First reactions to Joker: Folie à Deux are here!
The anticipated musical sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 blockbuster Joker premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, September 4, and now critics are weighing in on the film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker and Lady Gaga as Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn.
“It’s a real spark when the Joker and Harley meet – they don’t kiss in the joint,” The GuardianPeter Bradshaw wrote. “But the whole film ends up being oppressive, claustrophobic and repetitively calm in that strangely unreal prison of the Gotham universe with Phoenix and Gaga long separated – and Phoenix’s own performance is just as one-note as before, though certainly just as powerful and his screen presence is powerful.”
Writing for The Wrap, William Bibbiani said Phoenix is ”incredibly talented and brings new insights to Arthur Fleck that Arthur didn’t understand until now.”
“He’s matched by Lady Gaga, whose interpretation of Harley Quinn is at odds with almost every other portrayal,” Bibbiani added.
Poster for Joker: Folie à Deux (2024).
Lady Gaga/Instagram
All about Joker: Folie à Deux Starring Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix
The Irish TimesTara Brady gave the film three stars out of five and wrote that Phoenix, 49, remains “a sight to behold” as Arthur Fleck/Joker, while Gaga, 38, “gives her all to the billable role.”
“There are interesting notes about the intersection between love, mental illness, obsession, performance and fandom,” Brady wrote. “If only the movie was a little better.”
The Hollywood ReporterDavid Rooney wrote in his review that Folie à Deux “will likely be accepted or rejected for some of the same reasons” audiences either loved or hated the 2019 original. “By blocking the Joker in his maniacal spread of mayhem on the streets of Gotham City, the film almost neutralizes him,” Rooney wrote. “Not to get too spoilery, but even more so than its predecessor, the sequel reduces the main villain to a hollowed-out product of childhood trauma and mental illness. Which means there’s little we didn’t learn last time. Even the dance interludes are carried over from Joker. ”
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David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote in a negative review of the film that Phillips has made “an unbearably—perhaps even intentionally—boring sequel that does everything in its power not to entertain you,” and was particularly critical of the director’s use of Gaga, 38. “Phillips ‘ decision to cast a generational superstar in a role that seems designed to maximize her superior talents as a singer and her all-encompassing screen presence as an actress just so he can have her sitting in the back of the courtroom whenever she’s not filming her knee-high musical numbers.. . well, it’s way more criminal than anything Arthur Fleck has ever done in this movie,” he wrote.
Joker: Folie à Deux is officially confirmed in June 2022, following the success of Phillips’ original film, in which Phoenix, 49, took home the Oscar for best actor. It was nominated for a total of 11 Oscars, and won the award for best original score. Phoenix reprises his role as the Joker alongside Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond. PEOPLE confirmed that Gaga was in talks to play Harley Quinn in June 2022.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to share the news, reporting that the actress-singer Harley will exist “in a different DC universe” than the one played by Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad (2016), Birds of prey (2020) and Suicide Squad (2020).
Other cast members for the film, written by Phillips, 53, and Scott Silver, include Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland and Harry Lawtey.
Joker: Folie à Deux it’s in theaters on October 4.
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Source: HIS Education