It has been hailed by many as the 'film of the year', but for a while it was feared that Joker was one of the most dangerous movies around.
So to set the record straight, the folks over at Screen Junkies have taken a satirical look at Todd Phillips' reworking of the classic comic book tale, calling into question whether the film was quite as radical as it has been suggested.
In short, their conclusion is that it really isn't.
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The mock trailer opens up by describing the film as 'a period piece about psychological and social decay with the bare minimum of Batman it took to get the movie made', showing the moment Bruce Wayne's parents are killed by a thug, 'with the pearls and everything'.
It then gets to work ripping apart the pretence that it is as original in any way as it claims to be, particularly picking on the fact that it became a box office hit and one of the most commercially successful movies of all time.
As newspaper headlines then flash up on screen, the narrator cynically points out that by branding the film as 'dangerous' it got people 'way more excited than regular marketing'. Hmm.
The husky voice-over goes on: "Prepare for a film the media said was too dangerous for you to see, which made audiences way more excited than regular marketing ever could have.
"Cruising its way to a billion dollars on a $55 million budget because it got hyped like a cinematic fear toxin that would turn you into the Joker, even though it ended up being a mumble-core [Martin] Scorsese riff about the world's saddest clown."
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The trailer also picks on a couple of stylistic points, claiming 'everything is yellow' and that Joaquin Phoenix's Joker is just not as interesting as previous incarnations brought to the big screen, such as those by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger.
Its makers also take time to poke fun at the film's focus on mental health, the role of Arthur Fleck's uncontrollable laughter, and its overarching message.
Not everyone hated it, though, and earlier this month Phoenix won the 'Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture' award at this year's Golden Globes.
The actor scooped the award for his starring role in the film, beating the likes of Christian Bale and Adam Driver for the coveted prize.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.Topics: TV and Film, Joker, Interesting