It’s finally here! The sequel to the 2019 film “Joker” and all the DC fans are hyped! It’s a musical now, but that shouldn’t hinder the movie, right? After all, it’s directed by the same director, Todd Phillips. We finally see Arthur Fleck become the psychopathic crime mastermind he was always meant to be! Warner Bros. will never disappoint the fans! 

  You read the title. Here’s a bucket of cold water:

  “Joker: Folie à Deux” is the polar opposite of its predecessor, the iconic and highly controversial movie “Joker.” It stands at a critic score of 32% on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.3/10 on IMDB and, according to Variety, it will lose around $150 – 200 million in the box office. 

  The film continues the story of Arthur Fleck(Joaquin Phoenix), imprisoned at Arkham State Hospital for the crimes he committed in the first film. In “Joker,” Arthur was the joke. In “Folie à Deux,” we as the viewers are the joke.

  The pacing of the movie is plain boring. Half of the film is a courtroom drama about whether Arthur should receive the death penalty or not, and the other half is about Arthur getting abused in prison.

  One major part of the marketing campaign for “Folie à Deux” was Harley Quinn(Lady Gaga), also known as Lee, and her role was advertised as becoming Joker’s sidekick of sorts. In the film, she’s a manipulative, mysterious and dishonest Joker fanatic who barely influences the story. The greatest impact she had on the plot was probably setting fire to a theater and throwing Arthur into solitary confinement. Some people see her as a metaphor for the fans of the 2019 “Joker,” who only care about seeing Joker do “Joker things” and don’t care about Arthur’s story. 

  This movie is not a musical. It’s a pathetic attempt at one. Half of the songs sung are in Arthur’s imagination and have no relevance to the plot, nor do they impact the story in any way. It feels forced. Additionally, although Lady Gaga carries some musical numbers, the songs are bland and forgettable. They all sound the same. 

  Phoenix’s performance as Arthur was the main attraction, but his character couldn’t be saved. The first movie deals with the Joker persona inside Arthur and him ultimately embracing it, but the second film seemed to forget that this existed. Arthur in this movie actively renounces his Joker persona as if his character development never happened. 

  There is no sequel to “Joker.” 2/10.