Why Was Leto's Joker Poorly Received?

[The Kid]

His limited screen time didn't have anything that would scream "classic" or "awesome", none who saw the movie could recommend someone else to see the movie based off the Joker scenes alone, where as Rogue One used Vader in a good way, you could have some fanboy recommend Rogue One based off the Vader scenes alone.

Exactly this. He wasn't memorable in the small screentime he got. Vader was in Rogue One for a short amount and pretty much stole the show. Joker is on that level as a villain and most people expect more for him.

[RobinFan4880]

And don't say 'but the extended cut fills in the gaps.' No it doesn't. He still does nothing for the plot. He's still an extended cameo. Plus, I don't think it's fair to use "extended cuts" as a way to justify anything. If the director/studio thought it was integral to be included in the film, it would have been in that standard cut so everything else is irrelevant.

Studios make boneheaded moves in the editing room all the time. Look at Kingdom of Heaven's theatrical release v. the Director's Cut. One is a really terrible movie, the other is entertaining.

Exactly this. He wasn't memorable in the small screentime he got. Vader was in Rogue One for a short amount and pretty much stole the show. Joker is on that level as a villain and most people expect more for him.

Vader had one good scene, where he killed some Rebels in a Force Unleashed kind of way. The other scene was ruined by a one liner that is completely out of character.

[batnbreakfast]

Studios make boneheaded moves in the editing room all the time. Look at Kingdom of Heaven's theatrical release v. the Director's Cut. One is a really terrible movie, the other is entertaining.

Kingdom was never as bad as 13th Warrior or SS

[Lightning Rider]

Exactly this. He wasn't memorable in the small screentime he got. Vader was in Rogue One for a short amount and pretty much stole the show. Joker is on that level as a villain and most people expect more for him.

He definitely stole the show at the end but I'd say that's much easier to do with Vader. He was making cameo appearances, not in a supporting role, and outside of a criticized portrayal in ROTS, Vader has just one iconic look and voice. Joker has to be interpreted since he wasn't born on the screen, and the weight of his villainy comes from charismatic insanity, not stoic shows of force.

[Carabas]

He definitely stole the show at the end but I'd say that's much easier to do with Vader. He was making cameo appearances, not in a supporting role, and outside of a criticized portrayal in ROTS, Vader has just one iconic look and voice. Joker has to be interpreted since he wasn't born on the screen, and the weight of his villainy comes from charismatic insanity, not stoic shows of force.

Yeah, it's a false comparison.

We get classic Vader in Rogue One, a story set in teh exact same universe as all other Vader movie appearances, James Earl Jones and all.

To get sort of the same effect you'd need to actually get Jack Nicholson in his purple suit in Suicide Squad.

[ed2962]

I actually liked Leto's performance.

[Zero Hunter]

It was alright but not one of my favorites. He kind of came off as just too much of a common criminal and not someone who was really crazy and just liked causing chaos. Take off the makeup and hair dye and he would seem like any other crazy drug lord in a direct to DVD low budget crime movie starring someone like Steven Segal. He didn't feel "Jokery" enough to me if that makes sense. At least with Ledger and even Nicholson the Joker felt different and more dangerous than just a vicious drug dealer.

[peterkinger]

Because he wasn't the main antagonist and his relationship with Harley was poorly done. They were trying to put The Joker in a new direction but just threw a bunch of things together and hope they stuck. I do think we need more than the ten minutes we got of the character to make a properly ruling though. I just wish The Joker was more manipulating and calculating or unpredictable.

[hammergiant]

Many of these characters have different interpretations for different times. We have Keaton Batman, Bale Batman, Affleck Batman, animated Batman, different Supermen and different Alfreds and so it is with Joker.

I didn't care for Leto's version because his Joker seemed too normal. I also felt that way about Nicholson to a degree. Ledger was the only one who captured the madness, unpredictability and living chaos the Joker needs to embody. "Some men just want to watch the world burn," was a great description of that character.

