When you think about watching a movie that revolves around one of the most infamous and dark villains of all time, the Joker, what do you expect? Maybe some great story about him running amok in Gotham City or his taste for evil and dark humor, which the Joker is known for, you know? Well, whatever you might have expected to see in Joker 2, I regret to tell you that you are not going to get it. After the success of Joker, which gave us a great origin story for the villain, I had high expectations for this sequel, but as it turns out, the creators of Joker 2 gave us something no one asked for. So, in this Joker 2 review let’s talk about how one of the most awaited movies of 2024 turned out to be a joke.
For the love of God, enough with the songs
You know when Joker 2 was first announced to be a musical, I still believed they were going to make a good movie with a few songs here and there that would mean something. However, if you go to a theater playing Joker 2, you will get a lot of songs along with a short film here and there. Most of the time when Arthur sings in the movie, it’s usually in response to someone saying something or him feeling something. Now my question is, what was the point of replacing a good dialogue with an entire song?
In the beginning, I’m not going to lie, the first few songs feel good but after that, every time Arthur and Harley sing a song it starts to feel like “oh no, not again”. Now, if you decide to make it a full-on musical, at least include songs related to the situation in the scene. Barring a few songs, most of them don’t fit the scene and are a pain to watch while trying to understand the context.
Overall, making Joker 2 a musical was not a good idea because when you try something new, you should not forget what people want from you. It seems that Warner Bros. and Todd were blinded by the success of Joker and even though they were confident in its success, they decided to take a risk on its sequel.
Emotions and Lady Gaga may not be in the same boat
Have you heard the saying “One bad apple spoils the whole thing”? Well, Lady Gaga turned out to be bad in the context of Joker 2. His performance on screen looked like someone who drank too much over the weekend, but had to go to work with a hangover while doing his best to hide it from his boss. Lady Gaga’s performance is the most balanced in the entire film, as her expressions remain consistent throughout Joker 2’s vast screen time.
Apart from him, all the actors did a good job. Joaquin Phoenix was amazing as Joker just like in the previous film, however, a good script is not enough to make a movie good. I want to make it clear that even though the movie is a complete mess, Joaquin Phoenix gave it his all.
The way he is so expressive even when he is silent, from being soft-spoken to threatening, and how he changed his personality while dressing up as a clown with a southern accent, it was all fantastically done. When it comes to character acting, Joaquin Phoenix deserves praise and I’m on it. However, the charm of Joaquin’s acting was overshadowed by Lady Gaga’s “I’m not an actor but I’m going to act” energy, and I hated it with all my heart.
I got what Todd Phillips wanted to do but couldn’t make it work
Now, while watching the movie, I tried to understand how the director who made such a great Joker movie could make something like this, and after watching the movie thoroughly I figured out what went wrong. It seems as if the approach Todd Phillips was pursuing had something to do with creating a story influenced by plays or dramas on stage. This is evident by Arthur’s death at the end as he has completed his character arc as you would see in a play being played on a stage. The way the story of Joker 2 unfolds with songs and chronicles makes you feel as if you are watching a play on stage, the meaning of which you have to decipher for yourself.
However, making a movie like that requires a lot of detail which was 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 look like a clown in front of the audience. If there had been more attention to detail, even with all the songs and Lady Gaga’s pathetic script, this could have been a good movie.
Joker 2 is Todd Phillips and Warner Bros.’ folie a deux
Yes, of course, you should watch Joker 2 so that you know what not to do if you are interested in pursuing a career in filmmaking. As far as I feel, the entire blame for the mess Joker 2 has made lies with the film’s directors and producers. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, making this movie a musical was a big mistake. This significantly increased the screen time of the film and did not add any value.
The most unnecessary element in Joker 2 was definitely Arthur’s death at the end. Todd Phillips may have thought he would end the Joker franchise with this film because he and Warner Bros. were sure about the success of Joker 2. However, as is clear, this was their “Folie à Deux” or a shared illusion, and what could have been a great ending to a franchise turned into a huge disaster. I would not recommend anyone to see Joker: Folie à Deux in theaters.
