After watching the Joker movie Friday, and then defending it on national radio Saturday morning on the BBC Radio 5 Live breakfast show. I thought I’d share my brief thoughts of it here before looking at a unique marketing idea.
Ok the Joker is apparently between reviewers becoming very much a marmite movie. They either love it or hate it. Very few in between.
Like the majority of regular joes that paid to see it I loved it.
But word of warning this isn’t your regular run of the mill comic book movie. Don’t go in expecting to see a MCU action packed sfx spectacular or a DCU train wreck. This movie also does not tie in with any of the other DCU movies. Look at Joker as the cinematic version of the many Batman one shots that show Batman in different times and settings. An elseworld story if you like.
What you have here is a movie that depicts the descent of a mentally ill person to becoming one of the most iconic comic book villains of all time.
The cinematography of the movie is amazing, as is the tone and retro feel of it all. Gotham isn’t the dark gothic beast of Burton, it’s more real, gritty, run down. Which is helped by the washed out tone, and looking like its set in the late 70s or 80s.
The story has a few influences, the most obvious is Killing Joke. But you can see Taxi Driver, V for Vendetta, King of Comedy also. Joker tries to reflect our current society and the them vs us between the rich and the poor. And the interesting twist of depicting Wayne as a “villain” that fits in with that theme. I’d also feel there will be a Falling Down comparison. It will definitely spark similar conversations.
The acting by Joaquin Phoenix is amazing. His depiction of Arthur/Joker is amazing. The amount of weight he must of lost for the role to make him look starved, skeletal. Talk about method acting. But the laugh, the physical acting. Even down to Arthur’s voice. The detail. I felt like I had a hard decision to make for my favourite Joker. But I think Ledger still tops my list by a hairs width. But it’s that close.
The score/soundtrack is amazing. It’s menacing, broody. Love it.
I love Joker. It’s a movie that will spark debate. It certainly demands multiple viewings.
While I was being wow’d by Joker, Twitter was briefly went crazy (not really) of a great bit of marketing for Wendy’s. Which I believe is some sort of fast food outlet in the US.
Wendy’s took the D&D d20 system and produced a free RPG! The RPG is called Feast of Legends.
In Feast of Legends…
“You are adventurers in the realm of Beef ’s Keep, where the nations have been splintered over major disagreements in how to treat the realm’s people. Creepingvale and the United Clown Nations have led their people into a collective darkness known as The Deep Freeze. While the world currently feels like a cold and desolate place, you reside in the one nation that remains a true beacon of hope: Freshtovia.”
I’m assuming United Clown Nations is a certain fast food chain that has a clown as it’s mascot. I’m getting flashbacks to Judge Dredd and The Cursed Earth story line and the two fast food inspired warring factions.
Naturally at its heart this is a piece of marketing. But thematic marketing I’ll grant them that. Which starts with the table of contents and continues through out.
The marketing even permeates through to the buffs you can get if you are eating Wendy’s food while playing.
The orders are like classes and if you are actually eating the physical order while playing that matches your chosen order, you get advantage for the day!
“As you’ve probably discerned, food is a major aspect of Feast of Legends. As such, what you’re eating in the real world will create direct buffs that affect your character in the game. Each of these buffs will go into effect for the entire duration of play for the day. So you might want to swing by your local Wendy’s or hit up delivery real quick.”
Or if you “dare” to eat a rivals products during play…
“Just as important, if you’ve settled for something other than Wendy’s, it can cause your character to weaken. Players eating any of the following during gameplay will gain the following debuffs for the duration of the session.”
I think it’s great that they give some example preconstructed characters for players to jump straight in with.
There is also a DM section and campaign to play through.
“Feast of Legends: Rise From The Deep Freeze is an adventure set in the realm of Beef’s Keep. The realm is vast, encompassing mountains, deserts, coasts and more. Your players will begin in Freshtovia, a kingdom ruled by Queen Wendy. Each player will begin at level 1, progressing to level 5 over the course of play.”
The following is the premise for the campaign.
“The main threat to the land is the Ice Jester of the United Clown Nations who resides in the lands known as The Deep Freeze — a dark, desolate place filled with frozen dangers. Recently the Ice Jester has been sending frozen minions across the realm to spread icy havoc. And now there are rumors that the Ice Jester has found a powerful magic device capable of throwing all of Beef ’s Keep into a new frozen age. The fate of the realm rests in the hands of a few fresh, never frozen heroes.”
I love the portrayal of the rivals mascot. Not having a Wendy’s in the UK, I’m picking up from the not so subtle messaging that the rival uses frozen patties, whilst Wendy’s uses fresh patties.
As a free way to try an RPG this looks fun for those that are fans of the Wendy’s fast food chain. It’s definitely a fantastic piece of marketing. I’m not sure how much mileage those of us out of the US would get from this. But there are some interesting ideas in their that could only really work in a product like this, for instance those buffs for eating related food.
You can get the pdf HERE.