The World Is A Stage.
Joker folie a duex aka Joker: Madness For Two, it really should have been titled "
Joker 2: The Jokes On You".
5 years ago we were gifted the highest grossing R rated film in cinema history which was based upon a DC Comics character with a brand-new spin on things but also a film documenting mental health and the struggles of one with such disorders. It was a social study, a character study. It's absolutely amazing and gripping and ended with a smile.
Although we were told "Arthur is not THE JOKER" he is the predecessor, a mentally sick man who has a bad day and things get tipped on their head and the man who's seen as a joke gets dubbed live on TV as a JOKER so he takes it upon himself with pride to embrace and show to the world all the corruption and wrong doings of the world and the abuse that has rotten his mind and the mental conditions he suffers including his inappropriate timed infectious laughs. Keep in mind we were told he's not the one who's going to be the clown prince of crime, we were set up with the fact of there's a guy out there in Gotham who has inadvertently inspired someone to take the mantle up in the future and be the worst thing to happen to Gotham.
Yes Arthur Fleck story is very similar to Jack Napier's aka The Real DC Joker but with changes, this too is the same for one Harleen Quinsel. Oops, sorry, she's just Lee Quinsel in this. This film is taken from Arthur's mind as we switch in-between realities of him being a prisoner, him facing trial and finding love and then eventually coming out and admitting to his wrong doings and telling people he's not The Joker, and they shouldn't idolize him, he's not the symbol that the manic mob is seeking out, which does deter some of his fans. Although he still has a small loyal following, but I'm sure after this film ends they will disperse and wait until THE REAL JOKER appears.
Todd Phillips captured gold in the first story and logically thinking you could argue this film was made as a statement to fans of Arthur and the first Joker as a deterrent to say "Don't idolize this person. Don't be like this person. What you may relate to in that film I will make sure to tell you in the sequel how that's terrible and something you should not be doing and looking up to" and I will applaud him for that. I have questions about the ending, but I'm not sure if we will ever get answers.
Music, acting and cinematography is brilliant. The haunting score of the first does appear at times, but the new musical parts take over, and I feel personally that they should have mapped the musical elements out a lot better. I would have personally taken the direction differently.
The court scenes with The Joker were a highlight. Any scenes Arthur embraces that Joker stood out best to me. It did at times slow down a lot, and I was falling asleep, but I can also blame it on a late night and early morning I had.
Overall, Joker 2 is a whopping disappointment. It's not as bad as I had heard, but it's also not anywhere near as good as the first one. Go into it expecting it's bad, and you'll either hate it some more or you'll see the same as me.
Thanks for reading!
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