The Joker Thread - Part 1

[SwordOfMorning]

Shazam is great and Birds of Prey has major flaws but I like its characters way more than anyone else in the DCEU and while I'm in an extreme minority on this that movies aesthetic is my favourite by far.

 

[AndyTrevino]

Between Affleck's voice modulator and Leto's grills, somehow I don't think there would have been much chemistry on display. Still, it is a pity we didn't see them interact.

Also I liked Shazam a lot. It was a nice change of pace for DC.

I like that it didn't really insist upon itself, but that final battle dragged on for WAAAAAY too long

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Bright was ****ing awesome. One of my favorite movies of that year TBH.

As ever, I admire your very unique taste. God speed on that lonely road you walk.

 

[AndyTrevino]

Shazam is great and Birds of Prey has major flaws but I like its characters way more than anyone else in the DCEU and while I'm in an extreme minority on this that movies aesthetic is my favourite by far.

I liked the BvS/JL aesthetic most. I would've loved to see Michael Wilkinson's take on The Joker.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

What makes Shazam work so well is how bizarrely dark it gets even though its super light and family friendly. Mark Strong feels like a villain from a Snyder movie barreling into a children's film.

 

[Captain Tired]

What makes Shazam work so well is how bizarrely dark it gets even though its super light and family friendly. Mark Strong feels like a villain from a Snyder movie barreling into a children's film.

And the scene of Billy meeting his mother again and having his idealised memory of her be totally shattered. Suddenly, the most lighthearted and comically inclined DCEU film has perhaps the most uncompromisingly dark and emotionally deflating moment in the whole series.

 

[shauner111]

Only watched the first half hour of Shazam and found it funny but i haven’t been in the mood to finish it for some reason. I just don’t care about any of the characters.

Still thought Birds of Prey was fun AF. One of the better DCEU movies.

 

[Rorschach2012]

Ever the contrarian, I thought Shazam was lame. Gave it another shot the other day and still felt pretty meh about it. Jack Dylan Grazer was easily the best part of the film. Zach Levi was not nearly as likeable as they intended him to be in the role. He doesn’t sell immature nearly as well as someone like Chris Pratt (who would’ve been a far better choice).

Mark Strong was really bad. So bland. I’ve never really understood the hype with that dude. I liked him enough as Sinestro and in that Holmes movie but beyond that... boring actor.

 

[Captain Tired]

One thing I didn't like about Shazam was the total disconnect between Billy as a boy and Billy as Captain Marvel. Billy in his Marvel form somehow feels way more immature and goofy than his actual boyhood self. His boyhood self was way more cynical and morose. How that emotional gamut suddenly broadens with his physical transformation is beyond me.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Only watched the first half hour of Shazam and found it funny but i haven’t been in the mood to finish it for some reason. I just don’t care about any of the characters.

Still thought Birds of Prey was fun AF. One of the better DCEU movies.

Ewan McGregor is also head and shoulders above all the other DCEU villain performances. Completely hilarious and genuinely compelling.

If we're talking queer coded villains I'm way more interested in Sionis being coded as a misogynistic gay man than I am in Joker being characterized as some sort of sexually predatory gay man. The former is a Whole Thing that doesn't get talked about a lot and the latter can get real ugly and offensive real fast.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Zach Levi is not a movie star. He’s one step above Jimmy Fallon.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

One thing I didn't like about Shazam was the total disconnect between Billy as a boy and Billy as Captain Marvel. Billy in his Marvel form somehow feels way more immature and goofy than his actual boyhood self. His boyhood self was way more cynical and morose. How that emotional gamut suddenly broadens with his physical transformation is beyond me.

I agree, mostly. It's the biggest issue with the film although it did play better for me when I watched it a second time. My read on it is Billy is so excited and on such a power trip it brings out a totally different side of him. There's still a real disconnect but I think that's what they're going for?

 

[Astro13Zombie]

Only watched the first half hour of Shazam and found it funny but i haven’t been in the mood to finish it for some reason. I just don’t care about any of the characters.

Still thought Birds of Prey was fun AF. One of the better DCEU movies.

I didn’t care much for the movie but I loved Black Mask

 

[Eddie Dean]

Ewan was fun, but it really feels like they couldn’t get Sam Rockwell and told Ewan to just do an impression.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Black Mask in BoP is like a wonderful trinity of Michael Pitt's Mason Verger, Patrick Bateman and during his sweary fits Bernard Black.

 

[Captain Tired]

I agree, mostly. It's the biggest issue with the film although it did play better for me when I watched it a second time. My read on it is Billy is so excited and on such a power trip it brings out a totally different side of him. There's still a real disconnect but I think that's what they're going for?

Sure, I could see that. It was hardly a dealbreaker for me. I just remember that being my biggest and most immediate criticism at the time. That, and also the fact that the Shazam family seemed way too quick to understand and master their powers. Sure, there was a little shakiness from some of them here and there during the big battle, but after a whole movie of Billy filming test runs of his abilities and mostly failing, it felt like a massive cheat heh.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Rockwell could do Joker no problem

 

[AndyTrevino]

Black Mask in BoP is like a wonderful trinity of Michael Pitt's Mason Verger, Patrick Bateman and during his sweary fits Bernard Black.

He felt way more like Joker than the actual Joker and Black Mask themselves.

 

[Rorschach2012]

Hot take: Moon is boring and Sam Rockwell’s performance wasn’t interesting enough to redeem it.

I have a tattoo of Duncan Jones’ father on my arm. I wanted to like him as a director but I just don’t.

 

[Eddie Dean]

I am The Joker now

 

[metaphysician]

Yeah, stuff like the Joker genuinely seeming to love Harley makes me wonder if Ayer does actually have a good understanding of this universe tbh.

When all the leaks started coming out about how the Joker keeps showing up to rescue Harley, I was like... that... doesn't sound too much like the Joker.

I am open for the idea of "The Joker really does love Harley". . .

. . . with the proviso that the storyteller realizes, and makes clear, that this is *not* a good thing. The Joker is a complete monster. That he 'genuinely loves' Harley doesn't mean that said relationship isn't an incredibly destructive, degrading thing. Or, intentional self-aware manipulation and abuse is not the only kind of toxic influence.

 

[metaphysician]

I just couldn't get into the Harley Quinn movie, pretty much for the reason I call it "The Harley Quinn movie": because it claimed to be a Birds of Prey movie, and it *wasn't*. No Barbara Gordon, no Birds of Prey. It should have remained the Gotham City Sirens movie it very clearly was at some point in development, rather than being transformed into yet another nail that WB is using to seal Oracle into a coffin for burial.

 

[shauner111]

I don’t care about the birds of prey. I was there to see Margot as Harley and it didn’t disappoint. I laughed, I had fun. That’s all i asked for and that’s all they marketed it to be.

 

[Black Narcissus]

So after Joaquin Phoenix in the role, do you think we go with another ''name'' actor or an unknown?

 

[Astro13Zombie]

So after Joaquin Phoenix in the role, do you think we go with another ''name'' actor or an unknown?

Unknown hopefully