“Joker 2: Folie À Deux”: what the first reviews of the film say

Joker 2: Folly of Two was revealed to the public on Wednesday as the continuation of Todd Phillips from his commercially and critically successful film Joker, released in the Venice Film Festival 2024, and the first reviews have already been published.

The Warner Bros. film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker, a role that secured Phoenix a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the 2019 film. The sequel’s action is joined by Lady Gaga in the pivotal role of Harley Quinn, the Joker’s equally damaged partner in crime. In Joker 2: Folie À Deux, Arthur Fleck is institutionalized in Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as the Joker. It’s there that he finds true love with Gaga’s Harley Quinn and also the “music that’s always been inside him,” according to previously released trailers.

Joker 2: Folie À Deux also stars Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener. Zazie Beetz reprises his role as Joker. The sequel is set to hit theaters on October 3.

What critics are saying about Joker 2: Folie À Deux

The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic David Rooney calls Folie À Deux “uneven” and writes that while Gaga’s performance is praiseworthy, the sequel falters by being “narratively a bit weak and, at times, boring”. He notes that “Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver on the first Joker had the solid structure of not one but two Martin Scorsese films, Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, on which to hang their story and establish their tone. This one is built more on a conceit than a solid narrative foundation.”

Jo-Ann Titmarsh, writing for London’s Evening Standard, agrees with Rooney’s view, noting that the film lacks a “touch of excitement” and a “sense of madness taking over.” She adds that “despite its fascinating and complex lead character, The film is ultimately boring and tedious, and it doesn’t get us anywhere.slowly”.

Meanwhile, Vulture’s Allison Willmore believes that one of the film’s main problems is that Arthur “just isn’t that interesting despite the effort Phoenix puts into depicting the character in exquisitely distressing detail, both mentally and physically, with his chest caved in.” She also writes that even when Arthur “thinks he’s taking control,” he becomes “a punching bag for the world and, more importantly, for the director, who He subjects the character to so many indignities that he really ceases to be worthy of pity. and it’s starting to sound like the punchline to a long, hairy joke.”

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian believes that Gaga is underused in the sequeldespite the fanfare that has greeted his starring role, noting that the “story as the film is constructed does not give the character [de Gaga] many possibilities for development.”

However, some critics thoroughly enjoyed Phillips’ new take on the Joker and his lover.

“Phillips and Silver have delivered the last thing anyone expected: a socially responsible Joker movie that finds an intriguing way to explore the consequences (both on- and off-screen) of the first film,” writes NME’s Matthew Turner. “Joker fans shouldn’t cry too much, though: Warner Bros. has shrewdly found a way to leave the door slightly open for the franchise to continue, should the need arise.”

Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent believes that Phillips was “clearly having fun in the director’s chair” with his “tour through at least a century of Hollywood” through musical numbers and references to various classics. He believes that Phoenix’s performance “remains powerful and moving”allowing viewers to “care about Arthur despite his neediness and his disorder.”

Empire’s John Nugent also thinks the musical moments helped the story, writing: “Phoenix and Gaga’s unorthodox, unadorned renditions of the songs sell in ways that a dialogue-sparse script doesn’t (Burt Bacharach’s rendition of ‘Close To You’ has rarely been done so chillingly), but where the first film was relentlessly oppressive and bleak, here it’s a grim, grim, and bleak film.” There is a strangely hopeful tone. Arthur’s rendition of ‘For Once In My Life’, in particular, is a curious mix of quiet menace and truly heartfelt passion.”