Alex Alonso

My review rating is a 4.7 Love to hate, and hate to love, is how I would describe my experience watching The Joker Folie A Deux. It is a genius of a film in that it actually takes some brain cells to think about what's being demonstrated onscreen. I'm under the impression that audiences expected your typical wham bam, thank you ma'am blockbuster comic movie, portraying Harley as a ditzy thumb-sucking blonde. If you were rooting for the latter, then I'm not surprised by the haterade. If you go in with an open mind and ego aside, you may also at least love to hate it and hate to love it. Without mentioning any spoilers, I'll just say this was a masterpiece, requiring tremondous talent from both Phoenix & Gaga as their undeniable chemistry told a story we haven't exactly heard before. There was a dimension to the Joker's character previously unseen, which I welcomed with awe. The singing and dancing were a part of that, which garnered an upheaval of rage, even thought it was advertised as a musical from the getgo. I felt as though the musical aspect was done with tact and taste, featuring a nostalgic soundtack fitting for the moodiness of that era. Not being a musical fan myself, I was surprised at just how much I was moved by the song choices and coreography, which added a layer of relatability, a shared psychosis if you will, emanating from the screen to the audience. Sadly, i noticed a plethora of the reviews here are from none other than bots, copying and pasting the same bad review to maintain a low average of 1.7, which is ridiculous. These haters hated this film so much, they had to vomit their distate all over the internet, in a swift move to rob others from having their own moment of joy and self direction. I witnessed many people walking out of the theater saying, "wow, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be," which is quite telling of the mob mentality we've had to deal with for quite some time. It's truly demotivating the power a hater can have on the reception of a film, as if any of us need fanfare to help us make our own decisions. As far as I'm concerned, it was right up there with the greatest love stories ever told, with plenty of WTF moments sprinkled in between and just what else would one expect from THE JOKER? The artistic value alone warranted a standing ovation. A delicate interplay of love, love lost, and delusion set against the backdrop of criminally good cinematography, made this origin story one of the most honest and vulnerable to emerge from the DC universe. As for the ending, that is a whole other conversation to be had. It begs the question what one must abhorr so much about seeing the lead characters in roles that are charged, animated, unbecoming, and shall I say, mad, that is just so bothersome? The moral of the story is, don't hate what you don't understand.