That Guy Donny

When I first watched this movie, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It is a movie that will stay with you with the songs of choice, the images they share, and the words and the actions these characters perform. And the more I have thought about this movie, the more I truly appreciate it. First off the acting is absolutely incredible. That’s a given with Joaquin Phoenix, but all the supporting cast play their parts so well. And also the music is all covered and is absolutely incredible and chilling at times. With Joaquin Phoenix truly stealing the show with both his performance and his singing. The way they turn some wholesome songs into a vessel of manipulation or into a sad delving into the mind of the characters is beautiful, and just as the first Joker, it is immensely complex. I saw someone try and say this is a “jukebox musical” when the songs are very strategically placed and picked out. After watching the movie the lyrics of these songs will stick with you and make you see these songs from a different angle completely. If the first movie was about society failing the mentally ill from every level from familial to branches of government, then this second movie shows the aftermath and how quickly our society will abuse the mentally ill for their own goals and just as quickly end them. Overall, I think this movie challenges you. It has harsh views of reality. The manipulation people do to get their own goals, to have power over you. The struggles of a system that refuses to hear the unheard. The struggles of being manipulated in a weak state. How our society craves the destruction of others and how preyful media and entertainment is on the mentally ill. Even struggling with mental illness while this is ongoing. The use of music to show the highs of Arthur hiding behind his new created Joker persona and watching the sudden crash when it crumbles is incredible. This movie challenges your empathy, and your outlook on what it must be like to be struggling like this.

I don’t bother writing reviews because I find it dumb, but I just wanted to talk about how great of a turn this movie made me feel towards DC movies entirely. The action scenes are phenomenal, and the way they bring these characters makes you connect with them both emotionally and mentally. The way it even makes you connect to the big bad enemy (not saying his name just not to spoil it for any long time dc fans) in the end with a single line before he dies just shows how much they thought about everything in this movie. I applaud Warner brothers for letting these people make the movie they envisioned cause it not only captured the serious tone of DC, but the campy side as well and embraces the weirdness that these mix of characters have to face! I am praying this is a sign that Warner bros have learned their lesson, as this movie was genuinely surprisingly well writtten, directed, and incredibly animated! These people actually feel like people. Their motives are incredibly deep and makes some of these characters deaths all the more sadder. I have to say this to anyone who has seen a DC movie in the past and say, give this one a chance. It is a far cry from the tampered garbage that we were given in the past by Warner bros and it shows with how it captivates you with just the characters alone.