Yes, the reviews you've seen are true, Joker 2 is indeed a waste of time. Usually even if I hate a movie I recommend seeing it for SOME reason, but there is no such reason here. This is a Godless land of terrible plots, poor effects, strange choices, and a waste of talent. Lady Gaga does her best, and she steals each scene, but even Phoenix's excellent take on the Joker didn't really matter when he was just singing poorly every five minutes and breaking into awkward dance.
The Plot
Really the most glaring thing is the plot. Clearly this is a movie that did not need to be made. Todd Phillips even said as much after the first Joker, but money is going to money I guess. The first Joker movie had a plot, it had twists, it was funny, chilling, and had a pretty strong message at the end. This movie is about Arthur Fleck's trial, kind of. It's about his romance with Harley Quinn, kind of. I appreciate, I really do, that Phillips tried to be different. The musical was a risk, but he went for it. Having Harleys origin change was a risk, especially to Batman fans, but he went for it. I respect the attempt, I hate the execution. The psychosis of the Joker in the first movie is prevalent, this movie is just an awkward romance movie. The ending of the movie is also absolute trash, with a throwaway DUMB reference to the Dark Knight's Joker. Any respect I had for Phillips' writing went right out the window with this obvious cash grab. You can say "But the camera work! The music!" as much as you want, but a movie without a plot is still just a bad movie with glaring makeup on it.
The Acting
I'll say it, the only good acting performance in this is Brendan Gleeson. I'm kidding clearly Gaga nails the role as always, but really, Brendan Gleeson carries this movie as much as Gaga does. He plays the role of Arkham prison guard better than anyone else could have. The Harvey Dent actor was flat, Phoenix was predictable, and any other character used was no surprise or didn't add much, with the exception of Leigh Gill who delivers the best monologue of the movie. And like I said above, even if the movie had perfect acting it wouldn't have mattered, this script was bland, confusing, and disappointing. DC had a good thing going with Joker, but instead of doing the smart thing and trying to make a movie about a different Batman movie (Bane movie would have killed), they opted to ruin the legacy of the Joker franchise, and to effectively end it.
The Message (spoilers)
I mean, I THINK this is the message. The first movie is about the poor being taken advantage of by the rich, and the message hits, hard. This time the message is.....that was wrong? The ending, with having Fleck give up his Joker persona and accept his fate in jail, seems very convenient. Almost like a big movie studio was like oh man, maybe we sent the wrong message in the first movie. To take away the message of the first movie, to completely reverse it, just feels wrong. And I know it's bad to do the "woulda coulda shoulda" with a movie. But it's the Joker. You could have done a MILLION things with it. Instead it's a boring movie that drags on for an hour and a half and doesn't do a single original thing.
Summary
What should have been an electrifying movie proves instead to be a practical joke, on all of us, the viewers. The story is muddled and messy, the acting can't fix any of the movie, and it truly is the movie that never needed to be made. Not worth spending money to see.
Score
4/10
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