I’m a comic book nut. Every movie that is comic related I see. I buy comics by bulk, lol. I fvcking loved it. It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen. So different but so good. Phoenix absolutely nails it. It’s his swan song.
I could not agree more. It most certainly does not have the tone of other cookie cutter superhero films. I am not a comic book guy, and it is one of the best executed films I have seen in a long time.
I want you to think really hard on this one. I have been watching movies at an alarming rate since I was very young. I appreciate art of all types from carpentry to digital. I have never in my life seen a piece of art that was so powerful that police had to be stationed around it due to what it may evoke. I saw it in the theater, and 3 policemen were stationed in the theater all evening. Being there was "a moment"...you sensed something momentous was occurring. To say you have not watched it all, proceed to bash it, and dismiss it as a theme film...I'm sorry. It's ig'nant. Now, I don't think anyone needs to see it much less needs to like it or appreciate it, but there is maybe no other art in my lifetime that has achieved deserved critical acclaim AND have the ability to cause a riot.
As for Phoenix, to even take on the role after the exceptional work done by Ledger is straight insanity. But, he simply bettered it. He blew that role, as the picture called for, out of the ocean. It is one of the best character acting performances of modern time. His back is what sticks with me. I saw somewhere he contorted himself. If you haven't seen it, you can't contradict these thoughts anymore than I can Fried Green Tomatoes: the only movie I have ever walked out on.
In case it matters, I have no significant history of family or friends with serious mental illness to my knowledge. If I had (and for those that do), it may change someone's view, but it was as stunning to me in its ability to color how you perceive the world as Requiem for a Dream, and from me, that is high, high praise.
Lastly, it was an uncomfortable watch for sure, and I not only didn't laugh once but can't recall even smiling during it. Comedy is hard to write and hard to convey well, but anyone can like comedy. To like a film that makes you feel terrible and hopeless for a moment and do it so well that you love it is an achievement that cannot be overlooked. And, I am a very optimistic guy. There is probably an agenda to it if one wants to get into that in the way Avatar did. But, the performance, the woven fabric of so many elements...it is the gold standard for the superhero origin story.
