's divisive, highly performative turn as Arthur Fleck is the main element singled out.