The New King of Origin Stories

Rating: 9/10 (7 October 2019)

There are dozens of origin stories and then there's JOKER. This movie may be the new standard in that department for years to come.
I purposely avoided any and all trailers and previews for Joker so that I could go into it with an open mind. This movie was nothing I expected or imagined and that's a good thing.
I walked out of the theatre wondering what I had just witnessed and after some time I realized that the only way Joker's story could be told was in the most brutal and violent way possible. No other movies or performances have shown why he is Batman's greatest and most dangerous villain. He is an unpredictable, psychotic killer and this movie finally displays that characteristic in full color. It also shows his descent into madness.
I know everyone wants to know if Phoenix had a better performance than Ledger as the Joker. First off, they are two different approaches to the character. Ledger's is a straight forward full character from the get go with no back story or explanations. We already know who the Joker is and Ledger gives us what we want. Phoenix's Joker benefits from more screen time and a deeper story. He shows us all why Joker is who he is.
Both are great performances benefiting from the environment the actors were given for the character.
I was surprised and shocked at some of the turns that the movie took and it was as unpredictable and violent experience as a movie goer which mirrored the Joker as a character perfectly.