Yahoo News Joker 2 first reviews land ahead of cinema release next month
Joker: Folie à Deux is finally coming to cinemas next month, and we now have the first reviews for the eagerly-awaited DC sequel.
Following the events of Joker, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is institutionalised at Arkham and awaiting trial for his crimes. As he struggles with his dual identity, Arthur meets Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga) and finds the music that's always been inside him.
Joker: Folie à Deux held its world premiere today (September 4) at Venice International Film Festival. Those lucky few to have already seen the movie have now shared their first reviews and reactions.
So, does Joker 2 live up to the first movie? Here's a selection of the early reviews, where the reaction is expectedly quite mixed.
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The Independent
"The darkness at the core of the film is underlined by its very brutal ending, which rejects comic book conventions in favour of psychological depth. Phoenix’s performance remains powerful and stirring, too."
Empire
"Comic-book fans should not come to Folie À Deux expecting a conventional superhero approach here, then — just as musical-theatre fans should not expect world-class standards of singing and dancing. It’s something scrappier and stranger."
TheWrap
"Folie à Deux is the most interesting film about Arthur Fleck. It’s genuinely a little daring, genuinely a little challenging, and genuinely a little genuine. And that’s no joke."
The Guardian
"The sequel is here, and though it ends up as strident, laborious and often flat-out tedious as the first film, there’s an improvement. It’s a musical, of sorts, with Phoenix and others warbling show tune standards, often in fantasy set pieces, a little in the way of Dennis Potter’s Pennies from Heaven. This gives it structure and flavour that the first film didn’t have."
BBC
"It's a disappointing film — but I suspect that's exactly what it's meant to be."
Evening Standard
"If we had had a bit more comic book action and a little less singing, this could have been a truly outstanding film. Alas, it is not."
Related: All you need to know about Joker 2
Ahead of its release, it's been revealed that Joker: Folie à Deux is around 16 minutes longer than the first movie. It has a confirmed runtime of just under 138 minutes.
We also know the sequel opens with an animated Looney Tunes-inspired sequence which Todd Phillips – who returned to direct and co-write – said was to make the movie "feel like it was made by crazy people".
Joaquin Phoenix has also revealed that Lady Gaga had a strong reaction to the first time she heard him sing — but not in a bad way.
"I do seem to remember [Gaga] spitting up coffee the first time I sang, so that felt good, that was exciting and made me feel confident," he recalled to Empire. "Gaga was always very encouraging of just, 'Go with what you feel, it’s fine'."
Joker: Folie à Deux is released in cinemas on October 4.
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