DC has more often than not had it spot-on when it comes to villains; looking at Scarecrow, The Riddler and of course, the Joker, however recently they seem to have hit a bump in the road. In ‘Suicide Squad’ we were presented with something many would rather forget. Cara Delevingne’s ‘Enchantress’ was so off-brand for DC and while her acting was acceptable, her seeming replacement of the Joker as the main bad guy is what shot that film down, since he was still a character within the film. Jared Leto’s rendition of the Joker however; that is what got the audience’s blood boiling – his ‘gangster’ appearance and mannerisms were upsetting to say the least and is unfortunately our last memory of DC’s most popular anti-hero.
Joker: Put on a happy face
It isn’t just DC’s lack of the Joker (or bad versions of him) that have stumped DC’s brilliant films, lesser known villains such as Steppenwolf from 2017’s ‘Justice League’ have tried to make their mark in the fictional world – and despite this baddie’s plans for world domination, he couldn’t even manage to dominate the screen. The passable CGI and half-decent dialogue made him a very forgettable villain indeed. While sales indicate the film did well ($659.9M grossed from a $300M budget), it still isn’t up to the standards DC used to set. Films such as ‘The Dark Knight’ and even 1989’s ‘Batman’ with Jack Nicholson as the Joker, are losing their ‘wow factor’ as films like ‘Justice League’ are big, but not good. Now, when we talk about the Joker, we expect violence, terrifying laughter and a controlling attitude; the last version of the Joker we got was more or less a polar opposite, and his relationship with Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) in ‘Suicide Squad’ went against their usual, hateful relationship in every way, especially when we look at the comics.
The Joker’s first comic book appearance made its mark in April 1940, ‘Batman’ #1. The Joker has been Batman’s nemesis ever since his first comic debut, and it is this relationship that has kept fans interested for decades. The Joker’s appearance in this comic seems to match that of both Nicholson’s Joker and Heath Ledger’s Joker; combining cunning intellect similar to Ledger’s Joker and chilling charisma similar to Nicholson’s performance – the first Joker is the one that seems to be default, and for good reason. While the comics are something to admire in the sense of how good of a villain the Joker is, we must of course mention another brilliant top-of-the-chart Joker: Mark Hamill. Hamill’s version of the Joker was absolutely brilliant, down to voice alone. Hamill voiced the Joker in the ‘Arkham’ games trilogy from 2009-2013, and it was magnificent. His commitment to truly being the Clown Prince of Crime was captivating – perhaps even more so that Leto’s live action portrayal. Even in book form, the Joker has a fascinating presence – in ‘Mad Love’, a book (written by Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan) about how Harleen Quinzel became the Queen of crime Harley Quinn. The Joker is the reason for her downfall as he wanted to prove that someone so good and focused could be brought down to his level. Even in words and with no voice, he is tenacious.
The Joker has been embodied by many actors across DC’s timeline; Jack Nicholson, Cesar Romero, and now Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix has a lot of films under his belt, such as ‘Walk the Line’ in 2005 which was remarkable – his portrayal of Jonny Cash made you want to immediately go out and buy Cash’s albums and biography. Many of his films do seem to be low brow however, so seeing him in a film like ‘Joker’ will certainly be interesting. Phoenix seems to be the right choice for this film, as his preparation and dedication for this film is incredible as his interview with Empire magazine showed; he truly seems to have poured his very soul into this character. With the Joker being a demanding role to play, Phoenix will have to bear all to match up to Ledger’s portrayal – as it can starkly be considered the best version of the Joker within a film.
The trailer for ‘Joker’ is odd, as the first look did not seem to hype up the film itself but simply say ‘here I am’ as it was introduced to audiences. However, watching more trailers and seeing the different angle this film is taking on the Clown Prince of Crime is exciting and new, as the director has opted out of basing this character on anything from the past such as comics or other films - Phoenix’s Joker is simply the Joker. But the most interesting part of the film is that the Joker has a backstory. No Joker has ever had such a backstory before; sure, Nicholson’s Joker had a story, but not like this. A 10-minute backstory in the midst of a Batman centred film is nothing compared to a whole film dedicated to the psychopath himself. The Joker has never been focused on in this way before, so to see the origin of a man who has been hidden for decades is something to be excited for. This film, stripped of CGI and without the aura of a ‘big Hollywood hit’ still has colossal potential to be DC’s shining star. A simple, cut and dry focused film is something lacking in today’s film industry, to get that with the Joker on the throne is truly something to marvel at.
By Melissa Allen
Twitter: @melissajournal