“That’s life… You’re riding high in Joker, shot down in the sequel”
Joker fans were left disappointed and wanting their money back after going to watch Folie à Deux in the cinemas.
There’s that old adage which goes ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and it’s one that those behind Joker 2, aka Joker: Folie a Deux, should’ve taken into consideration when agreeing to make the film.
2019’s Joker was met with huge critical and commercial acclaim, with Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix taking peeling back the comic-book villain and exploring the tortured loner that is Arthur Fleck. It was a bold direction to take the character in and one which paid off massively, with Phoenix winning an Oscar for his work.
But unfortunately the film couldn’t be left as a standalone masterpiece with and five years later, Joker: Folie a Deux was born.
Joker: Folie a Deux is in cinemas now (Warner Brothers)
Granted it’s still early days for the film, having premiered in cinemas yesterday (4 October), however the first reactions are damning.
At the time of writing, Folie a Deux currently sits at a mere 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics branding the film a ‘pathologically unnecessary movie’ and ‘a sequel we didn’t need’.
“Why is joker 2 so bad , I’ve never wanted my money back from a film,” one person wrote on X, while a second added: “What makes Joker 2 so bad is that it refuses to commit to ANYTHING. There’s no theme at all, the court scenes are boring and the shock value ending is worse than I expected. Even the musical elements feel tacked on and interrupt the pacing. A total waste of time, never cook again.”
Viewers were also put out by the decision to take the movie in a musical direction, which saw the Joker and Lady Gaga’s Harleen ‘Lee’ Quinzel randomly burst out into song every now and again.
“Joker 2 was awful. 0/10 imo. The storyline could’ve been better and the music was just irritating,” a third person wrote.
Gaga and Pheonix’s give tremendous performances as the Joker and Lee, but strong acting unfortunately doesn’t save a screenplay which feels like 2 hours and 18 minutes of skits created from a brief titled ‘What do we all think would happen in a Joker sequel movie’.
However not everyone has been completely scathing about the movie, with some people wondering if Folie a Deux being unlikeable is actually the entire point of the film.
“I thought Joker 2 was bad… but the fact that so many chuds who thought Arthur was their people’s champion in the first movie have to face that Joker 2 frames him as actually just a nobody loser with main character syndrome is a pretty funny silver lining tbh lol,” one user summarised on
If you’re looking to see how the clown prince of crime went on to become Batman’s arch villain don’t waste your time, as Folie a Deux is instead a character study into Arthur Fleck’s mental state and his relationship with the Joker persona.
