Leto Joker

[The Whovian]

The best live-action Joker I've ever seen, imo. Aesthetics aside, he absolutely nailed re-incarnating the TAS Joker. He seemed like a genuine psychotic psychopath. Nicholson and Ledger were both great, but were just too self-aware and serious compared to the Joker I like to see.

Ledger's Joker was the best ever. I don't know how anyone could say otherwise.

[Clark_Kent]

Wow, I felt the exact opposite. I was drawn to the screen when he came on. Eating my popcorn like I couldn't look away. He has that magnetism to me.

Yes! Magnetic is a good word for it. I posted my film thoughts elsewhere, but I feel like this is a good place to copy / paste a section:

I've saved the best for last...Jared Leto's Joker. HOLY F****** SH!T, he was downright MESMERIZING on screen. Damn WB for getting involved & cutting him out. This film DEMANDS an extended cut, restoring the rest of Joker's scenes. I loved his voice & his body language. The way he screwed with Tattoed Man before killing him after Tattoed called Harley "a baaaad bitch"...Waller said in narration "They were the King & Queen of Gotham...and God help anyone who disrespected the Queen." Leto's entire performance in that scene was mesmerizing to me. I loved how downright creepy he could be...even the smile tattooed on his hand made him creepy when holding it up to his own face. I unapologetically loved this Joker, despite the whole 10 minutes we got. He seemed like a real character...while definitely channeling bits of Nicholson & Ledger, they added the ability for Joker to actually love someone other than himself (or perhaps Batman). Granted, he created the type of woman he could love, but it was such a fresh & new take on him...we see him devastatingly depressed without Harley, and he's drawn a smile onto his face. When he finds out where she is, he lays down & attempts to laugh but it teeters off into a sob. And when he lets loose with classic Joker insanity, such as on the helicopter, his laugh & appearance make him downright frightening, just as Joker should be.

In the 60's, we got practical joke Joker with Romero's take. The 80's gave us gangster/mob Joker with Nicholson. The 00's gave us Ledger's terrorist / anarchist Joker. And now, we have Godfather Joker. The King of the City. People kiss his ring out of respect (or more probable, out of fear), and he runs the show. This is evident in how he & Harley can go to a club, and Joker gets to sit in the VIP section. Harley is on the dance floor. NOBODY is running away. Nobody is calling the cops. Joker gets what Joker wants, because he is at the top, even after "being away" (Tattooed Man came to welcome him back, on behalf of "everybody").

The easter egg to Alex Ross' famous Joker/Harley cover was amazing to see, and also showed why her classic costume doesn't work in live action. I loved Jokers dialogue at Ace Chemicals, about how dying is too easy but the oath to live for someone is stronger. And the glimpse at Harleen falling for her patient was near perfect...although, I'd love to know the story behind her bringing him "a kitty".

[Pohzee]

Not to sound cliche, but Ledger is an impossible act to follow, but Leto did a phenomenal job. Ledger was a better character, but Leto was the better Joker. He felt more like a character from the comics come to life.

[rpi]

His actual performance was a lot better than I thought it would be, kind of a generic modern Joker, but still The Joker. It was even to the point where I could ignore most of the stupid tattoos. If anything, I think the story let the character down a bit, kept him too tame. I did like the juxtaposition of him basically being the supporting character to Harley in this story to the normal Harley being his support.

[Unfinishedsentenc]

His actual performance was a lot better than I thought it would be, kind of a generic modern Joker, but still The Joker. It was even to the point where I could ignore most of the stupid tattoos. If anything, I think the story let the character down a bit, kept him too tame. I did like the juxtaposition of him basically being the supporting character to Harley in this story to the normal Harley being his support.

I liked that too; very refreshing. And what I liked even better than that was how that whole sub-plot didn't take take away or erode her codependency towards him (or, of course, her complete and utter reverence for him). She's still his sidekick, but now she's a sidekick that he actually wants around.

[JasonK75]

Yes! Magnetic is a good word for it. I posted my film thoughts elsewhere, but I feel like this is a good place to copy / paste a section:

I've saved the best for last...Jared Leto's Joker. HOLY F****** SH!T, he was downright MESMERIZING on screen. Damn WB for getting involved & cutting him out. This film DEMANDS an extended cut, restoring the rest of Joker's scenes. I loved his voice & his body language. The way he screwed with Tattoed Man before killing him after Tattoed called Harley "a baaaad bitch"...Waller said in narration "They were the King & Queen of Gotham...and God help anyone who disrespected the Queen." Leto's entire performance in that scene was mesmerizing to me. I loved how downright creepy he could be...even the smile tattooed on his hand made him creepy when holding it up to his own face. I unapologetically loved this Joker, despite the whole 10 minutes we got. He seemed like a real character...while definitely channeling bits of Nicholson & Ledger, they added the ability for Joker to actually love someone other than himself (or perhaps Batman). Granted, he created the type of woman he could love, but it was such a fresh & new take on him...we see him devastatingly depressed without Harley, and he's drawn a smile onto his face. When he finds out where she is, he lays down & attempts to laugh but it teeters off into a sob. And when he lets loose with classic Joker insanity, such as on the helicopter, his laugh & appearance make him downright frightening, just as Joker should be.

