Joker Movie Critics Poster Calls It a Masterpiece and Film of the Year

DC Films took an ambitious risk giving The Joker his own origin story movie – but it’s looking increasingly like that gamble is going to pay off. Big time.

A new poster for Joker has been released that captures the first wave of critical responses to the film. As you can see below, the lineup of quotes definitely includes statements like “Film of the Year,” and “Masterpiece” being thrown around:

Now some cynics may posit that this poster selectively chooses the best quotes about Joker to create a larger impression of greatness. However, Joker‘s overall Rotten Tomatoes score is 83% (at the time of writing this), which makes it the second-highest-rated DC film on the aggregate site (Wonder Woman being the first). In addition to what the larger swath of critics are saying about Joker, ComicBook.com’s own Brandon Davis was one of the first to call the film an “Insane Masterpiece,” in his (spoiler-free) review. Here’s a sample of his overall impression of the film, and why DC fans need to take notice:

“For the first time since launching the “DCEU” (an interconnected series of films linking the DC Comics heroes together in a shared universe on the big screen), Warner Bros. and DC Comics movies and looking to introduce and isolated film which could be the first of many in the form of Joker. While it is unlike other films in the shared big screen universe by existing in its own space, it is also different in every other imaginable way — from all comic book movies before it. Joker is a thrilling, haunting character study which happens to become a mysterious origin story for the best known villain in comic book history.”

With the critical consensus leaning overwhelmingly toward Joker being a major cinematic accomplishment, it remains to be seen if this more cinematic take on DC Comics material will connect with mainstream audiences. Right now, Joker is projected to make upwards of $100 million on opening weekend; the key is that the film was produced at a fraction of the normal comic book movie budget (reportedly around $55 million). That means even several hundred million would be a big win for Warner Bros – and it looks like Joker is definitely capable of that.

Upcoming DC movies include Joker on October 4th, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2on December 16, 2022.