Magnificent!

Rating: 9/10 (19 October 2019)

What a magnificent film is this!
Particularly compared to the cliche crowd-pleasing films. And even more so compared to the typical super hero movies.
I walked into the cinema with limited expectations, thinking this might just be another crowd-pleasing, CG enhanced, rehash of another super hero story.
Nope! Not at all! The story is fresh, and blunt, and nuanced, and relevant. The story has all these amazing qualities that are not normally present for films in the super hero genre.
Joaquin Phoenix is magnificent in it, absolutely, without a doubt. I also particularly appreciate that the director has chosen such a particular story line for the film, positioned the film with a particular direction, and allowed Phoenix to embody the role to this magnificent depth.
The film showed so much promise, that I felt there was still potential to allow even more depth and more grounding, which is why I'm giving it 9, rather than a 10. But, it's an excellent film, and Phoenix could not have done a more perfect job!