So, Joker: Folie A Deux is out, and no one expected this movie to divide the fandom like it did. You can either be in awe with this movie, or you can be utterly confused by it. The movie strays so far from the ending of the original movie that it is almost not a sequel.
The movie is joker only by the title. At this point, the source material doesn’t matter anymore. This is not the joker. And to be honest, Todd never served it to us with any expectations about this being the actual joker that we know. It was just a man wronged by society for being different. And now that man is dancing with Lady Gaga.
That’s pretty much the entire thing. Since this movie is essentially a lovechild of a musical and a courtroom drama, it meanders between extreme immersion and loss of the same immersion. Now if you love musicals, this is definitely a beautiful movie. The set pieces are absolutely fantastic. The cinematography is immaculate. The consistency of colors in every scene. The chemistry of teal and orange. The performances of Phoenix and Gaga feel enticing.
However, the movie doesn’t feel like Joker at all. It is not a continuation. The movie is more of a DC’s Lala Land. Certainly the bigger budget shows, as the movie has significantly scaled up. But the roots are missing. Disappointing still, the evolution of this joker into something more familiar now feels unlikely.