It hurts my heart to write this. As an avid DC fan of all things, I had such high hopes for this movie.
Joaquin Phoenix returns as Arthur Fleck, aka the Joker. The first one was a complete masterpiece (I gave it 5 stars, a literal work of art). You cannot watch this one without seeing the first one, it picks up after the ending events in which Joker kills several people and is now in jail. This is where the problems start, the movie takes place almost entirely in prison, and in a court room. It felt very, very repetitive. When Joker meets Lee aka Harley Quinzel played by Lady Gaga, they fall in love. It turns out Lee was a fan of the Joker and essentially set the pace in motion for them to meet. She is not a psychologist like she was in her origin, she studied it in school but ended up checking herself into a mental institution.
I thought they would break Arthur out of jail and go cause chaos through Gotham but that never happens. Most of the romance and chaos comes through singing…There is so much singing, a lot of it is what Arthur is seeing in his head, some of it is how Joker and Lee communicate. It didn’t always fit and it wasn’t always entertaining. I do like musicals and have nothing against them, some of my favorite movies are musicals but it has to “fit”. If the songs or the scenes aren’t working to progress the story along, it makes the movie hard to follow and felt very confusing at times. I feel like there was a vision but it got lost somehow, I think making this a musical felt very out of place, especially since the first movie was not one.
I liked Lady Gaga as Lee, and thought she made a great Harley Quinn, though I do not agree with Lee’s actions at the end. Speaking of the end, this truly was a disservice to the Joker overall. I think Joaquin Phoenix is one of the greatest actors of all time, his portrayal of the Joker is still incredible despite the flaws of the movie. None of these issues were him or Gaga, I think overall it just wasn’t working.
There are some good things too, I did enjoy Harry Lawtey’s performance as Harvey Dent, it was actually one of my favorite parts. I think he really nailed it and it’s a shame we probably won’t see him as this character again. I thought the acting across the board was really great, and I would say if you enjoyed the first one, this is very different and maybe watch it if you’re curious how it pans out!
JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX is in theaters October 4th, 2024.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5
Ashley Kethley (Contributing Editor) is a frequent traveler currently living in San Diego. She's a super nerd who enjoys all kinds of movies and doesn't always think the book was better. Click Here to check out Ashley's Articles.