Critics divided over 'Joker 2' as Venice premiere falls flat

"Joker: Folie à Deux" was one of the most anticipated film sequels of recent years. With Todd Phillips in the director's chair, Joaquin Phoenix as the main villain, and Lady Gaga in a new, unconventional role, you might think it's a recipe for a 10/10 masterpiece. Well, how shall I put it – not necessarily.

The massacre concluded, Gotham City burns, and the prison gates close behind a terrifyingly smiling Joker. This is how "Joker" ended, the breakthrough film of the Venice festival in 2019, which was showered with film awards. The work even received two Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (the shining star of Joaquin Phoenix's talent) and Best Original Score (the inimitable Hildur Guðnadóttir).

Director Todd Phillips had no plans to make a second part of Joker's adventures. However, the film was such an artistic and commercial success that the decision was made to create "Joker 2" with the subtitle "Folie à Deux" (from French: "madness for two"). Phillips opted for a musical approach and engaged Lady Gaga, who took on the role of Harley Quinn. The director returned with the finished sequel to where he celebrated his triumph five years earlier – the Venice festival. This time, he had no reason to be happy.

Critics who watched "Joker 2" in Venice accuse Todd Phillips' film of focusing too much on recalling events from the first part, thus failing to develop its own identity. The weak script does not allow Lady Gaga and Phoenix to showcase their full potential.

"You’d think being liberated from the comics meant "Joker: Folie à Deux" could blaze its own path, but the sequel—less musical, more rote courtroom drama—is slavishly tethered to the first film, and doesn’t pursue its many ideas. Not great!" Siddhant Adlakha from ign.com expresses disappointment.

David Rooney from "The Hollywood Reporter" can muster more optimism. According to the reviewer, "Joker 2" is an extremely gloomy film. Still, scenes with the Gaga-Phoenix duo bring a lot of freshness: "Gaga is a compelling live-wire presence, splitting the difference between affinity and obsession, while endearingly giving Arthur a shot of joy," asserts the reviewer.

David Ehrlich from "IndieWire" delivered a crushing critique of "Joker 2". According to him, the film is "bad on purpose." It constitutes a "boring sequel that does everything in its power not to amuse you." The screening is "a form of collective punishment." The reviewer accused the director of wasting the star-studded cast's potential. Ehrlich laments that Lady Gaga's role becomes insignificant in the development of events, merely recalling what happened in the 2019 film.

Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian is equally harsh in his assessment of Joker 2. In his review, he states that the movie turns out to be "oppressively, claustrophobically and repetitively becalmed in that oddly unreal Gotham-universe jail." The sequel supposedly adds nothing new, thus giving the impression of being empty.

For Nicholas Barber from the BBC, "Joker 2" is "dreary, underwhelming, unnecessary." In a similarly negative tone, Owen Gleiberman from "Variety" opined that "Joker: Folie à Deux" is a "clunky and earthbound musical sequel."

The film receives average ratings on platforms collecting viewers' opinions. On IMDb, it has an average rating of 6.1 out of 10. Meanwhile, on Rotten Tomatoes, the number of positive reviews is 60 percent. The "Joker 2" premiere at UK cinemas will take place on 4 October.