Sound Off: Todd Phillips’ Sequel ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ – Your Thoughts?

by Alex Billington
October 4, 2024

Now that you’ve seen it, what did you think? “I When I first saw Joker. When I saw you. For once in my life, I didn’t feel so alone anymore.” Now in theaters worldwide is Joker: Folie à Deux, aka Joker 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the controversial & divisive Joker from 2019 (also made by Todd Phillips). The beloved DC Comics villain is back on the big screen! The story is a direct continuation following the events of the first movie. Arthur Fleck (starring Joaquin Phoenix) is institutionalized at Arkham, awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. It’s there he meets Lee Quinzel – played by Lady Gaga. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside him. Is is it as good as the first movie? Is it as bad as the first movie? Does it have more to say this time? Or is it worse? Will this sequel provoke a strong reaction just like the first movie? The reviews are in – and most critics don’t like it at all! Do you agree with them? Is it even better or worse than they say? Is it boring and pointless? Once you’ve seen it, leave a comment below with YOUR own thoughts on Joker 2: Folie à Deux…

Spoiler Warning: We strongly urge everyone to actually see the film before reading ahead, as there may be spoilers below. We also encourage all commenters to keep major spoilers from the film to a minimum, if possible. However, this is an open discussion from this point on! Beware of spoilers, don’t ruin this movie!

To fuel the fire, Joker: Folie à Deux really is one of the biggest disappointments of 2024. I’m a fan of the first movie (crazy, I know)! I was waiting for this to be awesome. But it’s… completely dull and bland and uninteresting. And worst of all, it is designed as one giant response to the first movie, attempting to squash all of the bogus claims about 2019’s Joker being dangerous. It’s not really Joker’s fault, it’s the fans! Most of this sequel is a court room drama, and I waited for 2 hours for it to become something more. For it to finally have something to say, something unique to offer. But it never does!! There’s nothing added, there’s nothing new, there’s no edgy ideas or prickly points being made. The only real commentary on society it offers up this time is – fans can be crazy and they might get even crazier if something happens to whatever it is they love. Which doesn’t really have anything to do with Joker, does it? And why does Harley suddenly become irrelevant in the final act? Something is fishy about this sequel, as if Warner Bros was afraid of bad reactions again so they didn’t let it be as provocative as it was supposed to be. I can’t explain it otherwise… Can you?

One other note – why is the scene with BOTH Joker and Lee dancing on the stairs outside of the court room gone? Where did it go? Why was it cut? What are we missing? All of the marketing features this scene. But it’s not in the movie? It’s strange that it was cut yet they keep using it as the biggest moment of the trailers. What else did they cut and why? It feels like the second half of this movie has a lot missing, as if the movie studio made Todd Phillips change it so it wouldn’t be as provocative (who set off that bomb anyway??). If true, that’s a real shame. It could’ve & should’ve been much more powerful. I’m already ready to move on…

So what did you think of Todd Phillips’s Joker: Folie à Deux? A superb DC sequel? Or a boring court room drama? A waste of everyone’s time? Or is it something truly edgy and incredible?
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