Warning: This piece contains full spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux. In what is sure to be one of the more divisive releases of the year, Joker: Folie à Deux is now in theaters. The sequel to the 2019 smash hit is once again directed by Todd Phillips, who doesn’t seem to be enjoying as rapturous a reception this time around.
IGN’s Siddhant Adlakha gave the film a 5/10 in his review , and many other critics agree with him . The DC sequel has been criticized for its sluggish pace, unfocused tone, poorly directed musical sequences, and for criminally underutilizing Lady Gaga, to the point that it makes one wonder why they even bothered paying for her to be in the movie. But perhaps worst of all is how Joker 2’s twist ending renders both this film and its predecessor kind of pointless.
We’ll get to the twist in a moment, but Joker: Folie à Deux feels like a movie that’s at war with itself. It’s a Joker movie that ends up not really being a Joker movie, and a musical that ends up not really being a musical. It works backwards to try to present itself as above the genre and franchise it’s adapting, only to wind up falling flat on its face.
Let’s take a look at why Joker: Folie à Deux’s biggest surprise is also its most frustrating aspect. It turns out Todd Phillips wasn’t kidding when he said that Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck would never become the Clown Prince of Crime. The big twist ending of Joker: Folie à Deux is that Arthur Fleck is not, in fac.