Is Joker the Best Comic Book Film Ever Made?

Academy Award nominations are out and "Joker" received 11 nods, including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography, making it the 46th film to receive 11 or more Oscar nominations. It is the only one of those 46 that is based on a comic book character. It has already won Golden Globes for Best Picture, Director, Actor and Original Score.

With some notable exceptions, critics obviously usually scorn comic book fare except for technical awards. This level of critical acclaim begs the question: Is "Joker" the best comic book film ever made?

 

Joker didn't win Best Picture at the Globes.

 

I didn't much care for it.
I will say it's not really my kind of movie, but I just couldn't get into Joker. I got up and did things during portions of it and fast forwarded others.
It did pick up for me after he took on the Joker persona. I enjoyed his little dance down the long flight of stairs.
About the only parts that I really liked was seeing Joaquin Phoenix repeatedly get his ass kicked.

 

I remember loving "Logan," but it doesn't seem to have "stuck" with people as much as some other films. "Joker" seems so derivative of stuff like "Taxi Driver" and King of Comedy," right down to DeNiro being in all of them, and heck, it's not even the first nomination for the character. But the Academy does love an actor changing his look and going super method like Phoenix did.

 

My bad. It didn't win for director either. I quickly looked a list that had it's two Globe wins listed first and mistakenly thought it won all four. Should have read more carefully.

 

I've been chewing on this for a bit and still haven't come to an answer. I will say though, I don't think I've had such a visceral reaction to any other comic book movie I've ever seen. I found it so disconcerting, from the opening frame until the end. It was uncomfortable to watch, yet so well done, I didn't look away. It reminds me of "Room" a bit in that way, and how it has occupied my mind for weeks after seeing it.

Without doing a deep dive into all the comic book films I've ever seen, The Dark Knight immediately jumps to mind as probably my favorite. Joker wasn't as "fun" to watch as TDK, or Captain America: Civil War, for instance, but it has left more of a lasting impression.

 

I still haven't seen it, but my wife is suddenly interested after hearing about all the nominations.

My educated guess of an answer to the question is no, it's not the best comic book movie ever. It's just the one that is most Academy Award friendly. They can vote for it while still looking down their noses at the MCU and its like by saying it's only because Joker is so different.

 

Those two movies left me with a strong lasting impression. I'm sure it is important to distinguish good from fun to watch for this discussion. For example, The Winter Soldier isn't as much fun as Endgame, but it is probably the better movie. I thought the same thing when I saw Iron Man and Batman Begins. The former was more enjoyable to watch, but the latter was a higher-quality film. (Though I think both of those qualify as entertaining and very well made.)

Sometimes film makers get so caught up in making art they forget to make it enjoyable to watch. Nolan's first two Batman movies and The Winter Soldier were examples of comic book movies that managed to do both.

 

Great question!

I’d argue that it’s barely a comic book movie (hear me out). My wife hates comic book movies and she suggested we watch it.

It’s just a really good movie with some outstanding performances. Does a movie like this get made without the hook of the character and studio backing? Maybe, maybe not.

I think anyone can think this is a great movie without knowing a lick about Batman. At one point, I said to my wife “clearly that’s Bruce.” She wondered how I knew. And early on I told her that Thomas is Batman’s dad. She loved the flick and has no idea.

As a side note, it was interesting to see Thomas Wayne through the eyes of those far less fortunate. He was quite an unsavory character through those eyes.

Will this be a one-off? I haven’t heard or read. It seems like they should let this one be.

 

My post shouldn't imply that TDK or Civil War didn't leave a lasting impression. They did. That's why they jump to the top of my mind. I probably didn't word that carefully enough. I guess the impression that Joker left — that disconcerting, uncomfortable feeling — has stuck with me in a deeper way.

 

I made a similar point to a friend on FB, who cited Endgame as the best comic book movie ever made. While it was a helluva fun film and truly an achievement in storytelling, it was utterly reliant on the viewer to have seen a minimum of 10 other movies to understand what the hell was going on. It doesn't stand on its own at all.

 

Question definitely got me thinking. If Joker IS a comic book movie, it likely gets my vote. If not...

The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire)

Those are it for me. Nothing against End Game, etc. Amazing work.

I also love the Keaton-Nicholson Batman. Have not seen it forever, so I’m not sure it holds up. But that was huge for me. Right age, right time. I’d never seen a flick like that.