The Joker has always been one of Batman’s villains but his role as villain in cinema has changed over the years. In Batman, released in 1966, Cesar Romero would first star as the Joker, but he wasn’t the iconic villain that he would become today. Romero’s Joker was more comedic and less psychotic. In the modern interpretation, Joker (2019) directed by Todd Philips, Joaquin Phoenix showcases a different Joker: a more mentally unstable one.

To understand Joker: Folie à Deux, one will have to understand the story of the first movie. After the Joker’s reign of terror and chaos in Gotham city, he faces incarceration in Arkham asylum. However, his supporters still remain loyal before and during the announcement of the trial of Arthur Fleck (the Joker). This becomes very important because it divides Gotham as a whole resulting in a very tense and violent situation.

While Joker focused on the chaos Arthur Fleck caused to Gotham, Joker: Folie à Deux focuses on the aftermath of his actions as “the Joker”. However, a twist in the story was that this movie was actually a musical.

At the start, Joker: Folie à Deux had a lot of wonderful things going for it. It sets up dark and passionate moods through amazing cinematography and acting. The actors who carried and showcased the mood of the story the most were Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Lady Gaga (Harleen Quinzel). Through their passion, facial expressions and commitment to their roles, they out-performed everyone else.

However, the mood set by the excellent acting and production were taken away by the somewhat funny musical skits.The concept of these musical skits were good,however, the mood that was set would instantly be zapped away by these skits.

Another key difference between Joker and Joker: Folie à Deux is the violence, or lack thereof. One of the reasons why the first movie was so good was because it was chaotic, violent, and fast paced. However, in the second movie most of the violence takes place in these cutaways, which made the movie very boring and disrupted the pace of the entire movie.

Spoilers ahead (skip to last paragraph)
The ending of the movie was good because it mirrors one of the Joker’s most influential kills he committed during the first movie. In Joker, the Joker goes on a rant about how shows and their host take advantage of sick people live on television. Then he kills the host, Andy Murray, live on television in front of an audience of people. At the end of the movie through an imaginary musical number, Joker ends up dead the same way Andy Murray died. However, it is sad that the story of the Joker ended so anticlimactically in real life.
Spoilers end

Joker: Folie à Deux is not a movie to watch unless you are going for the experience of the movie theater. The lack of any consistency with pacing and how it feels completely different from its predecessor makes it hard to watch. While it is shorter than the average movie in 2024, it feels considerably longer.

Rating: ★★★