LARGELY A PRANKSTER
Phoenix's take on the Joker is far removed from Cesar Romero, who was the first actor to play the role in the 1960s "Batman" television series, which was mainly aimed at children.
"Romero didn't even shave his mustache for the role. He put the make-up on top of the mustache. He had a lot of fun with it," said Cross.
In 1989, Jack Nicholson brought his edgy, maniacal touch to the character in the "Batman" movie but was still largely a prankster.
Ledger reinvented him as unsettling and unhinged in 2008 in "The Dark Knight" in 2008, when the Joker became a terrorist in a post-Sept. 11 2001 era beset by fears of anarchy and chaos.
Yet Ledger, who won a posthumous supporting actor Oscar for the role, "still played it a bit like a rock star, there was a bit of grunge glamor," said Cross.
"Batman gets to stop him in the end. He does blow up a hospital but he never took it to a truly irredeemable place," added Cross.
Phoenix, by contrast, turns in a performance so nerve-wracking that it is difficult to watch at times, said Belloni.
"If this was not a comic book character it would be among the most chilling characters I have ever seen in film. It's really disturbing," Belloni said.
The film has an R rating in the United States, meaning those under 17 need to be accompanied by a parent.
"It's not for kids, and they won't like it anyway," the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater chain said in a warning on its website ahead of the opening weekend.
