Four days into the global release, Joker has climbed the IMDb rankings and now is #9 greatest movie ever in the chart.

According to the Internet Movie Database, as known as IMDb, Joker becomes one of the greatest films ever made. Meanwhile, the vote count does not reflect critic opinions, like Rotten Tomatoes. Instead, it shows that audiences have been reacting positively to Todd Phillips’ psychological thriller, a story about Arthur Fleck’s transformation into a vengeful clown, bringing him face-to-face with his alter-ego: The Joker.

Since Joker’s wide U.S. release, the movie has already broken massive box office records. On its first Monday, Joker earned nearly $10 million during non-holiday. Joaquin Phoenix stars as the title character, Arthur Fleck, an aspiring stand-up comedian who turns to a life of crime after being humiliated, disregarded, and seemingly abandoned by a system designed to protect his mental health. Joker was intended to be a stand-alone movie, but clearly sets up a sequel with its in-universe Gotham references and final act climax. Todd Phillips’ film may not be for everyone, but those who enjoy it are making their presence known at IMDb.

At IMDb, Joker is currently the 9th highest-rated movie. The 9.0 weight average rating is based on a 1-10 system, along with more than 193,000 user votes thus far. Approximately 55% IMDb users have given Joker a 10 rating, with another 23% showing their approval with a 9. The subsequent percentages progressively go down from 8 to 2, even though it is telling that 1.4% of IMDb users have given Joker the lowest rating possible.

Currently, the IMDb score of Joker may please fans, but it is likely to decrease with time. However, that doesn’t mean the film will not be considered a classic by many, but it will also speak to how a world of moviegoers generally reacts to the movie. IMDb’s current Top 10 list reflects films that speak to societal themes about outliers and justice. For example, The Shawshank Redemption now tops the list, a movie that is primarily focused on an inmate’s quest to break free. Meanwhile, The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II are ranked at two and three, respectively, two movies that are fundamentally about crime – but more about society and family. The other slots of Top 5 include The Dark Knight, a movie that features the iconic Joker performance by Heath Ledger, and 12 Angry Men, a film about the American justice system. All of these movies have narratives about loss and redemption.

As time goes by, Joker (2019) may fall from IMDb’s Top 10 or even Top 100. And while that could be important to some fans, what truly matters is that Todd Phillips’ film continues to spark conversations about modern cinematic culture. Joker was indeed set in 1981, but the narrative parallels modern societal issues, and how some people feel like they have been forgotten and treated unfairly for one reason or another. That’s also a concept that likely correlates with the high IMDb rating. As for the violence in Joker, the depiction is not the same as endorsement.

So, how about you? Did you enjoy the movie?

Joker is now in theaters.

The Birds of Prey have officially landed.

Warner Bros. released the first trailer for Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), the latest live-action entry into the DC Extended Universe. Check out the full trailer above.

The Birds of Prey trailer previews a fun female-led adventure set within the world of the DCEU. It also appears the movie will largely focus on Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie), who has a new lease on life after her break up with The Joker (Jared Leto). Directed by Cathy Yan with a script from Christina Hodson, though Birds of Prey is not a Suicide Squad sequel, the film will continue Harley Quinn’s storyline and bring more heroes to the DCEU on the big screen. In this process, Birds of Prey introduces audiences to the movie’s wide array of beloved DC Comics characters. They are Black Canary (Jurneee Smollett-Bell), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).

In the upcoming DC Comics film, Birds of Prey will follow an unlikely team-up between the gang, as they work together to rescue Cassandra Cain from one of Gotham’s most vicious crime lords, Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). The movie’s cast also has Ali Wong, Charlene Amoia, and Chris Messina as Batman supervillain Victor Zsasz.

It looks like Birds of Prey fans have been eagerly waiting for the trailer for quite some time, after a brief costume test teaser unveiled the film’s cast back in January. Also last month, a teaser trailer was revealed exclusively in theaters, coinciding with the screenings of IT: Chapter Two. Following the Birds of Prey poster debut, now that the official trailer is finally here, fans will get to see the one-of-a-kind wild ride that the movie has in store – unlike any DC film thus far.

