If there was one thing I was not expecting, it was to walk out of the AMC theater thinking “Joker: Folie à Deux” was one of the best movies I have ever seen.
I didn’t, so I was right, but I also seemed to like it more than everyone else does.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” has an audience rating of 32% and a 33% Rotten Tomatoes score inching by as well. The $65 million budgeted movie also had an even worse performance in box office sales than DC superhero movie “Madame Web” which premiered in Feb. 2024, and was given a whopping 11% on the Tomatometer. The film’s sales in the second week of release also dropped by 82%, taking the crown for worst week to week decline in DC character movie history.
There were a lot of things this sequel did wrong.
For starters, it never should have been a musical and if that was an artistic choice the directors wanted to make, then they should have gone with it and ran.
I can understand the appeal of a musical Joker film, especially with such a star like Lady Gaga as a costar, but throughout the two and a half hours it felt like I was watching two different movies.
There was one half that felt similar to the first “Joker,” a perspective from the villian to make us see the process of their corruption and the thought process of turning into something people feared. The other half felt like a really dark version of “The Greatest Showman” without Hugh Jackman.
Were there scenes I felt could have been left out? Yes. But isn’t that every movie? At least the movie capped at 2h 18m unlike a new wave of cinema that insists that I can sit still for nearly three hours in a theater because every single second was crucial to the plot.
Bringing up the plot, “Joker: Folie à Deux” had an interesting one. A majority of the film was watching Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Arther Fleck, fall in love with a manipulative and mentally insane Lee Quinzel, or Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga. But really, who can blame him because she has the voice of an angel.
Gaga’s character was really unique, and though her addition to the “Joker” universe came with the cost of a little song and dance, I am glad that she made an appearance because the psychotic relationship dynamic of the two was truly entertaining.
The audience had the same withholding of information as Fleck, letting themselves get manipulated along with the Joker, which was an interesting take since I had assumed the movie would end with famous villain couple Harley and Joker getting together.
That time I was wrong.
There are a few things I did really enjoy about the film, in fact, the first thirty minutes of the movie had me convinced I was going to be the enigma that actually liked it.
Then Phoenix started singing in prison and I changed my mind.
But the cinematography was incredible. The shots were inventive, unique and overall beautiful.
The costumes department deserves a raise for the array of vibrant suits that brought the Joker to life on screen, and Phoenix’s makeup was nothing short of iconic.
Every detail was done with intention, from the lines, to the delivery, to every cigarette draw caught on camera, there was nothing done by mistake.
That I can appreciate and respect.
However, that does not change the fact I had to watch Arthur Fleck tap dance and put on a performance that I felt was inappropriate for his character during the Joker’s trial.
For every great piece of transitional music there was a cringey scene to pair. I felt myself wincing at times because it was just a bit uncomfortable, but like stated earlier, I genuinely felt like the first 30-45 minutes had potential.
I would not say that “Joker: Folie à Deux” would be in my top ten movies of 2024 but I also would not say it was the worst. That is not the review I believe director Todd Phillips was hoping for but this sequel was also not what I was hoping for after such a great original.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” was reported to have had an 11-minute standing ovation at its premier at the Venice Film Festival, which raised my hopes because why wouldn’t it? Checking multiple sources is important.
