Aside from the runny make-up under the eyes which is always going to be an issue with me because I HATE the teardrop look everyone is obsessed with, I think it's just about as close to perfect as you're going to get at this scale.
It's basically an improved BR sculpt with PERS, in my eyes. I like the expression, I think especially viewed from the sculpt's right side, it's dead-on. The paint is great, easily HT's best Joker paint yet, aside from those friggin' tears. Honestly, with Joker sculpts you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. There's not a single 3D sculpt that is ever going to look 100% like he did in the movie because that son of a ***** changed facial expressions every .0007 seconds, and a static sculpt just is never going to look right to anyone's eyes. Even Adam's, while they had great Ledger likenesses, had issues balancing that and his performance as Joker. The one thing this sculpt has over every other one I've seen in this scale is personality and life. It's not drab, dour or expressionless, it gives you options, and it captures the character which is the most important thing to me.
So, in short, I love the sculpt. And I was a harsh critic of it from early pictures.
I love what you wrote here.
Mainly because your point speaks volumes about HTs artistic choices with their sculpts based on actors. I have every reason to believe that the artists/sculptors over at HT are more than capable of making their sculpts look exactly like the actor, down to every minute detail that makes them distinguishable or unique. However, just because they can, they dont.
I'm under the belief that they choose to pretty them up and make a romantically realistic version of the actors. They try to diminish what they see as flaws, and on top of that, they give their pieces a face/expression that, believe it or not, WILL have a different expression/mood depending on the angle and light. The most apparent case is with the dx12 Bruce Wayne sculpt. If you look at it from a certain angle, he looks like he's about to say something of importance, another angle he looks troubled, or reflecting on his past, another view he looks angry.
He's not the only sculpt that is capable of this, there are quite a few...like tony stark, Royce from predators, blade, leonidas and a few others that escape me for the moment. These are non pers as well, which is a testament to their abilities. Granted, not all sculpts are a home run, as I think those were handed off to their junior sculptors...but the seniors, such as yulli, have honed their skills. She even mentioned that not only capturing the likeness was important to her, but giving them life was important as well.
Adams joker is nice, but like mag and crow have mentioned before, it's either scene specific or "lifeless". It sure as hell looks lifelike, but to them and myself, it looks like Heath doing make up test in the art department. In other words, it looks like Heath playing the joker, rather than joker being played by Heath...if that makes any sense.
With the dx11, various angles can give off different moods, thus making the sculpt come to life.
Everyone has different tastes and everyone has a favorite facial expression from heaths portrayal of joker. I bet there are some that are disappointed HT didnt sculpt his "not sure if serious" face in the wayne penthouse scene. you cant please everyone. I like this joker and will make a great companion piece to the OG dx01. That one sure as hell looks like Heath as joker, and his expression is exact to the hospital scene and burning mountain of money scene, so I'm confused as to how some here feel that one is off in light of this newest release.
That was a mouthful. But those are my two cents.