All 7 superhero movies of 2019 ranked from worst to best

2. Joker

Released: October 4, 2019

It’s hard to put into words what Joker actually is. Is it an indie character-study designed to win a truck load of awards, or is it actually just one of the many superhero movies in disguise? The reality is that it is essentially a mixture of both. Yes, on one hand, it is indeed a character study destined to win a lot of awards but, given its pretty obvious source material, it also falls into the latter category. Yes, it is far from “just one of the many”, but no matter how many times Todd Phillips attempts to overlook the source material’s influence, Joker remains a comic book movie.

That being said, it truly is something to produce a piece of film that can make us question something so obvious. But that’s what Joker is – a dark and gritty subversion of our expectations. There is no Batman here, no gadgets and no rogues gallery of villains; just the deeply troubled Arthur Fleck who seeks solace in the distorted persona of a clown.

It’s understandable that a film as disturbing as this drew such a polarizing response because, at the end of the day, it’s outside the box – too outside the box for some, and that’s okay. It’s not as perfect as it appears to be and it certainly is an acquired taste, but Joaquin Phoenix’s engagingly grounded performance is, without a doubt, a twisted masterpiece. And that enhances Joker‘s compelling narrative – making it something that we can’t help but look at, no matter how many times we want to turn away.

A film that kick-started a new revolutionary chapter for superhero moves – and the comic book genre in general – Joker will undoubtedly pave the way for more of its kind. And yes, that does have a lot to do with the way in which it used its own comic book-based source material.