Joker: Folie à Deux was one of the most anticipated films of 2024, after the massive success of Joker (2019), which earned Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. Meanwhile its sequel hasn't earned the same accolades, reviews are shockingly bad. Why? What happened with Folie à Deux?
Perhaps the most blatant criticism of Folie à Deux is that it had strayed quite far from the raw, gritty, realistic tone that defined the first film. The 2019 Joker was a dark psychological exploration of the brink of sanity for one man, his story deeply rooted in the crueler realism of a Gotham City in decay. People loved it for its portrayal of both mental illness and societal failure. However, Folie à Deux goes in a completely opposite direction, it injects musical features, which many critics have described as ears-offening. The attempt to merge Joker's psychological meltdown with musical sequences as if the director tried to do something creative, but end up making people feel confused.
Muddying of Storyline and Pacing Fail
The poor reviews are also stimulated by the film's pacing and the structure of its narrative. Folie à Deux is so focused on bringing the audience into Arthur Fleck's world that it wastes much space without telling Arthur's story. Many reviewers have claimed that the storyline has become almost static, repetition mainly characterizes it, which has resulted in viewers losing interest. Some said "the film feels more like a rehash of Joker's emotional beats than an evolution of its narrative." One of the gamble choices made by the film is incorporating musical elements, where the spotlight for Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn shares one with Phoenix's Joker. While Gaga's performance is on point, the musical sequences were described as awkward and out of place. The musical sequences did not seem to flow with the movie's tone instead of enhancing the madness of Joker, it seems like the songs merely disturb the continuity of the story. This weird combination of genres which has turned out to be a major sticking point for the critics who feel that its identity gets lost in the process.
Lack of Chemistry Between Joker and Harley Quinn
Another primary selling point for the film, the chemistry between Phoenix and Lady Gaga, has also been called into question. Unlike any previous on-screen portrayals of the Joker-Harley Quinn and their relationship here is the core and does not develop an organic connection between the two characters. And have found the Joker-Harley duo underwhelming. The original Joker was so magnificent that viewers were expecting more from latest Folie à Deux. Fans wanted something just as innovative, raw, and thematically deep as their favorite movie. Which Folie à Deux was not.
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