“You can expect something fun and a bit wild and totally unique,” the Huntress actress, Winstead, recently said in an interview. “Every day, we were there doing something that just felt really weird and funny, and unlike anything else, I have seen before in this genre. It was incredibly exciting to get to do that. We really got to work. We just played, and we had fun.”

So, what do you think of the first trailer for Birds of Prey? Share with us in the comments below.

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) heads toward its release date on February 7, 2020. And now the promotional campaign kicks into high gear with the trailer.

The latest look at Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) has officially arrived today. And it’s safe to say that it is doing so in style. Released by Warner Bros., the upcoming DC film now takes wings in its fabulous first teaser poster!

After a short Birds of Prey movie teaser #2 previously screened in theaters with IT Chapter Two, this brand-new poster also reveals full cast. Circling Harley Quinn’s noggin from left to right is Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Ewan McGregor as Black Mask, along with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, and Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain. Check out the Birds promo art below.

(Photo: DC Comics)

Written by Christina Hodson and directed by Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey is based on the DC Comics team of the same name. The movie will see Harley Quinn team up with superheroes like Black Canary and Huntress along with Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya. Together, the gang will face off against the villainous Black Mask and Victor Zsasz in order to protect the young Cassandra Cain, who eventually dons the mantle of Batgirl in the comics.

So yes, birds. As in the poster, the 2020 movie in which Margot Robbie reprises her role that made her a DC Extended Universe star. Birds of Prey poster features a dazed-looking Harley Quinn surrounded by small, winged versions of the movie’s cast. It is a fun, colorful concept that reminds us that when it comes to getting stuff done, Harley Quinn is always preferred to wing it. Now she is here to ensure that if there do happen to be any objects orbiting around your head, they are birds.

Furthermore, the Birds of Prey poster loosely references Harley Quinn’s mental illness, with the characters portrayed with wings flying around her head. That’s an homage to classic cartoons where birds fly around the heads of characters who are dazed or otherwise out of it.

As we saw in 2016’s Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn was driven mad by the Joker (played by Jared Leto), and the full title of Birds of Prey hints at her distancing herself from the Clown Prime of Crime. Alongside previous rumors about that version of Joker will appear in the upcoming movie, nothing has been confirmed just yet. We may have to wait until the first official trailer of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is released. But with this debut of the poster, hopefully, we will not have to wait much longer for footage.

Now that the full cast of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad film has been revealed. The list was loaded with star powers, returning stars from the original movie, and introducing a few new cast members for DC films.

According to James Gunn’s tweet, the cast list includes: David Dastmalchian, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, Taika Waititi, Daniela Melchior, Viola Davis, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Juan Diego Botto, Alice Braga, Peter Capaldi, Idris Elba, Jai Courtney, Mayling NG, Storm Reid, Steve Agee, Julio Ruiz, Joaquin Cosio, Flula Borg, Pete Davidson, Tinashe Kajese, Jennifer Holland, Michael Rooker, and Margot Robbie.

Posting a graphic showing off the 24 names signed up to the forthcoming movie, James Gunn wrote ominously: “Don’t get too attached. #TheSuicideSquad.”

Don’t get too attached. #TheSuicideSquad pic.twitter.com/uITPhrDzz2

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) September 13, 2019

As we can see, several cast members from Suicide Squad (2016) will reprise their roles, including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. The rest of the list has not been confirmed which character each star would play. And this time it looks like Will Smith and Jared Leto won’t join The Suicide Squad for their initial roles as the Deadshot and Joker. The previous report said Deadshot would be removed, and Idris Elba would be attached to a new role which has not been unveiled yet. On the bill, we also find former WWE legend John Cena and Thor director Taika Waititi amongst the cast members. In addition to helming the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi also directed an episode of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, which will premiere with the launch of Disney+ in November.

