Joker Review: 9 Ups & 3 Downs

4. The Subtext Is WAY Smarter Than It Looks

For some more cynical people, Joker was always going to be an exercise in surface level pseudo-level intellectualism and pop culture politics. Because of where it's been released in our historical time and some of the things it explores, it's actually a lot smarter than that. It's a lot smarter than anyone could possibly have predicted when we were told the Hangover director was making it.

Thanks to the proximity of The King Of Comedy and Taxi Driver's themes and an open approach to allegory in terms of the current cultural and political moment tied directly into those film's ideas about identity and dangerous celebrity worship, it's a hell of a think-piece.

There will be concerns (and hold tight for lots of talk about that - and even some later on in this piece), but the film MOSTLY refuses to make Joker sexy. He's a victim, sure, but he's not aspirational to any rational mind. In that respect, it steers clear of The Dark Knight's rampant idolisation of the same character.