Joker Review: 9 Ups & 3 Downs

6. The Scorsese Observations Are Incredible

Given that Martin Scorsese left the production almost as quickly as he was announced as a producer, it's absolutely remarkable how well Todd Phillips has done to observe his work and use his approach to film-making and world-building to inform his own.

Gotham looks like Scorsese's New York, it's filmed like Scorsese would have in the late 70s, the use of intense colours to punctuate moments is very much from his school of film-making. But it's done in such a way that it's clearly affectionate and not a cloying tribute.

And as for the story, everything they said about it being inspired by The King Of Comedy and Taxi Driver was spot on. To the point that those three films ought to be shown as a triple bill.