When you think about watching a movie that revolves around Joker, one of the most notorious and darkest villains of all time, what do you expect? Maybe a fantasy story of him plaguing Gotham City or a taste of his wicked, dark humor, you know, the things Joker is known for? Well, whatever you were expecting to see in Joker 2, I’m sorry to tell you that you won’t get it. After the success of Joker, which gave us a truly fantastic origin story for the villain, I had high expectations for this sequel, but it turns out that the creators of Joker 2 presented us with something that no one had requested. So, in this Joker 2 review, let’s talk about how one of the most anticipated films of 2024 turned out to be a joke.
For God’s sake, enough songs
You know, when Joker 2 was first announced as a musical, I still believed that they were going to make a good movie with a few songs here and there that would make sense. However, if you walk into a movie theater playing Joker 2, you will find many songs here and there accompanied by a short film. Most of the time when Arthur sings songs in the film, it’s usually in response to someone saying something or him feeling something. Now my question is: what was the point of putting a whole song instead of a nice dialogue?
At first, I’m not going to lie, the first two songs are enjoyable, but after that, it starts to feel like “Oh no, not again” every time Arthur and Harley break into a song. Now, if you’ve decided to make it a full musical, at least put in songs that relate to the scene situation. Except for some songs, most of them don’t fit with the scene and it’s so painful to watch while trying to understand the context.
Overall, making Joker 2 a musical wasn’t a good idea because when you’re trying to do something new, you’re not supposed to forget to stay true to what people expect from you. It seems that Warner Bros. and Todd were blinded by the success of Joker and decided to take a chance on the sequel while being certain of its success.
Expressions and Lady Gaga cannot sail in the same boat
Have you heard of the expression “One bad apple makes everything bad”? Well, Lady Gaga was the bad apple in the context of Joker 2. Her on-screen performance made it seem like someone had drunk heavily on a weekend but had to go to work hungover and was doing his best to hide it from his boss. Lady Gaga has the most balanced acting in the entire film as, throughout Joker 2’s massive screen time, she wore the same expressions.
Apart from her, all the actors did a good job. Joaquin Phoenix was phenomenal as the Joker, just like in the previous film. However, a good script is not enough to make a good film. I want to point out that even though the film is a total disaster, Joaquin Phoenix gave it his all.
The way he’s quiet but so expressive, from gentle to menacing, and the way he made the personality change while dressed as the Joker with a Southern accent, it was all fantastically done. When it comes to playing the character, Joaquin Phoenix deserves to be appreciated and I stand by that. However, the charm of Joaquin’s acting was overshadowed by Lady Gaga’s “I’m not an actor but I’ll act” energy, and I hated that with all my heart.
I understood what Todd Phillips wanted to do but it didn’t work
Now, watching the movie, I tried to understand how the director who made such a fantastic Joker movie could have created something like that, and after watching the movie in depth, I know what went wrong worked. It seems that the vision Todd Phillps sought had something to do with creating a tale influenced by stage dramas or plays. This is evident by Arthur’s death at the end since he completed his character arc, just as one would see in a drama set on stage. The way Joker 2’s story unfolds with songs and chronicles makes you feel like you’re watching a play with meanings you have to decipher for yourself.
However, making such a film requires a lot of details that were missing in Joker 2 and so the whole structure fell apart. Now, I appreciate the idea behind Joker 2, but the poor execution of Joker 2 made Todd Phillips a buffoon in front of the audience. If more attention had been paid to details, even with all the songs and Lady Gaga’s pathetic storyline, this could have turned out to be a decent film.
Joker 2 is from Todd Phillips and Warner Bros. Folie à Deux
Yes, of course, you should watch Joker 2 so that if you want to pursue a career in acting, you know what not to do. As far as I can tell, it’s the fault of the mess that Joker 2 caused to the directors and producers of the film. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, making this film a musical was a big mistake. This greatly increased the screen time of the film and added little to no value to it.
The most unnecessary element of Joker 2 was certainly Arthur’s death in the end. Todd Phillips might have thought he would end the Joker franchise with this film because he and Warner Bros. were certain of the success of Joker 2. However, as is evident, it turned out to be their “Folie à Deux” or a shared illusion, and what could have been a great ending for a franchise turned into a massive disaster. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to watch Joker: Folie à Deux in the cinema.
