A beautiful, unique representation of a different type of Joker.

Rating: 10/10 (6 October 2019)

I walked into the cinema with high hopes and I left completely fulfilled. I'm a massive Batman fan - both in comics, movies and television - and I was eager to see this latest iteration. I've enjoyed many portrayals of the Joker, from Nicholson to Ledger to Hamill. Each one showcases a different element of the Joker.
Joaquin manages to present another side, whilst drawing from many aspects of the previous iterations. He plays on the mental side, showcasing a Joker developed out of circumstance. I feel Ledger's ambiguous Joker worked fantastically - which left you querying his reasons and mentality. This Joker is outright - you know his motivations and the film is a rollercoaster depicting that journey. He's a broken man with the weight of the world becoming overbearing - his fantasies so real that when they come crashing down with reality even I could sympathise with him.
The art, setting and location were fantastic. Gotham felt real and dangerous, exactly as I'd picture a pre-Batman Gotham. The depiction of Thomas Wayne felt unique in that he was depicted more as a Trump-style capitalist rather than benevolent philanthropist although as his depiction is from the perspective of Arthur, it's possible he may not be as bad as depicted.
I get the criticism based around the violence and how it utilises mental illness - it's very much topical and given recent and past events it was always going to dip into controversy. But I feel that it will be appreciated more once it settles. It is perhaps the "Killing Joke" of Joker movies.