Good acting from Phoenix, not so great of a movie

Rating: 6/10 (16 October 2019)

Stand alone, with no prior Batman knowledge: this film is probably closer at an 8 or 9. My major problem is they tried too hard to make you side with Joker. To justify everything. To understand him. And I don't think his first murders (the ones that started him down the path, guys on the subway) were completely unjustified. The only one that you couldn't really side with was when he killed the other clown. This doesn't fit the Joker from every other description of him. He's supposed to just be an insane murderous clown who wants to watch the world burn. You're not supposed to understand him or side with him. It wasn't dark and twisted enough to be a good Joker origin movie. It was all just too cliche and predictable. Bullied semi-oedipal outcast turned murder. There's a better orgin story than that for Joker. Joker wouldn't have been created by situations that everyday people deal with. That monster was born and molded by something way more sinister. Also, Batman was never able to figure out Joker's identity. This movie makes it easy for Batman to figure out who he is.