The King is dead. . . long live the King!

Rating: 9/10 (28 January 2020)

The concept of the Joker as a character being sucvcessful again since the death of Heath Ledger was just something I could not fathom. So good was Ledgers performance in 'The Dark Kinght' that it practically killed the character for any future films and made playing the character an incredibly daunting task - as Jared Leto can testify to!
And as a true movie fan, when it was released that Joaquin Phoenix would be playing the face painted one in the character own lead pequel aI must admit I was a little nervous for Mr Phoenix. Role like this can seriously damage an actors reputation if you dont succeed.
Being brutually honest I spent the first 30 minutes of this film even more verous as the pace was incredibly slow and I couldn't really understand what they were tryingto do with the character. How was this pathetic shell of a man going to become an icon for rebellion in Gotham - it just didn't seem like the character (Authur) or Pheonix had what it took to reach the lofty heights set by their predecessors.
However in this film there is a significant shift in tempo and atmosphere and I physically shuffled towards the preverbial edge of my seat as the film grasped me and took me on the journey of the final 30 minutes of sheer excellence. From the scene in Arkhamto the end I could not it. Even that Joker's laugh which, I have to be honest for the first 3/4 of the film I found incredibly annoying, took on new significance as the character emerged from insignificance to become the focal point of the rebellion.
I loved it and only when it finished could I truly appreciate the first portion of the film that I had written off.
Joaquin Pheonix played the Joker in the way it should. He didn't try and emulate past successes but simply understood the depth of who this character is and brought that to life like no other before him. It was the dancing - simply put the dancing is how I will remember the Joker from now on!
The king is dead . . . . long live the King!