After reading David Edlestein’s review in Vulture of Joker, I’m even surer I’m going to hate everything about this film.

It tells me everything I need to know about the movie in one simple sentence.

The downside to the performance is the downside to the movie: It’s one note played louder and louder.

I don’t need that in my life. In fact, I have zero desire to watch this film. As Edelstein points out, it’s obvious what director Todd Phillips is going for here: a pastiche of a better director’s (Martin Scorsese) movies (obviously King of Comedy and Taxi Driver). Of course, he stunt casts Robert De Niro.

Although Phillips and the screenwriters sought to make Joker more realistic than its DC Comics predecessors, it exalts its protagonist and gives him the origin story of his dreams, in which killing is a just — and artful — response to a malevolently indifferent society. Arthur/Joker might be repulsive, but in a topsy-turvy universe, repulsive is attractive. I’m not arguing that Joker will inspire killings (it might, but so might a lot of other things), only that it panders to selfish, small-minded feelings of resentment. Also it’s profoundly boring — a one-joke movie.

How boring. But then, I’m not a selfish incel with “small-minded feelings of resentment.” If I want to watch a “killing is just” movie, I’ll watch Keanu Reeves gun-fu through the John Wick movies. I’m sure I’ll be way more entertained.

Just who is this movie for anyway? I mean, fans of the DC Comics version of the Joker aren’t going to care about this approach. If you loved Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance, this isn’t going to make you love the character more. If you hated Jared Leto’s take on the character, I’m sure Phoenix’s version will be even more wrong.

My fear is the controversy surrounding this movie will push audiences to go see the film and make those in charge of DC movies incorrectly believe that creating individual, non-universe connecting movies is the way to go. It isn’t.

I don’t see many movies anymore. My life is busy. However, it seems obvious to me that the movie is a pastiche of Taxi Driver and King of Comedy with DC Comics intellectual property sprinkled in. I’m actually tired of these types of approaches to comic book movies. There is no joy here. Of course, movies can be depressing, but most of the time, I don’t want a movie to depress me. I expect Joker will be depressing.

Maybe even one note.

Imagine if Marvel decided to make a movie called Dr. Doom. It’s a story about a beautiful and smart peasant boy, Victor Von Doom, living in the made-up country of Latveria. He gets an opportunity to attend a prestigious university in the United States, leaving the woman he loves to a cruel prince. A freak accident scars his face and creates havoc with his vanity (and sanity). He melds the occult teaching of his mother and futuristic science to create a mask to hide his face and a powered armored suit, He returns to Latveria as Dr. Doom to take back the love of his life and ultimately become dictator of Latveria.

No Fantastic Four, no Avengers. No Iron Man. It might be an interesting story, and with a charismatic lead, it might generate excitement, but it’s a movie that will never, ever get made. Why? Because Marvel movies don’t work that way. Good comic book movies don’t play well that way in the theater. It may make a lot of money, but it derails the train in the process. It kills sequels and merchandise tie-ins

Kevin Feige understands this. I have no idea if Walter Hamada does.

The DCU is focusing on individual stories and not an interconnected universe. When will they ever learn this is the wrong approach?