The tweet also comes with the first look at The Suicide Squad logo. It takes the inspiration from the original comic book logo directly, as it appeared on John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell’s Suicide Squad #1 in 1987.

Cast members of 2016’s Suicide Squad.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. and DC Comics are gearing up for production on The Suicide Squad, which will assemble the film cast in Atlanta next week. With the return of James Gunn as writer and director, The Suicide Squad is set to begin production this month and scheduled to shoot in Georgia for three months before heading to Panama for about a month, according to early reports.

If The Suicide Squad follows the trend of recent DC Comics films, it will tell an isolated story without relying on connections to other heroes and villains scattered across the big screen universe.

“I think that’s the goal,” producer Peter Safran said in an interview. “It’s giving heroes their time to shine and not feeling like you have to shoehorn in some universal connection amongst them all. The studio has been incredibly supportive, and DC has been supportive about saying, ‘Take the time that you’ll need to introduce these characters in the right way and tell the stories that audiences want to see with those characters.”

Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn will be at the helm of The Suicide Squad before he heads back to Marvel for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The Suicide Squad is due to hit theaters on August 6, 2021.

A flurry of negative remarks about the upcoming Joker movie has resulted in a slight drop of its rating score on Rotten Tomatoes. Following negative reviews from early critics, the rating for Joker currently slipped to 77% positive – after the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). This is, oddly enough, down from 89% in late August, an 8% different. As of this writing, 77 Joker reviews have been submitted to the review aggregating site, 59 of which are positive thus far.

Even though it is just a few weeks away from hitting theaters, Joker is still believed to be one of the most polarizing films of this year. While some have praised the movie as a game-changing masterpiece (especially the transformative performance of  Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prime of Crime), others have voiced concern about the potentially problematic approach to its social commentary elements. The debates about the film’s merits should only get more heated when it premieres to the general public next month.

Obviously, Joker is not beloved by all, but the movie has been making noise on the awards circuit. Before playing at TIFF, Joker had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it did receive raves. Joaquin Phoenix was almost proclaimed a player in the Best Actor race of this year, and the movie itself got the inside track on a Best Picture nomination by winning the coveted Golden Lion award at Venice.

This also led to Joker‘s initial Rotten Tomatoes score being very high. However, it looks like more people are weighing in with their thoughts; the movie rating has dipped a bit. According to Rotten Tomatoes guidelines, a wide release film needs at least 80 verified reviews, and at least 75% rating to be considered Certified Fresh, so Joker is still on the cusp of achieving that milestone. Giving the buzz around this highly anticipated R-rated film, it is interesting to keep an eye on things and see how the rating fluctuates over the next couple of weeks, since audiences seem curious to see what all the fuss is about. And as with all films, the best way to decide if Joker is really good or not is to see it for yourself.

Joker officially hits theaters on October 4.

Dave Bautista is a fixture of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to his role as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. The thing is, that does not mean he is opposed to playing a different sort of character over DC’s corner of the cinematic universe, and definitely, he is into one specific idea centered on Batman’s world. The Dark Knight has one of the most iconic lineups of villains in comics, so the options are many, and Dave Bautista could probably bring several of them to life in a unique way. However, thanks to a recommendation from B.J. Mendelson, now we know one villain. That’s Dave Bautista who seems to be behind all the way.

The discussion kicked off when B.J. Mendelson took to Twitter, sharing his thoughts on the new Joker trailer.

“Nope. Still not feeling the ‘Joker’ movie,” he wrote. “If you are going to give a Batman villain a standalone movie, it should be that Matt Hagen Clayface starring @DaveBautista.”

The Drax actor then shared that post, expressing Mendelson’s enthusiasm for the idea. He wrote, “I’m going to enthusiastically agree with you on that!”

