Over the weekend Joker had its worldwide premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Director Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix and Zazie Beetz were on hand to debut the movie to what was reportedly an eight minute standing ovation.
Following the premiere the review embargo for the movie lifts and a slew of (almost entirely) glowing reviews hit the web. The film currently holds a score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes showing that Warner Bros. potentially has a big hit on its hands.
Here’s a look at some of the top reviews:
Time Out
This is a truly nightmarish vision of late-era capitalism – arguably the best social horror film since Get Out – and Joaquin Phoenix is magnetic in it. [5/5]
The Wrap
If you strip the Joker and his nearly 80-year history as a cultural icon out of this film, as well as all the 1970s movie homages, there’s not a whole lot left except for Phoenix’s performance, and it’s the kind of turn that’s destined to be divisive.
London Evening Standard
Nobody who sees this new film will ever need any other version. [5/5]
Screen International
“Joker” achieves two contradictory goals simultaneously, delivering a blockbuster that highlights what is eternally captivating about the character, while at the same time offering a sobering critique of the nihilism that has long been the Joker’s M.O.
Deadline Hollywood
Joaquin Phoenix kills it in dark, timely DC origin movie that is no laughing matter. Will he be second Joker to win an Oscar? [5/5]
ComicBook.com
Whether Joker is a social commentary on issues such as poverty or mental illness, a new mysterious take on the best known DC Comics villain, or another unforgettable piece of cinema by Martin Scorsese, you’ll need to see to believe it. [5/5]
The Independent (UK)
What do you get when you take a poor, mentally unstable loner and you treat him like trash? The answer given in Todd Phillips’s ingenious new feature is Batman’s arch nemesis, the Joker. [4/5]
Empire Magazine
Bold, devastating and utterly beautiful, Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have not just reimagined one of the most iconic villains in cinema history, but reimagined the comic book movie itself. [5/5]
TIME Magazine
Phillips may want us to think he’s giving us a movie all about the emptiness of our culture, but really, he’s just offering a prime example of it.
Nerd Reactor
Joker is wild, crazy, and intense, and I was left speechless by the end of the film. Joaquin Phoenix delivers a spine-chilling performance. Todd Phillips has done to the Joker what Nolan has done to Batman with an origin story that feels very real.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylf-0hafTccJoker centres around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.
The film stars Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, also starring are Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.
Phillips directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with writer Scott Silver, based on characters from DC. The film is being produced by Phillips and Bradley Cooper under their Joint Effort banner, and Emma Tillinger Koskoff. It is executive produced by Richard Baratta, Joseph Garner and Bruce Berman.
Joker is in cinemas now! For all our Joker coverage head to our archive!
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