Lives up to the hype!

Rating: 9/10 (15 October 2019)

It arrived, it delivered. That's what it comes down to. Joker lived up to the hype and then some. Originally, I was not sure how well a standalone Joker movie would play out, I thought it would be better of linking to a batman film e.g. Dark Knight but I was pleasantly mistaken. I have no doubt that Joker will be a contender for film of the year.
The first thing that Joker does well is to pick the correct actor for the job. My god did Joaquin Phoenix give a phenomenal performance. I know that Joaquin only picks roles that he believes he can excel in and I would have never pictured him for this but easily one of the best performances he has done. You feel bad watching the character slowly snap, lose his mind and turn dark. You are rooting for him throughout and that can only be achieved through great acting. Joaquin is in for an Oscar for his role, could easily see him winning it but you never know, a nomination at least. Everyone else does a standup job as well especially Robert De Niro, if I didn't know him, I would have thought they got an actual TV show host on to perform his role. Stellar performances all round, bravo.
The plot is original and well laid out. There is a good plot structure so some build-up to a great ending. You can tell that the writers focused on Arthur as a person rather than the Joker character, it could have been portrayed with nothing to do with the Joker. It was a nice touch that they didn't just lean on the big name, they instead delved deep into a psychotic person and added the Joker name as a topper. This created a nice blend of source material and new original ideas.
Emotions will be pulled from you. As I mentioned earlier, you honestly feel for the guy, you get a barrage of different emotions throughout. One moment you think things are going well the next you feel worried and concerned. Not many movies are able to get this from you so well and so frequent.
The only negative I had with Joker was the over-used Batman scene. It's such a small negative that I wasn't going to include it but I keep thinking it over and I didn't see the need. Would say spoilers ahead but it has no real link to the film and its been seen many times, you'll know it, trust me. So the classic scene where you see Thomas and Martha Wayne get shot down the alleyway, necklace snaps off as it always does and Bruce is left standing there. Good scene but this happens near the end of Joker and I feel like they could have done it better with just having the shot of Bruce being alone. You didn't need the full scene. It was an exact copy of all the other films that have portrayed this. Like I said it's a small nitpick but it just didn't fit right playing the full 5-minute scene.
Joker, an amazing film that gives you true emotion, an original, decent plot and some of the best acting in the business. You will find very little fault here so watch Joker as soon as possible.
9/10
P.S - People saying they walked out the cinema because of how dark this is, yes it's dark but c'mon get a grip it ain't that bad.