A Review of the Joker Sequel (SPOILERS)
***THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW***
I loved the first one, but I did not think it needed a second one. I was worried they would tarnish the first one. I was also worried when I read the reports it was going to be a musical. I was worried when some people were trashing it online. Yet, I am a sucker for DC characters, especially those with ties to Batman. I tried to avoid the reviews as much as I could, deciding to stick with my I-will-judge-it-for-myself attitude when it comes to movies, especially DC movies. So, when I had a free moment, I pulled on my Joker socks and went to the movie theater. I was prepared for a musical. I was prepared for it to not be as good as the first one because sequels rarely are. So, the question really is: Was I ready for what it was? Even as I type this, I do not know the answer to that question. Part of the reason I am writing this review is to process the movie and discover how I feel about it. Let’s walk through the movie and discuss.
Joker: Folie à Deux begins two years after the first one ended. Arthur Fleck’s (Joaquin Phoenix) trial is close to getting underway. On Arthur’s way to a meeting with his lawyer, he walks from E Wing of Arkham through B Wing and past a music workshop. He catches the eye of Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga) who is singing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” (Incidentally, I’ve sung that song while doing prison ministry.) During the meeting, Arthur’s lawyer reveals there will be a competency hearing to see if Arthur is fit to stand trial. We never see this competency hearing, though Arthur’s lawyer implies it does not matter and that he will be judged competent to stand trial, no matter what.
Shortly thereafter, a guard reveals that Arthur has been given permission to attend the music workshop because he has been a model prisoner, but it is revealed that a guard (Brendan Gleeson) just wants to supervise him so he can show off his singing. While at his first session of the music workshop, Arthur gets a chance to talk to Lee, who explains she has been committed to Arkham by her mother because she attempted to burn down the building where she lives. She also says her dad is dead. It is later revealed that she lied about all of that. She had herself committed to Arkham because she is an obsessed Joker fan and just wants to meet Arthur. Their relationship begins in earnest during a movie they are able to watch together. It is unclear if this is part of the music workshop or not. Lee tries to get Arthur to sneak away from the movie, but when he refuses due to his fear of being shot by the guards, Lee lights a piano on fire. In the ensuing chaos, Lee and Arthur run away from the group and out to the front gate of Arkham where the media is hoping to get a glimpse of Arthur. This ends with Arthur winding up in solitude.
After some time in solitude, a guard lets Lee into his cell. She informs him she is being released because he is “a bad influence on her” and says goodbye in a “special” way. Despite this, she is allowed to have contact with him and to attend his trial. During the course of the trial, Lee sows discord between Arthur and his lawyer. When the lawyer reveals the truth about Lee, Arthur confronts her about her lies. She wins him over by telling him she is pregnant. We never find out if the baby was real or if she lied about it to keep Arthur on the hook.
Arthur predictably fires his lawyer and represents himself. The trial continues with appearances from characters from the first movie, including a pointless sequence where Arthur, in court and in his Joker make up, tries to ascertain whether or not Gary Puddles (Leigh Gill) is lying about Puddles being his real surname. Arthur, much to the enjoyment of Lee and the Joker supporters in the court, insults the guards at Arkham, who beat him up when he returns to prison that night.
The next day, it is Arthur’s opportunity for his closing argument. After setting things up for a diatribe against society and the system, Arthur confesses there is no Joker and that he is just playing a role. Lee and several others leave the court room in disgust. The jury deliberates for less than an hour, and as the guilty verdicts are being read out in court, there is an explosion. Arthur escapes the court room and journeys through the city to find Lee whom he finds on the stairs near his old apartment. She reveals she only loved Joker and not Arthur. She wants the fantasy Arthur had created, not Arthur’s reality. Stunned by this rejection, Arthur does not flee when the police arrive to arrest him.
Back in prison, Arthur has returned to his pre-Lee life. He is a model prisoner and the guards seem to like him again. He is called out of the rec room to see a visitor. While walking to the visiting room, the guard walks too fast and turns a corner, leaving him alone in a hallway. Another prisoner stops Arthur to tell him a joke. When the punchline of “You get what you f***ing deserve” is delivered, the prisoner stabs Arthur, and the movie ends. It is never explained if Arthur actually had a visitor or if the guards set him up.
Everyone wanted Arthur to be the Joker, but when he refused, the proletariat turned against him. In the end, Arthur is killed because he let the people down, so the final question about this movie must be: Did Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix let their audience down? The short answer is I don’t know. Up until this point, I have pointing out frustrations and things that did not make sense. There were elements I liked. The themes of love and music were well done. Yes, I actually liked the music. I thought it did a good job of showing Arthur’s ongoing delusion. I wanted Arthur’s closing argument to be sung and to have the judge interrupt him, telling him it is not appropriate to sing. That would have been a cool moment. But, we must address the elephant in the room. Arthur Fleck needs to transform into the Joker. By the end of the movie, he is just Arthur; Joker is gone. You cannot call it a Joker movie if the madness does not fully descend. Arthur needs to follow the delusion into becoming Joker completely. Delusion was a key part of the first one and allowed for them to fool us and leave us guessing. That element was not there in the sequel.
That being said, though, I did enjoy the movie. Yes, there were frustrations and plot holes, but I would watch it again. Despite its flaws, I enjoyed it. There are plenty of DC movies I would re-watch before re-watching Joker: Folie à Deux. However, there are more that would lose to the Joker sequel. Overall, I rate it as “flawed but enjoyable.” Below I post where it ranks amidst all DC movies.
Before I close, I just want to throw out a theory. Joaquin Phoenix has been known to do a prank for a movie. What if Phoenix and Todd Phillips decided to prank fans of the first movie? Did they do a movie with weird and frustrating elements just to mess with the fans? I would not put it past them.
Outstanding:
1.) The Dark Knight Rises
2.) Joker
3.) The Dark Knight
Well done:
4.) The Snyder Cut
5.) The Batman
6.) Aquaman
7.) Wonder Woman
8.) Batman Begins
Flawed but enjoyable:
9.) The Flash
10.) Batman v. Superman
11.) Batman (1989)
12.) Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
13.) DC League of Super-Pets
14.) Joker: Folie à Deux
15.) Shazam
16.) Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
17.) Batman (1966)
18.) Shazam: Fury of the Gods
19.) Batman Forever
20.) Batman Returns
21.) Green Lantern
22.) Superman Returns
23.) Blue Beetle
24.) Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
25.) Superman II
26.) Black Adam
27.) The Return of Swamp Thing
28.) Superman
29.) The Suicide Squad
30.) Wonder Woman 1984
31.) Justice League
32.) Jonah Hex
Theologically inaccurate, but enjoyable:
33.) Constantine
Had its moments:
34.) Supergirl
35.) Birds of Prey
36.) Swamp Thing
Frustrating:
37.) Man of Steel
Boring:
38.) Superman and the Mole Men
39.) Catwoman
40.) Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
41.) Superman III
42.) Watchmen
43.) Superman IV
Shaq can’t hit free throws or act:
44.) Steel
Just absolutely terrible:
45.) Suicide Squad
46.) Batman and Robin