“Joker: Folie à Deux,” better known as “Joker 2,” is an ultimately flawed sequel that left me with mixed feelings. I walked into the theater expecting the dark and unsettling tone of the first “Joker” film, and while some of that was still there, “Folie à Deux” takes a completely different approach by transforming the story into a musical. It’s a daring move that doesn’t land the way it should.
Right from the opening scenes, it’s clear that Arthur Fleck, played again by Joaquin Phoenix, is the broken character we saw in “Joker.” Now confined to Arkham State Hospital, Arthur is awaiting trial for his past crimes. The film wastes no time establishing the bleakness of his life. He spends his days in a cell, walking the halls with a bucket of urine, and getting taunted by guards. Phoenix’s performance is as compelling as ever, showing Arthur’s complete descent into misery, but this time around, there’s something different. The violence, the raw emotion from the first movie, is replaced by songs and dance routines.
At first, I was intrigued. Arthur’s voice sings classics like, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” and “That’s Entertainment.” The idea of Arthur escaping into these musicals, singing while preparing for his trial, sounded like it could work. But, after a while, it felt like the film wasn’t sure what to do with this concept. Instead of pushing boundaries or creating a new emotional depth for Arthur’s character, the musical scenes just… happened. I found myself wondering why they were there at all. At best, they were mildly entertaining. At worst, they felt out of place and hollow.
Then there’s Lady Gaga, who plays Lee Quinzel, Arthur’s love interest who begins to see herself as Harley Quinn. Gaga is always a standout performer; she has her moments here and there, but the film never lets her shine. Her character’s devotion to Arthur felt forced at times, as if it were missing the spark in their twisted relationship from the comics. There’s a scene where they perform a duet, “To Love Somebody,” and while it was one of the film’s stronger moments, I couldn’t help but feel like Gaga’s talents were being underused.
The courtroom scenes, which revolve around Arthur’s trial and the question of whether he’s truly insane or just a criminal, were supposed to be the emotional parts of the movie. Unfortunately, they dragged on without giving much depth to Arthur’s internal conflict. The district attorney Harvey Dent, played by Harry Lawtey, argues that Arthur is a sad, sick man, not a dual personality as his lawyer claims. But instead of going into this moral debate, the film makes the same points repeatedly. By the end, it felt like the trial had overstayed its welcome.
The original film took risks; it made us question our empathy for a disturbed, violent man. “Folie à Deux” seems to shy away from that. Arthur is no longer the unpredictable force of nature he was in the first movie. He’s a sad man who sings and dances; the danger, the tension that made the first film so captivating, is gone. The film prioritizes visuals over a deep story and left me missing the raw intensity of the first movie.
That said, it isn’t without its highlights. Phoenix’s performance, though weighed down by the film’s direction, is still mesmerizing in some parts. There are a few moments when the musicals work, particularly when Lady Gaga sings “Gonna Build a Mountain.” However, these moments were too few, and they couldn’t carry the film out properly.
In the end, “Joker: Folie à Deux” feels like a movie that’s trying too hard to replicate the magic of the first film without really understanding what made “Joker” so impactful in the first place. It’s a visually ambitious film, but one that falls flat emotionally. For me, the film missed the mark, and while I didn’t leave the theater feeling entirely disappointed, I wasn’t fully satisfied either. “Joker” made me feel something raw and uncomfortable. “Folie à Deux” left me feeling like I’d just seen a strange experiment that didn’t work.