The only thing I didn't like was Bruce Wayne's parents getting killed by a Joker follower.
When they showed that scene I thought, "Are they really going to do this!? What was your thoughts on it?
It's probably only imagined by Arthur.
shareWhat exactly was your problem with it?
My problem if I had one, was that the scene seemed to just be an afterthought. I know that people dislike how often it's been portrayed in movies, but I still think that the character of Thomas Wayne was so despicable that his death should have been built up more
But other than the moment being so short and unimportant I thought it was appropriate and necessary
To be fair, Thomas Wayne didn't know about Arthur's condition that makes him laugh so you can't really blame him for punching Arthur in the face.
shareI think that the punch was poor writing, but not because it made T-Wayne into a bad guy, but because I think their single confrontation should have been more psychological than physical. It was anticlimactic, IMO. But anyway, I assume that the filmmakers wanted to make his character the bad guy. In Joker 2019's universe he was the ultimate bully. They could have hamfisted that message down our throats. They could have shown him sexually harassing a cocktail waitress and doing shady under-the-table business deals, but I think they assumed the audience was smart enough to know he was that type of guy without showing it to us
So maybe, within the plain context of what we saw onscreen, NO he didn't deserve to die. But I think his archetype is basically one that is supposed to be worthy of death
That does bother me though. Just to let you know I'm about to get political. I know a great majority of people hate the rich and want the government to take away 90% of their money but these people who think like that don't get that if you do that the business they spend money on disappear and there goes a bunch of peoples' jobs. Frankly there are rich people who do care about people. Like Bill Gates. He does all sorts of stuff for people around the world. Also your view of him being the bad guy seems hypocritical when he is running for mayor to try to put more money into the social programs that were cut by the current mayor and city council.
shareYeh, it's no prob. I've heard those arguments before, and the refutations of those arguments. I don't really care much either way. I mean, I'm certainly not close to being rich, so I have no sympathy for those people, but I don't care enough to judge art harshly if it berates the rich
From what I know of Todd Philips, the director and co-writer, he is actually somewhat right-wing. He is fairly pro-capitalist. I won't get into what he has said in the past that makes him so, but if you trust me then you can find that out on your own. He is not some communist avenger
I think that if he put those kinds of message in the movie then it was as an afterthought to protect himself from the inevitable anti "angry white male" backlash. If he put some left-sympathizing messages in the movie then it would make it less likely that his film would be roasted by leftists. And it WAS still roasted by leftists despite it being sympathetic towards the poor and the mentally ill
My point is that Thomas Wayne was just written as a pawn so that Arthur Fleck could be seen as a more sympathetic character in the world of the artistic snobs in the media
I see now. Now thinking of it, the very ending scene does make it seem like some of the movie might not have really happened.
shareI assumed it was Joe Chill.
shareInspired by Joker, though not him literally?
He didn't even really know he was the catalyst until near the end.
Clown mask, parents killed... easy to see.
Give Arthur Fleck a little time to truly embrace :)