“Joker,” released in 2019 and directed by Todd Phillips and featuring Joaquin Phoenix, was the first of its series. Phillips co-wrote the movie with Scott Silver. They were inspired by 1970s character studies and the films of Martin Scorsese. Set in Gotham City during the early 1980s, the film stars Arthur Fleck, a struggling stand-up comedian with mental health issues who later transforms into the Joker after a series of traumatic events.
“Joker” was famous for its bold storytelling and powerful performances. The movie premiered at the 76th International Film Festival on August 31st, 2019, where it won the Golden Lion. Joaquin’s portrayal of the Joker earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the film received 11 Oscar nominations. The 11 Oscar nominations included Best Actor, Best Original Score, and Best Picture and was the first time a DC movie has done so. The Joker’s success extended beyond awards, as the movie grossed over 1 billion dollars globally, making it the first to ever do so as a rated-R movie, and the fourth-highest earning movie in 2019. The movie earned this amount with a budget of approximately 55 million dollars. Even with all of these accolades, there was still heavy backlash. Philips received lots of criticism for its similarities to Martin Scorsese’s films, especially “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy,” which made the film seem unoriginal. The Joker’s approach to topics like mental illness and social issues felt shallow and not well thought out, leaving the viewers wanting a deeper focus on these important themes.
In “Joker: Folie à Deux,” released on October 4th, Todd Philips unexpectedly made it a musical. Originally, many people were upset and complained that the musical aspect would take away from the supervillain aspect of the movie. In the sequel, Arthur Fleck is taken into custody at Arkham State Hospital, awaiting trial for the crimes he committed two years prior. Arthur’s lawyer, Maryanne Stewart, plans to argue that Arthur has dissociative identity disorder and that his “Joker” personality is responsible for the crimes, not him. Later in the movie, Arthur meets Harleen Quinzel at a music therapy session, during which she expresses admiration for the Joker and his crimes. However, this movie air-balled the musical aspect and had a shallow plot. It was subpar, with almost the entire film taking place in a courtroom. The musical aspect could’ve been great and interesting, but Philips fluked it. The singing scenes had so much potential with Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, but the songs and her vocals lacked depth. She is known for her majestic voice and high pitches, yet all of those aspects were absent in the musical scenes. Combined with Joaquin Phoenix’s substandard voice, the musical scenes were hard to watch.
Opening weekend for the sequel could have performed better, making 40 million dollars. The highly anticipated film failed to match the success of its Oscar-winning predecessor, which opened to 96 million in 2019 and broke the October box office record in the United States and Canada. Todd Phillips’ Joker sequel, “Folie à Deux,” didn’t connect with audiences the way the first did, with critics and viewers slamming the film. However, the movie had an interesting twist with the Joker and Harleen Quinn and how they influenced each other. Traditionally, it’s the Joker who seduces Harleen Quinzel into becoming a clown criminal, but in the sequel, it is the opposite. The film goes out of its way to push back against the idea that the Joker is a fun character and Harley represents the worst kind of fan—one who desperately pretends to be something she’s not. The sequel got abysmal reviews with a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.3/10 on IMDb.
Despite the fact that the critics and audience scores are half of those in the 2019 “Joker”, there are still some positive aspects to the movie. One of the standout features is the cinematography, which really captures the dark and gritty atmosphere of Gotham City. The camera work often focuses on the main character’s emotions, elevating the movie’s emotional aspect. The choice of colors helps highlight the characters’ mental states, making certain moments even more impactful. Not only that, the movie had interesting plot twists that added to the plot and its ending.
The Joker is one of the most infamous supervillains in fiction; however, Todd Phillips failed to capture the performance in his follow-up, “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
