As a seasoned movie critic with over three decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen it all – from cinematic masterpieces to disastrous flops. However, none have left me quite as bewildered and frustrated as Todd Phillips’ latest creation, “Joker: Folie à Deux.
Warning! The Following Contains SPOILERS from Joker: Folie à Deux.
As a dedicated movie enthusiast, I can’t help but reflect on the profound impact Arthur Fleck (played brilliantly by Joaquin Phoenix) confessing his sins and denying being the Joker stirred up in recent cinema. This bold move in “Joker” has undeniably sparked intense debates among fans of DC Comics’ Clown Prince of Crime. The director of the upcoming sequel, Todd Phillips, stands firm behind this decision for “Joker: Folie à Deux”. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, he defends his choice, which may have felt like an unwelcome slap to die-hard fans, but he insists it was essential for the highly anticipated sequel.
Arthur came to understand that the system is so deeply corrupted, it can’t be reformed; the only solution, as he sees it, is to dismantle everything. When those guards brutally murder the child in the hospital, it strikes him that his costume and persona aren’t making a difference. In some sense, he acknowledges that he has always been Arthur Fleck, not this character that society imposes on him, this symbol of Gotham. He’s more like an unintentional icon. This role was thrust upon him, and he no longer wishes to live as a pretender; instead, he wants to be true to himself.
As a movie critic, I found myself utterly appalled by Todd Phillips‘ audacious decision in “Joker 2: Folie à Deux.” Instead of crafting an original tale, he resorted to a distasteful imitation of Heath Ledger’s iconic portrayal of the Joker. The climax of the film features one of its characters, Arthur, being killed in a manner reminiscent of Ledger’s character from “The Dark Knight.” It’s as if Phillips was attempting to cash in on Nolan’s visionary Batman series without any regard for the sanctity of the original. This gratuitous reference seems to be the only connection Phillips tries to establish between his film and Nolan’s masterpiece, leaving me wondering if he was unaware of the backlash such an action would provoke or simply didn’t care about the die-hard fans’ reverence for the comic book villain.
Consequences of Todd Phillips’ Controversial Choices
The character portrayed by Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) is deceased, and the subsequent movie, titled Joker: Folie à Deux, is currently facing the repercussions in reality. Despite debuting as the top-grossing film this weekend, the box office earnings for Joker 2 were significantly lower than expected, with a domestic total of $40 million and a global debut of $121.1 million. The initial projections suggested that the sequel would earn between $115 million and $140 million domestically, but the unconventional creative decisions made by Todd Phillips for this film have sparked controversy among both audiences and critics. Unfortunately, these choices have not only affected the financial performance but also stirred up criticism.
The extended standing ovation for “Folie à Deux” at this year’s Venice Film Festival is now just a memory, or maybe it was just the audience’s relief that the film had ended and they couldn’t stop applauding. However, as details emerged from its world premiere in Italy, even early reviews weren’t very encouraging – they were downright harsh. And following Todd Phillips’ controversial portrayal of the Golden Goose, this has led to “Joker 2” receiving a low score of 33% on the Tomatometer based on 259 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
The audience was significantly less lenient towards the movie “Folie à Deux” compared to the original “Joker” (2019). CinemaScore, which gauges audience responses immediately after watching a film, gave “Folie à Deux” a “D,” in contrast to the “B+” received by the original. Similarly, on Rotten Tomatoes’ new Popcornmeter, over 2,500 verified viewers have rated “Joker 2” with only a 31% score, which was previously the RT audience score. Given the less-than-stellar start of the much-anticipated sequel, director Todd Phillips likely won’t be expressing gratitude to fans because “Folie à Deux” isn’t poised to replicate the original film’s billion-dollar success.
I can’t help but feel disappointed that Todd Phillips decided to focus an entire sequel on deconstructing a character beloved by fans in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’. Throughout the filmmaking process, it seems he chose to end Arthur Fleck’s story, tarnish Heath Ledger’s iconic Joker portrayal, undermine Harley Quinn (Gaga), and potentially earn infamy alongside other DC cinematic missteps such as ‘Batman & Robin’, ‘Catwoman’, and ‘Green Lantern’.
Joker: Folie à Deux
is now playing in theaters.
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2024-10-07 01:33