I going to enthusiastically agree with you on that! ???????? https://t.co/ehPMYu4QPe

— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) August 28, 2019

Actually, Matt Hagen is the second person to use the Clayface name in the comics. The character is much less well known than the original Basil Karlo, though fans mostly have known him of the Batman: Animated Series, which used the Hagen name but had a story more based on Karlo. Either way, a Bautista Clayface obviously has us intrigued, and we are all for it.

Dave Bautista also took a second to address the Joker movie. He cannot wait to see it, despite not really connecting it to Batman.

Odd thing is I’m dying to see it but my brain has not connected it to Batman at all. There’s a disconnect for some reason but I can’t wait to see Joaquin as The Joker. Looks interestingly dark and grounded in the vain of The Dark Knight series. I’m in!! https://t.co/4gLDfuJtnm

— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) August 28, 2019

“Odd thing is I am dying to see it, but my brain hasn’t connected it to Batman at all,” wrote Bautista. “There is a disconnect for some reason, but I can’t wait to see Joaquin [Phoenix] as The Joker. Look interestingly dark and grounded in the vain of The Dark Knight series. I’m in!”

Dave Bautista has already proven how capable he’s at bringing comic book characters to life on the big screen, as his tenure in the MCU has been universally celebrated. Drax The Destroyer is a fan-favorite member of the Guardians, with Bautista constantly chewing the scenery and popping in one-liners. However, the character also has a heart, and we peel the layers of trauma and grief during each of his appearance on the big screen.

And just like that, Dave Bautista has thrown his name in the ring to play Clayface for the DC live-action universe. But we have to wait and see what DC and Warner Bros. will do with Batman and his supervillains when the characters remain unknown, as the contents of Matt Reeves’ The Batman is still being kept under wraps. However, there are a ton of characters that have not made it into the shared universe, and Clayface could be a great choice cinematically. Bat-fans out there would be thrilled to see Dave Bautista pivot his Drax character over to the DC side of things. In the meantime, the upcoming DC film is Joker, which hits theaters on October 4.

Joker, the new Todd Phillips-directed movie that imagines the origin story of Batman’s greatest nemesis, premiered at the Venice Film Festival this weekend. The film has already been met with mostly positive reactions. Starring Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role, Joker now has a score up on Rotten Tomatoes. And it is living Fresh at 89% as of this writing.

(Photo: Rotten Tomatoes – September 4, 2019)

Joker tells the story of Arthur Fleck, a middle-aged man who lives with his mother and has a humiliating day job as a sign-spinning clown. He’s a failed comedian trying to care for his mother. Eventually, the unrelenting cruelty of society compels him to turn to a life full of crime. And that makes him become the titular supervillain. Joker is said to be unlike any other comic book film and will not adapt any specific stories.

The R-rated film is even drumming up some Oscar buzz, especially the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker has received an outpouring of praise from early birds. The star has been nominated three times in the acting categories, but has yet to win. Over the years, many actors have played the character of the Joker, with Heath Ledger delivering the greatest portrayal in The Dark Knight (2008). And now, with regards to the Best Actor nod for Joaquin Phoenix, the star has some great big clown shoes to fill, but he also has the unique opportunity of being the main character in his film rather than the antagonist. The last DC film to win an Oscar was Suicide Squad (2016), which took home the award for the Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling. That movie also featured the Joker, but it was a kind of different version that was played by Jared Leto.

With over 30 reviews being counted, Joker currently still has a high score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is well into “Fresh” territory. In order for a movie earn the site’s “Certified Fresh” accolade, it needs to get a score of 75% or better with 80 reviews counted at least. So far only a limited number of critics have watched the movie, the score for Joker can probably be expected to shift when the next wave of reviews comes out, closer to its official release date in October. However, for now, things are looking very positive so far, though this is definitely a strong opening for such a solo movie.

With fierce discussion already raging around Joker based on the first reviews, it’s going to be interesting to see what direction the conversation will take when fans and the general public go to see Joker in just a few weeks. Its score may go up or down as the movie’s release date is getting closer.

How about you? Are you ready to enjoy the film about the Clown Prince of Crime for yourself? Share with us in the comments!

