It's hard to not give this movie a 10 but...

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2019)

I'll go with a 9. I waited a few months to see this movie. I wanted most of the buzz to disappear and to randomly enjoy it one day. Even then, I wanted to hate this movie and not believe the hype was real. The buzz about this movie is indeed REAL.
The first thing to get out of the way is this isn't really a comic book movie. Sure. The character comes from a comic book but it's anything but that. This movie is about mental health. This movie is about how society tends to isolate and cast people out. That would drive anyone crazy! We need to embrace everyone's differences. That's what makes humankind better.
Should Joaquin get an Oscar for this? Yes. Absolutely! Will he? If I know the Academy... I doubt. He was absolutely PERFECT with this portrayal. In some ways, I think he was better than Heath. I just don't see the Academy giving the Oscar to a movie based on a comic book... that surface level description will cause them to give it to someone else. Joaquin made this movie what it is. Period.
For me, this movie didn't start to pick up until the 2nd half so it'll be more interesting when I rewatch it. Certain things like cinematography and directing were a little off to me. Certain things with the plot didn't seem to fit. Parts of the first half just seemed boring and for lack of a better term... forced. That might change after a rewatch. The score was good only half of the time in my opinion.
This is one of the best DC films ever made. It might as well have been made while the Dark Knight trilogy was hot.
Overall, this movie went places that it needed to go and it didn't shy away from going full speed. I suspect this movie will be difficult for some to get through but movies like this are needed to make an impact and let people know that mental illness is a serious thing.