It's time to send in the clowns, everybody, because Joker premiered at Venice Film Festival this morning (August 31), and the first reviews are full of praise for the latest DC movie.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix as the demented comic book villain, Todd Phillips' Joker is set in the '80s and follows failed comedian Arthur Fleck who turns to a life of crime after bombing with audiences – and slowly rises to become a frightening legend.

Warner Bros. YouTube

Below, we've clubbed together some reviews from the world of film criticism, so sit back, take a deep breath and get ready to put a smile on that face.



Empire Magazine

"As Arthur/Joker, Joaquin Phoenix is astonishing. Phillips has said he had a picture of the actor above his screen when writing the script and it's a belief that has paid off. Phoenix inhabits Arthur: having lost weight for the role, he looks thin, frail, hungry. Shadows carve out his exposed bones. His physicality is precise — the way he moves, shuffles, runs, sits, smokes, shrinks. His usual intensity is on full display and it's captivating, even overwhelming in moments.

"Bold, devastating and utterly beautiful, Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have not just reimagined one of the most iconic villains in cinema history, but reimagined the comic book movie itself."



Cinema Blend



"It's a radical interpretation that requires a transformative, thoroughly committed performance, and it's remarkable to see Joaquin Phoenix take this role and play it as though he were the first actor to ever take it on (and in a way, he is). Arthur is both manic and often inappropriately externalises his emotions, but Phoenix takes what might have been a turn filled with over-swings, and makes it all feel disturbingly natural.

"You'll definitely feel like you'll need a shower after seeing it, but once you've dried off and changed clothes, you'll want to do nothing else but parse and dissect it."

Variety

"Phoenix is playing a geek with an unhinged mind, yet he's so controlled that he's mesmerising. He stays true to the desperate logic of Arthur's unhappiness.

"You're always aware of how much the mood and design of Joker owe to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. For a filmmaker gifted enough to stand on his own, Phillips is too beholden to his idols. Yet within that scheme, he creates a dazzlingly disturbed psycho morality play, one that speaks to the age of incels and mass shooters and no-hope politics, of the kind of hate that emerges from crushed dreams."

Niko Tavernise Warner Bros.

Related: Joker doesn't "follow anything" from the comics

The Hollywood Reporter

"Built around a credible spiral from lonely outsider to deranged killer, it's as much a neo-noir psychological character study grounded in urban alienation and styled after Taxi Driver as a rise-of-the-supervillain portrait. It's arguably the best Batman-adjacent movie since The Dark Knight and Warner [Bros] should see mighty box office numbers to reflect that.

"The must-see factor of Phoenix's riveting performance alone — it's both unsettling and weirdly affecting — will be significant."



IGN

"Joker isn't just an awesome comic book movie, it's an awesome movie, period. It offers no easy answers to the unsettling questions it raises about a cruel society in decline. Joaquin Phoenix's fully committed performance and Todd Phillips' masterful albeit loose reinvention of the DC source material make Joker a film that should leave comic book fans and non-fans alike disturbed and moved in all the right ways."

Warner Bros.

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The world of Twitter has been equally as busy following the movie's world premiere, with one user writing: "I can't quite believe how good Joker is. It's a masterpiece. Funny, dark, beautiful, full of rage, and really f**king cool. Joaquin Phoenix is masterful and every shot is sublime."



Another added: "There will be before Joker. And there will be after Joker. I don't know if the world is ready for this movie. Or maybe it is? It is GNARLY. It is crazy. It is audacious. It doesn't hold back. Wow. I can't believe it exists. But it does. And it's coming."



Read on for more of the first reactions to the film below:

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I can’t quite believe how good Joker is. It’s a masterpiece. Funny, dark, beautiful, full of rage, and really fucking cool. Joaquin Phoenix is masterful and every shot is sublime. #Venezia76 — James Jones (@jamesjonesfilm) August 31, 2019

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There will be before Joker. And there will be after Joker. I don't know if the world is ready for this movie. Or maybe it is? It is GNARLY. It is crazy. It is audacious. It doesn't hold back. Wow. I can't believe it exists. But it does. And it's coming. — Alex Billington (@firstshowing) August 31, 2019

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#Joker Pheonix is phenomenal. Dark, gritty & fucking crazy. More on the lines of Mean Streets than Taxi Driver. It all looks to be serving a masterclass but Phillips stumbles in the last hurdle with the film not knowing if it wants to stand alone or be enticed by lore #Venezia76 pic.twitter.com/tB2QlBeQrm — Jak-Luke Sharp @TIFF 2020 (@JakLukeSharp) August 31, 2019

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#Venezia76 The #Joker we fucking deserve. Rings of comedy, rings of fire. It's a circus, it's a carnival, it's a mayhem. Phoenix brings us dancing through this social disease and it's a triumph. #JokerMovie — Lorenzo Ciorcalo (@rotovisor) August 31, 2019

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#Joker is getting quite the buzz following its premiere at the #Venice76 Film Festival, with the first reactions describing it as a “dark masterpiece” with a powerful, anchoring performance from Joaquin Phoenix. I am beyond thrilled! pic.twitter.com/STm5iwHZqh — Ash (@ashonfilme) August 31, 2019

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#JokerMovie is an efficacious & disturbing film that's equally meritorious & tragic. Phoenix's roaring, monstrous performance as the Clown of Crime is so immaculate, so maestoso, it's a prodigious accomplishment, and marks the apex of his already superlative career. #Venezia76 pic.twitter.com/YeHZg4WqHd — International Film Critique (@IntFilmCritique) August 31, 2019

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Phoenix evokes a sense of tragic, melancholic beauty in his transformation as the #Joker, going beyond impersonation & disturbingly explodes on screen in an act so flawless in timing & character perception, it's quite frankly one of the most impressive method acting feats. — International Film Critique (@IntFilmCritique) August 31, 2019

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“Bring in the clowns!!!” 🤡 #Joker will surprise the hell out of people. Dark, twisted, brutal origin story of the most recognised villain in popular culture. Joaquin Phoenix adds another iconic performance to his extraordinary career #Venezia76 — Radek Folta (@rdfolta) August 31, 2019

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#Joker is still under embargo, but let me just say that we need more actors like Joaquin Phoenix #Venezia76 #VeniceFilmFestival — Rob (@RobRuggio) August 31, 2019

Has the green hair and criminally-insane attitude finally landed Phoenix an Oscar?

Joker has a release date of October 4 in the US and UK.

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