Joker: Folie À Deux has been called “the most disappointing follow-up to the Oscar-winning film” by critics as they cast doubt on Lady Gaga’s “thin” role in the film following its release on Friday.
The ‘bleak’ sequel has also received a lukewarm reception from fans, with some claiming Lady Gaga’s career could be at risk.
Although the same director Todd Phillips was back in the hot seat, critics have said that the sequel is just a “reprise” of the first hit, but with an added musical touch.
Most critics have said that Todd did not use Gaga properly in the film and stated that she was only accepted for the musical aspect.
While most critics say Joker: Folie À Deux failed to live up to expectations, others have called the film “bold” and “brilliant.”
Joker: Folie À Deux has been called by critics “the most disappointing sequel to the Oscar-winning film” (Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga pictured)
Although the same director Todd Phillips was back in the hot seat, critics have said that the sequel is just a “reprise” of the first hit, but with an added musical touch.
Joker: Folie à Deux premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival last month and was released in the UK and US on Friday.
The Daily Mail’s Brian Viner praised the move as “bold” and “brilliant” but said it lacked emotion.
Giving the sequel a four-star rating, he wrote: “This film is boldly different in style from the original, not as electrifying, but bold and brilliant all the same.”
“Arthur is now behind bars, waiting to see if he will be judged sane enough to stand trial for murder, and in the meantime he is enjoying his celebrity status with his fellow prisoners and even the guards, one of whom, a Irish sadist played by Brendan Gleeson, gives him cigarettes in exchange for jokes.
‘Lady Gaga plays Lee, a fellow prisoner who, we assume, is on her way to becoming the Joker’s girlfriend, Harley Quinn. The pair hit it off in a music therapy class and soon fall in love with each other, but Lee makes it clear that he loves the dangerously charismatic Joker, the “clown prince of crime,” not the darkly introspective Arthur.
‘What’s more real: the psycho wearing the mask or the vulnerable guy behind it? Either way, identity confusion is the theme of this film, which continues to be billed as a musical.
“Actually it’s not, although the music looms large as an expression of Arthur and Lee’s growing love for each other. And there are a couple of swooning dance routines that make them look like psychotic versions of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land ( 2016).
‘For me, Joker was almost a masterpiece, and while this sequel doesn’t reach those heady heights, it’s still a gripping film about mental illness; It’s not comparable to all-time greats like Psycho (1960) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), but not far off.
the independent Geoffrey Macnab said: “Today, Joker is best remembered as one of the most subversive and original films of the last decade, while its long-awaited sequel is as grim and formally daring as its predecessor.”
Meanwhile, Irish times’ Donald Clarke gave the film only two stars, but credited Phillips’ work for making a sequel after the billion-dollar success of the first film.
He said: ‘Credit where credit is due. Todd Phillips has followed Joker, a movie that grossed $1 billion and earned two, with a work of unexpected eccentricity.
‘He could easily have satisfied the studio’s accountants by pushing his antihero deeper into comic book territory.
“Instead, he’s put together a musical that ends up repudiating the unsavory beliefs of the first film’s less stable fans.”
Financial times Critic Danny Leigh said that although Gaga worked hard to boost ratings on the sequel, Phillips seemed to have no idea what to do with it.
He wrote: ‘Five years after the popular Joker turned Joaquin Phoenix into a hoof, the sequel is now here to keep everyone dancing. Singing too.
‘In the wake of that phenomenal success, it became clear that the sequel would be, of all things, a musical. Lady Gaga was going to co-star.
Although the same director Todd Phillips was back in the hot seat, critics have said that the sequel is just a “reprise” of the first hit, but with an added musical touch.
Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role as the Joker, with Lady Gaga joining the cast as his love interest, Harley Quinn.
Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie a Deux, an American musical psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips
For me, Joker was almost a masterpiece, and while this sequel doesn’t reach those heady heights, it’s still a gripping film about mental illness, writes Brian Viner.
“And while Gaga works hard enough to raise the star rating on her own, the thinness of her role makes Phillips look like the dog who caught the car. He wanted her in the movie, with no idea what to do next.” .
Giving a three star rating, the guardian Peter Bradshaw stated that the film is “claustrophobic” and “repetitive.”
The times Kevin Maher wrote: “Director Todd Phillips said there would be no sequel to the original, but he changed his mind and the result is a spin-off musical.”
“This might be the most disappointing follow-up to an Oscar-winning performance since Anthony Hopkins reworked his silky, creepy Dr. Lecter for the cheesy and campy.”