Joker Is Good. Phoenix is Amazing.

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2019)

Joker is a different take on a character done many times before. The whole movie is quite different than I remember the character being in any other comic book or movie, and you have to go with it. Joaquin Phoenix is incredible as the afflicted Arthur Fleck. And watching him transform into the Joker character is very cool to watch. But, I feel the movie didn't go quite far enough into that next character. I thought surely it was going to end with his character being the Heath Ledger character at the beginning of The Dark Knight. It didn't quite make it there. Another movie? Probably... The movie was quite good, although it did drag in a few spots. It's a dark, slow-burning drama that does finally get to a boiling point. You just have to be patient and wait for it.
If Phoenix doesn't get an Oscar nomination, I will be very surprised. Is he as remarkable or rememberable as Heath Ledger? Not quite. And you have to compare apples to apples. The two are portraying the same exact character in the same exact way. Yes, Heath did it better. But not a lot better. Ledger also had a more developed character to work with. Phoenix's character is just getting started at the end of the movie. Can't wait for the next one.