Eric Godfrey

I think everyone out there wants absolute control over all aspects of a movie. Far too much complaining. Thoroughly enjoyed this and I think they tied up a ton of ends very well in great feel good movie that also was not a fairy-tale totally happy ending. I saw the first one when I was 11 (Episode 4) and have seen all of them opening weekends. Not all were great but most were very good and enjoyable. This is NOT the worst movie in the series as many have stated.

This movie was disturbing and sad from beginning to end. There is no joy in Jokerville. He commented at one point that he had not had one moment of happiness in his entire life and the same thing could be said for this movie. It is thought provoking, Joaquin Phoenix is amazing in his portrayal.. You feel bad for him, you wish you could help, you hope he gets a break and they keep dragging the character and the feeling further into the abyss of doom. It makes it's point that society is to blame for many issues, but it almost seems like it is trying to justify or absolve their behavior because of it. Instead of featuring the character and building a larger story the entire movie engulfs you in sadness, misery and maybe even rage and leaves you feeling a big lump of negative feelings. So, I did not enjoy that journey. Critical acclaim may follow but if you are looking for something entertaining and fun to watch this will leave you empty unless you are like one of the many rioters who follow his behavior and idolize him, then you may like it. Honestly to me it is a scary premise. If I knew what I know now, I would have waited for DVD on this one. One last thing, while they call this "Joker", the character they portray is not capable of being a criminal mastermind of any kind. They portray him as slow, below average, incapable of managing his own life, leave alone a criminal empire. BIG DISCONNECT, between that and the Super-Criminal of DC comics. Many aspects of this movie are done very well and I personally thought Joaquin Phoenix and Robert DeNiro were awesome, but I really wanted more of a story and less angst.