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Remember how Jared Letos Joker had the word damaged tattooed on his forehead?
Remember when Heath Ledgers Joker gleefully made a pencil disappear?
Yeah, well, nothing like that happens inTodd PhillipssJoker.
ButJokerdoesnt feel like any of the superhero movies that came before it.
Its not just the R rating that sets Todd Phillipss film apart.
But the crucial difference is that Wolverine, however grudgingly, is a hero.
Arthur is absolutely not.
Jokerborrows texture and tone from other bygone films, sucking movie history into its superhero form.
Those are difficult, provocative, grown-up films.
As convincing and effective asJokeris, that alone doesnt justify its existence.
Do we really need a comic-book supervillain remade as Travis Bickle, when we already have Travis Bickle?
