NOT a 10, at least not by any reasonable standard.

Rating: 2/10 (27 January 2020)

This is the first review I've ever left on IMDb. I've left ratings before but never reviews but I feel compelled to do so now. Joaquin Phoenix is one of the greatest actors of his generation and Joker expects his performance alone to carry the entire movie, which makes the plot and characters, including Phoenix's character, feel superficial and one-dimensional. The plot is extremely weak and the movie is entirely too long... the length added absolutely nothing to the story or to the characters. Joker is supposed to be intelligent, his motivation based on something deep and meaningful, at least in his mind, but the movie never examines this. Joker doesn't go any deeper than surface level, which reduces the Joker character to nothing more than a weak, pitiful, self-loathing idiot who, because of his own foolish decisions, eventually
becomes angry and bitter. This Joker is no different than your run-of-the-mill serial killer. He's not intelligent or resourceful, and he's certainly no criminal mastermind, as we know The Joker character to be. Those giving Joker a 10 must have watched a completely different movie. Phoenix's Joker could have been the best ever had the story been as great as his performance.