Prologue
You’re probably reading this debating whether you should spend your hard-earned money to go see Joker: Folie à Deux and before I begin my review, you should check out this movie. However, I will post my honest thoughts with mild spoilers. Beware. I warned you.
Going Into The Film
Joker: Folie à Deux is a film that tries too hard throughout its 2 hour and 19 minute runtime. Going into this film, I had low expectations simply because of the overhaul from DC as a brand with James Gunn and Peter Safran shepherding the next 8-10 years of DC films, television, animation, and gaming. I still wanted this to be a worthwhile watch and it simply wasn’t.
Full Review
This film’s strength is its cinematography and score, but is not offering much else outside of what seems to be Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga trying their best to act alongside a weak script. Joker: Folie à Deux is a movie that marketed itself as a non-musical, but boy am I here to tell you that 90% of this movie is a song and dance that seems to never end and that is never good for the general audience who is going to see these kinds of films.
Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn did not grab me the way I thought it would and unfortunately, I feel like she is not utilized well outside of her musical performances. Joaquin Phoenix is good as Arthur Fleck, but not as The Joker and what is baffling to me is how the story explains the ideal of The Joker being a mantle rather than a singular entity. I tried to turn my comic book brain off, but could not help myself. This movie fails at being a good movie, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of Batman lore, it fails at both.
The ending of this film proves to divide fans and critics alike, and is not surprising at all from the choices Todd Phillips makes as a storyteller by the time the 3rd act concludes. I felt like the ending ruins what the original film set out to do and that’s what hurts the most.
Opinion/Final Thoughts
Joker: Folie à Deux is a sequel that probably wasn’t needed and further proves to me that the villain spinoff era and DC Elseworlds concept have overstayed their welcome in this ever-changing rollercoaster of superhero films. I am not sure if this film will break even as box office projections were not met. On Thursday night previews, this film has made $7M in its opening night and is down 47% from the original movie. WBD (Warner Bros. Discovery) needs all the money it can get and DC Studios’ Superman will have to do the heavy-lifting in order for the DC brand to be a success in this next decade.
