Absolutely, terrifying, uncomfortable, and real.

Rating: 9/10 (4 October 2019)

JOKER REVIEW: Last night I saw what is quite possibly my most hyped film of 2019, and what I'm thinking is the best film of 2019. It is quite literally a masterpiece and did not disappoint. It was everything I expected and everything I didn't. I've wanted a movie about the Joker for so long but I never thought it would work quite like this. This is NOT comic book Joker, I don't even think we've seen the perfect comic accurate live action Joker on screen yet, but it doesn't need to be comic Joker. This is something new. It's one of the scariest movies I've ever seen but not because there's jumpscares or horror, it's scary because it's so real. I've never been so uncomfortable in a theater, yet I was so engrossed. The violence is briefer than you might expect, but graphically shocking everytime it's on screen. You never no what's going to happen, you never know what Arthur is going to do next. You're waiting for his snap into Joker and you keep guessing until he finally does. This movie has gained some controversy over the message it's trying to tell, but I think it's very clear that Arthur is not the good guy here, we are stuck with the guy who breaks. No one should look up to him and the movie knows this. You sympathize but you aren't rooting for him. Last night I was asked "Joaquin Phoenix or Heath Ledger?", and I don't think they're even comparable. They both did something drastically different and amazing with the character, but Phoenix is still spectacular. The rest of the cast is good, Robert De Niro is one of my top 5 favorite actors so seeing him in a DC movie is just great, but this movie wholly surrounds Phoenix. It's his movie. Now I have very little complaints, but I'll say a few things. I wasn't fully engrossed from the start, maybe it was because I was tense, but the movie didn't go from good to great for me until a twist in the middle that confirmed this film's a masterpiece. I have another tiny nitpick but that gets into spoilers. I'd also just like to say the third act was fantastic. The film is terrifying and brilliant. I praise Todd Phillips and Phoenix for creating something so real. Bravo.
Final rating: 9/10