In the 60's, we got practical joke Joker with Romero's take. The 80's gave us gangster/mob Joker with Nicholson. The 00's gave us Ledger's terrorist / anarchist Joker. And now, we have Godfather Joker. The King of the City. People kiss his ring out of respect (or more probable, out of fear), and he runs the show. This is evident in how he & Harley can go to a club, and Joker gets to sit in the VIP section. Harley is on the dance floor. NOBODY is running away. Nobody is calling the cops. Joker gets what Joker wants, because he is at the top, even after "being away" (Tattooed Man came to welcome him back, on behalf of "everybody").

The easter egg to Alex Ross' famous Joker/Harley cover was amazing to see, and also showed why her classic costume doesn't work in live action. I loved Jokers dialogue at Ace Chemicals, about how dying is too easy but the oath to live for someone is stronger. And the glimpse at Harleen falling for her patient was near perfect...although, I'd love to know the story behind her bringing him "a kitty".

This. Add me to the list that loved Leto's Joker and I want to see more!!!

[Clark_Kent]

This. Add me to the list that loved Leto's Joker and I want to see more!!!

Fistbump.

10chars

[AlexanderLuthor]

I wanted to like it. I like Leto as an actor and high hopes. This performance just didn't pack a punch for me. To be fair, he is following 2 of the most iconic performances in the history of film - but, this felt like someone trying too hard to do something "crazy" but in the end just kind of coming off as a Miami drug lord who breathes heavy

[Project Initiative Cascada]

It was extremely weird to see a Joker who shared his mutual love with Harley. In nearly every adaption and storyline with those two, it was always a one sided relationship. She was in love with him but he only used her for his own gain. I am not sure if I can recall any story where Joker went out of his way to save Harley or break her out of prison. I mean it was nice to see him finally not be an abusive asshole to her, but still very weird nonetheless.

[herogirlinheels]

The scenes with him and Harley were the best. When they recreated the infamous Alex Ross Joker and Harley painting, I thought that was magnificent.

I was trying my hardest not to freak out from excitement when they did that! Great easter egg.
I wasn't expecting the Leto Joker to be all that good, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked his performance and I really liked the film.
Funnily enough, I just saw that two guys want to sue the production company or something because he wasn't in it as much as the trailers made it seem (which is kinda funny). So...I guess there's a lot of deleted scenes out there? I guess the fact that a lot of them got cut is a good thing for those weren't a fan of his portrayal.

[Metamorphosis]

I was trying my hardest not to freak out from excitement when they did that! Great easter egg.
I wasn't expecting the Leto Joker to be all that good, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked his performance and I really liked the film.
Funnily enough, I just saw that two guys want to sue the production company or something because he wasn't in it as much as the trailers made it seem (which is kinda funny). So...I guess there's a lot of deleted scenes out there? I guess the fact that a lot of them got cut is a good thing for those weren't a fan of his portrayal.

According to an infograph someone posted in another thread, there were what amounts to approximately 15 to 20 minutes of additional Joker footage that was cut (IMDB also does a rundown of what the scenes contain). I can't see where it would've added a lot to the overall story.

But really, two dudes want to try to sue over Leto not being in it enough? That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

[herogirlinheels]

According to an infograph someone posted in another thread, there were what amounts to approximately 15 to 20 minutes of additional Joker footage that was cut (IMDB also does a rundown of what the scenes contain). I can't see where it would've added a lot to the overall story.

But really, two dudes want to try to sue over Leto not being in it enough? That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Oh, yeah. I thought it must be satire or something when I saw the headline but it's for real. I guess they also want to sue the movie theatre they saw it at because when they went to complain to the employees and demanded their money back (which is just ????) the manager laughed at them. Which I would have done too if someone was demanding that I give them money back over a movie I didn't make lol.

[cosmicjoke21]

I really liked Jared Leto's performance too. It was always going to be really difficult following Heath Ledger's performance, given how incredible that was. But Jared Leto brought something really different and I liked it a lot. I liked the angle they went with, with him clearly really being in love with Harley, and his possessive need to have her to himself, etc... It was almost sweet, the way he was going to such extremes to rescue her, which is a weird thing to say in regard to the Joker. But it strangely worked. He also seemed genuinely unhinged and dangerous I thought. Like you really couldn't tell what he was going to do or how he was going to react to any given situation. Which is essential in portraying the Joker. On top of all that, Jared makes one hell of a good looking Joker. I hope they give him more of a chance to explore the Joker more and have him heavily featured either in the rumored Harley Quinn spin-off film or as the main antagonist in the solo Batman film.

[Batmaniac]

Jared Leto's cringe inducing performance was terrible. If I never see his Joker again, it'll be too soon.

[Nite-Wing]

I liked what I saw
He really did work as this crazy mob boss who is kinda like a sith lord as well(mainly talking about the ace chemicals scene)