Joker: Folie À Deux critics brand sequel ‘bleak’ and say it’s the ‘most disappointing follow-up to the Oscar-winning movie’ as fans claim it could ruin Lady Gaga’s career
Joker: Folie À Deux has been labeled by critics as the ‘most disappointing sequel to the Oscar-winning film’.
The ‘gloomy’ sequel has also received mixed feelings from fans, with some claiming that Lady Gaga’s career could be in jeopardy.
With the same director Todd Phillips coming up again, critics have said that the sequel is just a ‘rehash’ of the first hit, but with an added musical twist.
Most critics have said that Todd did not use Gaga correctly in the film, claiming that she was only bribed for the musical aspect of it.
While the majority of critics say Joker: Folie À Deux fell short of expectations, others call the film “bold” and “brilliant.”
Joker: Folie À Deux has been labeled by critics as the ‘most disappointing sequel to the Oscar-winning film’ (Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga depicted in the film)
The ‘gloomy’ sequel has also received mixed feelings from fans, with some claiming it could put Lady Gaga’s (pictured) career in jeopardy
Joker: Folie à Deux premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival last month and was released in the UK and US on Friday.
The Daily Mail’s Brian Viner praised the move as “bold” and “brilliant” but said there was no tension in it.
He gave the sequel a four-star rating, writing, “This film is daringly different in style from the original, not as exciting, but still daring and brilliant.”
‘Arthur now sits behind bars, waiting to see if he will be deemed sane enough to stand trial for murder, all the while enjoying his celebrity status with fellow inmates and even the guards, one of whom is a sadistic Irishman, played by Brendan Gleeson, gives him cigarettes in exchange for jokes.
‘Lady Gaga plays Lee, a fellow inmate who, we assume, is on his way to becoming Joker’s girlfriend Harley Quinn. The pair hit it off at a music therapy class and are soon mutually in love, but Lee makes it clear that she loves the dangerously charismatic Joker, “clown prince of crime,” and not the broodingly introspective Arthur.
‘What is more real: the psychopath wearing the mask, or the vulnerable guy behind it? Anyway, confusion of identity is the theme of this film, which is always billed as a musical.
‘Not really, although music plays a big role in expressing Arthur and Lee’s growing love for each other. And there are a few swooning dance routines that make them look like psychotic versions of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land (2016).
‘To me, Joker was almost a masterpiece, and while this sequel doesn’t reach those heady heights, it’s still a moving film about mental illness; not quite comparable to all-time greats like Psycho (1960) and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), but not far off.’
That of the Independents Geoffrey Macnab said: ‘Today Joker is best remembered as one of the most subversive and original films of the past decade, while the highly anticipated sequel is every bit as somber and formally daring as its predecessor.’
In the meantime, the Irish Times’ Donald Clarke gave the film only two stars, but credited Phillips’ work for creating a sequel after the $1 billion success of the first film.
He said, ‘Credit where credit is due. Todd Phillips has followed up Joker, a film that grossed one billion dollars and won two, with a work of unexpected eccentricity.
“He could have easily satisfied the studio’s accountants by pushing his antihero deeper into comic book territory.
“Instead, he has put together a musical that ultimately belies the unattractive beliefs of the first film’s less stable fans.”
Financial times critic Danny Leigh said that although Gaga worked hard to boost ratings in the sequel, Phillips seemed to have no idea what to do with her.
He wrote: ‘Five years after the wildly popular Joker made a hoof of Joaquin Phoenix, the sequel is here to keep everyone dancing. Singing too.
‘In the wake of that phenomenal success, it became clear that the sequel would be, above all, a musical. Lady Gaga would be a co-star.
With the same director Todd Phillips coming up again, critics have said that the sequel is just a ‘rehash’ of the first hit, but with an added musical twist.
Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role as the Joker, with Lady Gaga joining the cast as his love interest, Harley Quinn
Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie a Deux – an American musical psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips
For me, Joker was almost a masterpiece, and while this sequel doesn’t reach those heady heights, it’s still a moving film about mental illness, writes Brian Viner.
And while Gaga works hard enough to raise her star rating alone, the thinness of her role makes Phillips seem like the dog that took the car. He wanted her in the movie, without any idea what to do next.”
To give a three star rating, The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw claimed that the film proves to be ‘claustrophobic’ and ‘repetitive’.
The times’ Kevin Maher wrote: ‘The director Todd Phillips said there would be no sequel to the original, but he changed his mind and the result is a derivative musical’
‘This may be the most disappointing sequel to an Oscar-winning performance since Anthony Hopkins’ silky smooth and terrifying Dr. Lecter has reworked it for a campy, kitschy’.