Joker hits theaters on October 4.

On the last Saturday, Joker received an eight-minute standing ovation following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Variety reports.

Joker writer and director Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix and Zazie Beetz were on hand for the event at Venice. During a press conference, the filmmaker said his drama was inspired by 1928 silent movie The Man Who Laughs as well as the Martin Scorsese-helmed Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The King of Comedy, three of Scorsese’s seminal works each headlined by Joker co-star Robert De Niro.

“Why can’t you just do a genre comic-book film like that?” Todd Phillip said if his brooding, R-rated character study, an admitted hard sell for Warner Bros. “We thought that could be an exciting approach to this genre. And I am not sure what it means for Marvel or DC. It was a hard movie for us to get made, even to convince DC and the studio at first, but we thought we’d keep pushing because we thought it would be special.”

One of the most anticipated movies this fall, Joker, has had a lot of hype around it. First positive reactions for the film have arrived on social media, already earning buzz for Joaquin Phoenix with a potential Best Actor nomination at the 2020 Oscars. One of the high reviews has Joker as an “insane masterpiece” led by a “mesmerizing performance” from Joaquin Phoenix. Forbes writes, “Joker is a phenomenal film, destined to be pitted against [Heath] Ledger’s The Dark Knight performance for the title of the definitive on-screen portrayal of the character.”

Starring Joaquin Phoenix along with Robert De Niro, Marc Maron, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, and Brian Tyree Henry, the gritty, the late ‘70s and early ‘80s-set film is a new take on the character and his origin story. Todd Phillips has previously stated that they did not follow anything from the comics. It is a gamble that he said will likely make some people pretty mad. However, based on the positive reviews of Joker, it is the gamble that has paid off. Many of those critical reviews have praised the performance of Joaquin Phoenix while some have gone as far as to call it one of the best of the year. Though there are some reactions which are a little less than glowing, the overall consensus appears to be that the Joker is still an impressive movie, one that fans will surely want to see for themselves.

While still a month left until the official release date of Joker, the film has already garnered an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, with 33 reviews counted from critics.

So, are you excited to see Joker next month? The film premieres on October 4.

Finally, the first reactions to Joaquin Phoenix-led Joker have arrived online, and they are generally positive. Directed by Todd Phillips, the new DC Comics and Warner Bros. project is establishing an origin story for the Clown Prince of Crime. Boasting a star-studded cast including Marc Maron, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Brett Cullen, and Frances Conroy, Joker takes fans back in time to the 1980s when the iconic book villain was just a failed comedian known as Arthur Fleck.

Last week, the final trailer for Joker dropped, surprising a lot of people. The movie features a slew of never-before-seen clips but mostly focuses on the titular character played by Joaquin Phoenix. Despite its release inching near, plot details for Joker are still being kept tightly under wraps. However, whatever it turns out to be, fans will be happy to learn that critics are loving Joker as evidenced by these early reactions.

With the early praise as a “cinematic achievement on a high level,” a handful of press and critics have been sharing their non-spoilers reactions to Joker on social media. Most of them have nothing but great things to say about the movie, and that’s good news for fans of the DC Extended Universe. You can read a sampling of the glowing Joker reactions below.

I saw the @JokerMovie and REALLY dug it. It’s a feature that steals your attention and requires time to process. It’s an acting showcase for Joaquin Phoenix and a story that’s ambiguous and surprising, but one that really grounds Arthur Fleck’s transformation. pic.twitter.com/OOWgpct13i

— Rob Keyes (@rob_keyes) August 31, 2019

I saw #Joker — and it is unlike anything before it. The movie is dark, thrilling, and chilling. An insane masterpiece.

The movie absolutely transcends being a comic book film and acts as a character study which, at times, will make audiences uncomfortable in wild ways. 10/10 pic.twitter.com/2B2mCkzbZy

— Brandon Davis (@BrandonDavisBD) August 31, 2019

#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

DP Lawrence Sher’s no-frills work to emphasize Gotham’s twisted, dark cityscapes, streets and nightmarish forms deserves a huge shout-out. With picture-perfect contrasts & color, sublime compositions, the rich and complex mise-en-scène succeeds in elevating an unforgettable film.

