Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the sequel is wildly misconceived – a small story inflated by grandiose intentions.
A mantra among makers of blockbusters says that if you come up with a big enough villain, your hero can be an afterthought. If it’s true, no wonder Batman’s mortal enemy,, has become such a roaring, sneering, anarchic success. His outrages have attracted actors of the calibre of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger but five years ago, Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Phillips executed a. They decided he was worthy of sympathy, and even empathy.
Unfortunately, the best comes at the beginning – a masterly sequence by French animator Sylvain Chomet re-capping the climactic scene from the original film and establishing the main theme, which pursues the Jungian argument that the Joker’s mild-mannered alter ego, Arthur Fleck, is in constant conflict with his destructive double.
This is hardly news, but Phillips and his co-writer, Scott Silver, are out to investigate the concept’s every wrinkle, tic, nightmare and daydream, right down to Arthur’s previously unexploited talent for tap dancing. He falls in love and he does it to music.The object of his passion is Lady Gaga’s Lee Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn, another star of the DC Comics pantheon but she, too, has had a make-over and bears little resemblance to any Harley you may have come across before.
Phillips, too, is clearly besotted by Joker and all that his star is doing with him, and while Phoenix’s is a profoundly heartfelt performance, it seems massively over-indulged, especially if you’re watching it in an iMax theatre. His chain-smoking quickly becomes a major visual motif with endless shots of him with head thrown back, sending spirals of smoke into the spotlit air.
We’ve become very familiar with Marvel and DC’s habit of “re-imagining” the histories of their superheroes and super-villains. Such is the major studios’ hunger for lucrative tent-pole productions to keep cinemas alive. But this one is wildly misconceived – a small story inflated by grandiose intentions.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Joker: Folie à Deux review – Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga musical spirals out of tuneThere’s a great supporting cast and a barnstorming first act but Todd Phillips’s much-hyped Gotham sequel proves claustrophobic and repetitive
Read more »
Joker: Folie à Deux - A Clown's BalladThe sequel to the Oscar-winning Joker delves deeper into the psychological complexities of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) as he navigates his chaotic alter ego and a burgeoning relationship with Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). However, while the film starts strong with an intriguing re-cap sequence, it ultimately becomes bogged down by its own ambition, relying heavily on musical interludes that lose their charm.
Read more »
Joker: Folie à Deux as ‘ruin porn’ – how the new sequel plays with duplication and disintegrationThe new Joker sequel plays with the character’s long tradition of dual identity. But this time, the joke is on the audience.
Read more »
At first, Joker: Folie a Deux is entertaining. Then it quickly isn’tStarring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the sequel is wildly misconceived – a small story inflated by grandiose intentions.
Read more »
Review: Joker Folie À Deux pairs Joaquin Phoenix with Lady Gaga but can that reunite a divided audience?The Joker sequel is a quasi-musical courtroom drama that has little interest in advancing any kind of story. In fact, it's even more deliberately obtuse and anti-crowd-pleasing than its predecessor.
Read more »
‘I probably shouldn’t do this again’: Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga talk about ‘difficult’ Joker dietsThe stars of Joker: Folie à Deux worked under medical supervision to lose weight for physically demanding sequel, which premieres at the Venice film festival this week
Read more »