Not the Joker we know from the comics

Rating: 9/10 (8 October 2019)

I'm a big fan of the DC comic universe and Joker has always been one of my favorite bad guys. This is not that Joker.
This story is totally stand alone as Joker from the comics has never been given a back story.
Don't expect too much action here, the movie isn't about that, it's all about Jokers decent into madness.
The hype around this movie I think is just part of it's advertising as there is nothing in this movie that's "hyper violent" or anything that graphic really. He kills a total of 6 people in the entire movie, 4 with a gun, one stabbing/head smashing into wall and one smothering. I laughed at the "news" stories about people walking out of the movie being sick...I'm not sure where those stories come from. I recently saw John Wick 3 and the violence in that movie is hundreds of times what this movie is. In fact I would even call the violence in this movie pretty tame by today's standards.
The star of this movie is of course Joaquin's acting. The depths he goes to play this kind of insanity is astounding. Giving the Joker the strange laughing mental illness was a great idea. Think tourettes but instead of swearing and ticks he laughs, it's really clever.
During the movie I actually felt for him, he gets pushed around so much I was almost cheering when he shot the bullies on the train.
It's a great story, slow, yes, but very compelling and I didn't feel bored throughout the movie.
I'm not sure about the top user review on this page as he calls it the best film to bring a comic book to life - it's not based on any comic book. Also using the words disturbing and violent feels a bit much, it's not that bad...
Oh and the way Joker runs is fantastic, he runs a lot in this movie and it's just funny to watch.