Jared Leto's Joker receives a better overall characterization in Zack Snyder's Justice League, apart from one cringe-worthy insult to Batman. An Oscar-winner, Leto seemed to many fans like a great choice to play The Joker in Suicide Squad, which would serve as the DCEU's first exposure to the Clown Prince of Crime. The movie, and Leto's portrayal, split audiences, with many being turned off by Leto's more excentric take on the Ace of Knaves.
At the same time, an actor's portrayal of a character is designed to be influenced by the script they're working from and the advice of the director they're working under. Leto also didn't personally design Joker's new look, far and away the most contentious change to the Joker. Add in the fact that so much of his performance was cut, it's unclear how much of Suicide Squad's Joker failings are on Leto, and how much fell on aspects outside his control.
By bringing Leto back to play The Joker again in the Snyder Cut, Zack Snyder offered the actor a chance to prove that given the right script and appearance, he could do justice to the iconic villain. Unsurprisingly, opinions on whether he did that vary, as they tend to with most of Snyder's work. What many do seem to agree on is that Justice League's Joker is better than Suicide Squad's, although that doesn't stop it from taking a wrong turn partway through.
The Snyder Cut's Joker Is Better Than Suicide Squad's, But Is Hurt By An Awkward Line
Jared Leto's Joker as portrayed in the Snyder Cut of Justice League improves on the Suicide Squad version in several ways, most notably by jettisoning the gaudy jewelry, flashy suits, and lame tattoos in favor of an ensemble more befitting of the character. The dialogue he's given to deliver is also by and large better written and more worthwhile too. This leads to a tense conversation between Joker and Batman that left many DC fans cheering, even if it does feel a bit weird to hear Batman use the f-word.
Unfortunately, a particular line delivered by Leto's Joker feels terribly out of place, especially considering the context of when it's being said, and some are cringing at its inappropriateness. The line in question sees Joker insist to Batman that he won't kill him because otherwise there be would no one left to give The Caped Crusader a "reach-around." Snyder has revealed that Leto improvised that insult for fun, assuming it wouldn't be kept in the final version of the film. Snyder decided to retain the line anyway, but that was a mistake.
The sexual nature of Joker's cringe-worthy line isn't necessarily the problem, as the Snyder Cut is clearly an R-rated film. The issue is that it's both unusual and surprising to hear Joker say something so lowbrow and crude to Batman, to the point where it takes the viewer out of the overall scene for a bit. Instead of elevating the drama of the confrontation, it deflates it, with fans left asking themselves if they really just heard Joker offer to perform a sex act on Batman, instead of absorbing the rest of the heated exchange. The line doesn't fit the scene, or Justice League as a whole, and Snyder would've been wise to go with Leto's instincts and leave it on the cutting room floor.