Flat out one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Joker: Folie a Deux is an insult to musicals, an insult to comedy and interesting psychological thrillers but most of all, it’s a backhanded insult to what the Joker represents in the Batman mythos.
A regressive sequel that undoes Arthur Fleck’s character arc from the first movie. It’s a boring and tasteless offence to music and cinema, being devoid of any laughs, any good tunes or a reason to exist beyond destroying a legacy.
With a thoroughly vile cast of characters, there isn’t a single reason to care what happens to the people of this version of Gotham. Truly cruel and meanspirited, I couldn’t care less about what happens to anyone in it because they all played a part in an inherently corrupt system that is so nasty to the disabled and just people in general.
The music isn’t good and destroys the already slow pacing. The sets, costumes and acting while decent, can’t save an awful script that really doesn’t go anywhere meaningful or of substance.
The ending is especially godawful. It makes Arthur’s story ultimately pointless since he was never the “true” Joker after all. There will always be a Joker but not one to feel invested in their story since they’d be as one-dimensional as the plot of this movie.
I should also point out that this movie is also partly a courtroom drama and it’s not very compelling. It’s mostly a glorified recap and while some performances were commendable, the pacing is unbearably slow and dull with no twists to shake things up.
The movie is a slog even while over 2 hours. I cannot recommend this movie as there are better thrillers, musicals and comic book movies in general.
Please don’t bother.