10 Movies That Take Themselves Way Too Seriously
8. Joker (2019)
Oh, boy, was this film a mistake. Popular as it may have been when it was released, Todd Philips' Joker has aged like warm milk, thanks in large part to its heavily "inspired" Taxi-Driver-by-way-of-King-of-Comedy story and joyless re-imaging of DC Comics' greatest supervillain.
Meant to be a deep, melancholic dive into the life of a man who will soon become the Clown Prince of Crime, Joker misses the point of its eponymous character completely, crafting the character with none of the trademark humour, wit and physicality that made him such an icon.
More concerned with re-hashing the drama of Scorsese's masterwork The King of Comedy and positioning itself as a dark tale of mental illness than it is with being in any way original, the melodrama ends up being remarkably dull and lifeless, despite a sensational performance from Joaquin Phoenix.
Proof that we shouldn't be fixing what isn't broken, Joker could have worked as a fresh imagining of a well-known villain, but is so derivative and lifelessly conceived that it simply falls apart under the weight of its intentions.