Early reactions to Joker: Folie à Deux suggest a blend of 'brilliance' and 'boredom', leading to a mixed bag of reviews.
The film sees the return of Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar-winning portrayal of Arthur Fleck/Joker and the addition of pop powerhouse Lady Gaga as Joker's love interest Harley Quinn.
Premiering to a full house at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, the eagerly awaited sequel to Todd Phillips' billion-dollar hit divided critics.
While some found it 'superior' to the acclaimed 2019 film and lauded the performances of both Phoenix and Gaga, others slammed Joker: Folie à Deux as 'derivative' and devoid of 'fun.'
DailyMail's Brian Viner called the movie musical 'audaciously different in style from the original, not quite as electrifying, but bold and brilliant all the same.'
Early reactions to Joker: Folie à Deux suggest a blend of 'brilliance' and 'boredom', leading to a mixed bag of reviews
While some found it 'superior' to the acclaimed 2019 film and lauded the performances of both Phoenix and Gaga, others slammed Joker: Folie à Deux as 'derivative' and devoid of 'fun'
Owen Gleiberman appeared a bit less impressed in his review for Variety, writing that the 'cracked jukebox musical' had an audacious concept, 'but in a basic way it's an overly cautious sequel.'
IndieWire's David Ehrlich took a bit of a harsher tone, saying the 138-minute flick is 'boring, flat, and a criminal waste of Lady Gaga,' adding it feels 'bad on purpose.'
He added: 'Phillips has created a corporate pop spectacle that all but demands to be seen as something else.
'Here is a movie that perversely denies audiences everything they've been conditioned to want from it; gently at first, and then later with the unmistakable hostility of a knife to the gut.
'And that, more than anything else, is why Folie à Deux adopts the form of a classic musical: Because no other genre makes it so easy to appreciate all the fun you're not having.'
In contrast, Alex Harrison of ScreenRant describes Joker: Folie à Deux as a more refined sequel designed to provoke fans of the original film.
'Joker: Folie à Deux has more coherent things to say about fan culture than it or its predecessor does about mental illness, which, for me, makes it the superior of the two,' he stated.
Deadline's Pete Hammond praises the film as 'brilliant' and lauds the performances of the leads.
'Phoenix knows this character inside and out, and in what others might say is a risky proposition, he tap dances, sings and sells this role like no other — if not topping his Oscar-winning turn in Joker, at least finding a way to take him in different, wholly surprising direction.
'Gaga is smartly low-key, not the Harley Quinn we associate with Margot Robbie, but her own person, dressed down and believably showing affection and connection with Joker and, more important, the man behind the makeup.'
The Hollywood Reporter says Joker: Folie à Deux feels 'narratively a little thin and at times dull… This sequel is built on more of a conceit than a solid story foundation.'
'Even more than its predecessor, Joker: Folie à Deux reduces the archvillain to a hollowed-out product of childhood trauma and mental illness. Which means there's little we didn't learn last time,' added the outlet's David Rooney.
The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw wrote, 'There's a great supporting cast and a barnstorming first act but Todd Phillips's much-hyped Gotham sequel proves claustrophobic and repetitive.'
DailyMail's Brian Viner called the musical 'audaciously different in style from the original, not quite as electrifying, but bold and brilliant all the same'
Owen Gleiberman appeared a bit less impressed in his review for Variety , writing that the 'cracked jukebox musical' had an audacious concept, 'but in a basic way it's an overly cautious sequel'
Deadline's Pete Hammond praises the film as 'brilliant' and lauds the performances of the leads
The Times called it a 'messy, lifeless sequel' that 'didn't need to exist.'
'The director Todd Phillips said there would be no follow-up to the original, but he changed his mind and the result is a derivative musical,' the outlet's Kevin Maher wrote.
Allison Willmore at Vulture panned the movie, writing, 'Mostly, Arthur is acted upon, even when he thinks he's seizing control — a punching bag for the world and, more importantly, for the director, who subjects the character to so many indignities that he actually stops being pitiable and starts resembling the punchline to a very long, shaggy joke.
'By the end of Joker: Folie à Deux, that joke feels like it's on us.'
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to be released in theaters on October 4, 2024.
It is the much-anticipated follow-up to 2019's Academy Award-winning Joker, which earned more than $1 billion at the global box office and remains the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
The second installment finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker.
'While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him,' a press release shared.
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