Joker 2's Rotten Tomatoes Score Isn't Inspiring A Lot Of Confidence

It is not an exaggeration to say that Todd Phillips' "Joker: Folie à Deux" has been projected as one of the biggest movies of the season, with much anticipation surrounding the return of one Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). Although its predecessor, 2019's "Joker," had elicited mixed critical reactions, it grounded itself as a chillingly realistic exploration of an origin story done to death, with a solid central performance that helped gloss over the film's hollower aspects. With "Joker: Folie à Deux" expected to raise the stakes even higher, Arthur gets tangled in a mad romance with Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), as the two are currently at Arkham, verbalizing their shared obsession through song. Yes, "Joker: Folie à Deux" is also a musical, despite the marketing of the film being oddly vague about it, and it seems promising on paper, especially with Gaga's musical expertise to pave the path for something sonically interesting.

However, the verdict on "Joker 2" so far does not seem to be all that great, folks. The film is currently sitting at an unimpressive 48% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, which when compared to "Joker" — still boasting a robust 69% — feels rather abysmal. Even the most positive-adjacent critical reviews seem baffled by Phillips' artistic intention for "Joker 2," where the most well-crafted aspects feel undercut by a gleeful sense of nihilism or disdain for its own fanbase. I also feel that the musical components were half-hearted for some reason, failing to mesh with the tone or intensity of the evolving narrative, which was decent in bursts, rooted by good performances, but ultimately marred by a misguided vision.

Audience reactions to the film have also started trickling in, and the reactions are mostly leaning toward disappointment or bafflement, especially among those who enjoyed the 2019 flick for better or worse. However, not everyone disliked "Joker: Folie à Deux:" /Film's very own Bill Bria described it as "the most compelling comic book movie of the year" in his favorable review for the sequel, where he also praised it for offering "fascinating takes" on Arthur and Harleen as revamped characters.

The /Film team often bears split, diverse opinions on film, television, and beyond, but our sentiments on "Joker 2" mostly lean towards not-so-great, even though some parts of the film are undoubtedly promising, but end up leading up to a whole lot of nothing. /Film Editor Ethan Anderton praised the central performances but called the film "hollow as a pumpkin:"

"Folie a Deux is exhausting. If you thought the first movie clumsily tried to say something, wait until you see this one, where there's nothing to say. Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga give admirable performances but their characters and the story are as hollow as a pumpkin. Even worse, the musicality of the movie brings nothing to the table. It's barely a musical, and it feels like a phenomenal waste of talent on so many levels. Ugh."

Fellow /Film critic Jeremy Mathai also echoed this disappointment, highlighting Phillips' lack of commitment to the heart of the film, along with the musical aspect, in his brief, yet blunt assessment of the film:

"Not great. Todd Phillips doesn't commit to it as a musical, he doesn't commit to it as a natural follow-up to the first one, and it seems actively annoyed by its own existence the rest of the runtime. Bad movie!"

What is really baffling for me is that rarely has a film dabbled with so many disparate narrative elements and tried so hard to etch a distinct identity only for everything to fall flat, where what seems to be intended as audacious ends up feeling extremely edgy. In the process, the few good ideas that the film posits get squandered. /Film Editor and Chief Film Critic Chris Evangelista underlined the effectiveness of these "interesting ideas" but questioned the earnestness of Phillips' commitment to "Joker 2" being a musical:

"I think it has some interesting ideas (deconstructing the character and making people question why they like him to begin with), but Phillips seems terrified of the musical idea which makes you wonder why he wanted to include it to begin with."

Well, there you have it, but it is best to head to theaters to experience "Joker: Folie à Deux" for yourself, and decide whether it is a worthwhile sequel or a complete, utter dud.