Joker is the yin to Batman's yang. He has to be everything that Batman stands against, the dark chaotic wave of crime and crazy threatening to drown Gotham. I didn't get that from Leto, who was more like a lovesick emo gang lord, always running off to rescue his girlfriend. He had shallow, but easily defined motivations, and thus, was predictable, the kiss of death for any Joker.

[batnbreakfast]

Many of these characters have different interpretations for different times. We have Keaton Batman, Bale Batman, Affleck Batman, animated Batman, different Supermen and different Alfreds and so it is with Joker.

I didn't care for Leto's version because his Joker seemed too normal. I also felt that way about Nicholson to a degree. Ledger was the only one who captured the madness, unpredictability and living chaos the Joker needs to embody. "Some men just want to watch the world burn," was a great description of that character.

Joker is the yin to Batman's yang. He has to be everything that Batman stands against, the dark chaotic wave of crime and crazy threatening to drown Gotham. I didn't get that from Leto, who was more like a lovesick emo gang lord, always running off to rescue his girlfriend. He had shallow, but easily defined motivations, and thus, was predictable, the kiss of death for any Joker.

He was too serious for my tastes and didn't enjoy what he did enough for my tastes. The laugh was a trademark he used not the Joker enjoying himself. Did anyone really think he would surpas Ledger from the bits and pieces we got pre SS?

[Carabas]

I didn't care for Leto's version because his Joker seemed too normal.

He was significantly less normal than most comicbook versions of the Jok

Joker is the yin to Batman's yang. He has to be everything that Batman stands against, the dark chaotic wave of crime and crazy threatening to drown Gotham.

None of this applies unles he's in an actual Batman versus the Joker story.
And most comicbook versions of the Joker aren't this anyway.

I didn't get that from Leto, who was more like a lovesick emo gang lord, always running off to rescue his girlfriend. He had shallow, but easily defined motivations, and thus, was predictable, the kiss of death for any Joker.

I find most Jokers predictable. He shows up, starts to monololgue for a bit, with a ton of crappy puns and jokes in it, and then the killing starts. Yawn. Him actually going to save Harley Quinn? Didn't see that coming in a million years.

[hammergiant]

If you want to talk about comic book versions of Joker, we'll be here all day. He's morphed more than probably any single character in comics. Seventy-five years of stories is bound to give you vastly different versions. Movies are a different animal. Mediocre writing nets you a mediocre Joker, in comics or film. The iconic Joker stories, the ones which stand the test of time, do not show him as a degree of normal or predictable.

Batman was in the movie. Batman chased the Joker and Harley. That's kind of their thing. Joker is the preeminent Batman villain. They are often portrayed as polar opposites.

In the context of the movie, you didn't see Joker trying to bust Harley out of prison coming? That is difficult to believe.

[oasis1313]

Leto as The Joker doesn't work. One of the prettiest men on Earth as the Joker? Jared Leto is about as menacing as a newborn kitten.

[Carabas]

Leto as The Joker doesn't work. One of the prettiest men on Earth as the Joker? Jared Leto is about as menacing as a newborn kitten.

As opposed to two of the other three movie Jokers?

[Lightning Rider]

I again find myself at odds with others, on the point that they thought Leto was too "normal" of a criminal. I thought he was creepy as hell and clearly unhinged from the get go. Nothing about his relationship with Harley was normal. He tortured her, then made her his slave, then dipped her in a chemical bath, and almost let her drown to escape. He toyed with a man by dangling Harley in front of him before killing him. If people wanted him to give a nihilist speech then I can see why they were disappointed, but for me the Joker is about his persona and his actions more than verbal expressions of his philosophy. Also, this is a Joker with a history, just like the Batman of this DCEU. He's been in this game for a long time, he's not fresh mysterious the upstart coming out of nowhere and falling in love with Batman as an opponent. He has his connections, his cashflows. Being a criminal has to be sustainable for him on some level.