— International Film Critique (@IntFilmCritique) August 31, 2019

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

#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

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 @ Venice (@firstshowing) August 31, 2019

“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 @Venezia76 (@rdfolta) August 31, 2019

#joker was just… Just, just WOW. The Academy Award for Best Actor must go to #JoaquinPhoenix pic.twitter.com/hik3bvXgaP

— Olivier Sarbil (@oliviersarbil) August 31, 2019

Joker is not based on any narrative from the comic books, so Todd Phillips had full control of how he wanted to craft the story of Arthur Fleck. This also makes for a more interesting film since the public does not have any idea about where the story would go. That said, the filmmaker recently unveiled that he had to go through a whole year just to convince Warner Bros. to green light this project as R-rated, and now it looks like all his effort is worthy as the film gets an official hard R rating. Rumored details about this character also hint at a deeper connection between Joker and his arch-nemesis, Bruce Wayne/Batman, suggesting they may share the same biological father. While fans already know that a young Bruce Wayne will appear in the movie according to the first trailer, Thomas Wayne (Cullen) is expected to play a significant role in how things pan out for Arthur Fleck.

It is no secret that many were skeptic of a Joker standalone when it was first announced by Warner Bros. However, the public eventually mellowed on the idea, especially after learning the roster of talent attached. On top of that, marketing will likely amplify the anticipation. Assuming Joker garners the same kind of acclaim when it officially hits theaters in October and makes the studio profit, the potential sequel Todd Phillips recently talked about wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.

Joker hits theaters on October 4.

The Todd-Phillips-directed Joker is officially rated R for “strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language, and brief sexual images,” according to a rating displayed on the official movie website.

Comedian and actor Marc Maron previously characterized the Joaquin Phoenix-led Joker as a “character study of a mentally ill person who becomes the Joker,” calling the standalone “an intimate and gritty movie with a very specific scope.”

Back in September, a representative for the Toronto International Film Festival, where Joker will be the first comic book film screened as a Gala presentation, said the movie brings to mind the works of Taxi Driver filmmaker Martin Scorsese and exhibits “an interesting tone and approach” to its DC Comics-inspired source material.

“It is set in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, and it feels like it was made then. It is gritty in its looks,” co-head and artistic director of TIFF Cameron Bailey told the Toronto Sun. “It has references to Martin Scorsese’s filmmaking, and it feels like a cinematic achievement on a high level. Though it is working with very populist material, it has great ambition. That is why it is a Gala.”

The praise from Cameron Bailey comes after producer Michael E. Uslan, the longtime shepherd of the Batman franchise for Warner Bros., promised Joker is “unlike any comic book movie you have ever seen.”

“Todd Phillips is the filmmaker there, and he had an incredible vision for this. All I can tell you is, in my humble opinion, the world is just getting a little oversaturated with comic book movies and TV everywhere we turn,” said Uslan.

“When I pick up a newspaper and find out that, ‘Oh my godness, on May 5, 2027, Ant-Man 5 is gonna open, so I better write that down in my calendar,’ the world has gone a little bit haywire. And not being a great fan in any media of oversaturation, I love it when something comes out and it is different, and it is unique.”

“I thought the Guardians of the Galaxy was different and unique when it came out. I also thought Deadpool was different and unique when it came out. This Joker movie is different and unique. It is unlike any comic book movie you have ever seen,” Michael E. Uslan said at Germany’s CCXP Cologne convention. “Maybe it’s more like a Martin Scorsese, low-budget film noir crime drama, but I have all the faith in Todd [Phillips], the brilliantly talented Joaquin Phoenix, and Robert De Niro. It is an incredible, incredible group of people that is brought this to life.”

Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, and Frances Conroy. The film opens in theaters on October 4.