Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

[The Joker]

I haven't read any reviews, I've only seen the scores. I wanna go into it blind.

Good man.

Never let the undeserving critics cloud your judgement.


From what I've gathered from recent interviews with Todd Phillips, and Joaquin Phoenix, I'm fully expecting "Folie à Deux" to take some risks. As, I believe, both men have stated that they were intrigued to return for a sequel due to the freedom of being able to take a gamble, and the very real prospect of failure.

How this pans out for the entirety of the film itself as it stands right now, is anyone's guess. I'm not expecting to be head over heels in love with every deviation/risk/change that's going to be taken, but Phillps/Phoenix being given carte blanche with creative freedom is certainly intriguing to think about, and I can respect that. Especially since both more than delivered with their collaboration on "Joker" back in 2019.

[The Joker]

[The Dark Knight]

I am getting to see this in a couple of days. The wait is almost over.

[eledoremassis02]

seeing a lot of mixed stuff (most people not liking the musical aspect). If this doesn't do well it'll be another unfortunate slam to more director-driven riskier films. Hopefully, this won't have a negative impact in The Batman 2

[The Joker]

Couldn't care less about the critical consensus (Joker 2019 wasn't rated highly either), but this appears to be getting equally mixed reactions with audiences as well. Which is troubling. I'm expecting to (hopefully) check it out Thurs.

[Travesty]

I've got tickets for Friday night

[The Dark Knight]

Wow, I loved it. A great companion piece to the original. If you want a conventional comic book experience you can park your bus elsewhere. This movie is not to be joked about. Folie A Deux both defies expectations and I think leads to logical conclusions based on the construct of this particular universe. There are really interesting themes in the sequel that I'm eager to unpack, namely the reality behind myth. I'm going to work on an expanded review later. But in short it worked for me. Even the musical numbers. A brave movie that I think will be appreciated even more with time.

[The Joker]

[The Dark Knight]

It's a real deal sequel and a good one. It's undeserving of the strong hate and it seems a lot of people are buying into that without actually seeing it themselves. Or not approaching it from the right perspective when they do. They are way too hung up on 'who is the real Joker' and the ending. The crux of the movie is the cult of celebrity worship and the pressure of expectation.

IMO Arthur is absolutely the Joker of this universe regardless if we want to take that road, it's just that the legend outgrew him and took on a life of its own. I don't think he wanted to create a movement but he nonetheless was at the centre of it. Joker is mostly a construct in Arthur's mind for escapism, and a fantasy the followers fell in love with. It took too much of a toll on the real man behind it. When he gave them what they wanted he took the full brunt, especially away from the cameras. It didn't benefit him personally in the long term.

Philips and Phoenix should be getting praise - segments of the audience rejecting Arthur is proving the film's point. I love this movie the more I think about it. It's a different look at the character and I'm glad it exists.

[The Joker]

Not to get too spoilery, and perhaps I am way off-base, but I can't help but think of this in the same vein as what Gremlins 2 was to Gremlins. With both Gremlins 2 and "Folie à Deux" being unconventional sequels that were literally willed into existence by Warners, due to the unexpected success of the original. Not to mention, where both sequels didn't just take the "expected" route, choosing rather to take a risk, and more glaringly, both sequels having their very own original Looney Tunes intros. Your mileage may vary, but I appreciate the different approach and taking a big swing. Especially if done well, and I thought "Folie à Deux" was directed very well, and honestly didn't see any hint that Todd Phillips, nor Phoenix, was simply on auto-pilot. The continued character study of Arthur Fleck was handled well I thought, as well as the impact of the legacy media continued sensationalism of "Joker" and how that excessive aggrandizement resulted in Arthur being viewed as a figure of idolatry. Where, in the grand scheme of things, the symbolic portraiture of the "Joker", and what people interpreted what he represented, eventually overshadowed the man himself.