Joaquin was PHENOMENAL! I have one criticism though...

Rating: 9/10 (26 October 2019)

My only criticism of the movie, and the reason I'm giving it 9 stars instead of 10 is because I was hoping that the focus would've been split more evenly between Arthur's descent into madness and him actually being the Joker in the costume and makeup. The last 30 minutes of the movie was AMAZING when he actually looked the part of Joker and was sauntering and dancing around the city causing havoc, and the way it ended left me wanting WAY MORE of him that way! It was so intriguing how the costume and makeup instantly transformed him into a villain, and I really don't think we got enough of that. It felt more like scratching the surface, to be honest... I doubt the director would do a sequel because he hasn't expressed any interest in interviews I've seen, so I'm not holding my breath for that. Ugh.. so disappointing!
Having said that, Joaquin was absolutely brilliant! He made me very uncomfortable a handful of times throughout those 2 hours and he did this character that we're all familiar with the best kind of justice (after Heath Ledger, of course). I don't think anyone can or will ever beat Heath's version of the Joker, but Joaquin came pretty damn close to his level and has definitely set a new precedent!
I really truly feel that he deserves to win the Oscar in February. He's been nominated for 3 Oscars in his career and it's about time he wins. A win for this role would make up for his other losses, the biggest one being playing Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. That was honestly one of the worst snubs in Oscar history!
I'll have my fingers crossed for him this time around :)