Marvel writer Dan Slott has doubled down on his criticism of Joker after receiving backlash for calling it a “bad movie”.
Slott voiced his thoughts on the Joaquin Phoenix starrer on Twitter, praising Phoenix’s performance but expressing his disappointment in the film itself.
“Joker was bad. Real bad,” he wrote on Sunday. ”Joaquin Phoenix’s performance was a GOOD thing... in a BAD movie. Also, Joker was a bad Joker movie.”
Slott, who writes the Fantastic Four and Tony Stark: Iron Man comic books for Marvel, said his stance isn’t an “anti-DC [Comics] thing” and that he enjoyed some of the Marvel competitor’s previous films, including The Dark Knight and Wonder Woman.
“The most frustrating thing about the Joker movie... There are so many EXCELLENT DC Comics that dance around the Joker’s origins. ANY of those – just using the comic pages as storyboards – would have made a far better movie than what they put up on the screen,” he added.
Slott further criticised the film in another tweet that reads: “Just when you think the Joker movie can’t get any worse, they found a way to incorporate a scene we’ve already seen way too many times in... superhero movies. (If you saw Joker, you know what I’m talking about.) That was the rancid little cherry on top of this god awful sundae.”
While some agreed with Slott, he received enough criticism to prompt him to speak out again.
“Me: Here’s my opinion on something. Angry twitter guy: You’re wrong. Do people not get how opinions work?” he wrote in another tweet addressing the backlash.
Slott acknowledged that many great stories can be told about anti-heroes such as the Batman nemesis, but added that in his view, Joker failed to do so.
The controversial Joker opened on 4 October and has become a box office success. You can read our review of the Todd Phillips movie here.
