Joker 2 debuts with surprisingly low Rotten Tomatoes score

Stephen Porzio

The musical sequel to the two-time Oscar-winning blockbuster has split critics right down the middle.

Joker: Folie à Deux has debuted to a 59% score on Rotten Tomatoes following its much anticipated premiere at the prestigious Venice Film Festival.

The sequel to 2019’s two-time Oscar-winner Joker sees Joaquin Phoenix reprise his role as the Clown Prince of Crime, alongside new addition to the cast Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn.

The plot synopsis states that Joker: Folie à Deux finds “Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) institutionalised at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker”.

“While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside him,” it adds.

Also featuring amongst its cast Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Harry Lawtey, Steve Coogan and Zazie Beetz, Folie à Deux – which has been described as a musical – premiered at Venice yesterday (4 September) where it reportedly earned an 11-minute standing ovation.

That said, it appears to have split critics right down the middle – debuting on Rotten Tomatoes to a rotten score of 59% before later rising to 60% as the aggregation site took more reviews into consideration.

This is a drop from the original’s 69% score.

Joker 2 has earned some praise from critics for its ambition, its serious themes and its lead turn from Phoenix.

You can read a sample of some of these positive reviews right here:

Daily Telegraph (UK): “Folie à Deux can’t quite match its predecessor for dizzying impact. But it matches it for horrible tinderbox tension: it’s a film you feel might burst into flames at any given moment.”

Empire: “As sweet and beguiling a musical romance as it’s possible to have between two murderous psychopaths. Its kooky approach won’t suit all stripes of comic-book fan, but it finds a strange, tragic hopefulness all of its own.”

Independent (UK): “Overall Folie à Deux is just as edgy and disturbing as its forerunner, replicating the idea of modern American cities as terrifying powder kegs perpetually on the cusp of explosion.”

Radio Times: “Phoenix is seamless, picking up this maudlin character again as if it were only yesterday. It’s a truly versatile, malleable performance.”

Time Out: “We’re left with the tragedy of a broken man in a world only interested in sensationalism. It’s a big swing for all involved, but all the better for it.”

On the flip side, however, the sequel’s lack of Lady Gaga, its musical elements and its courtroom drama story have been singled out for criticism as evident from the reviews below:

Collider: “Even during the fantasy musical numbers, which give cover to stray from the overall aesthetics of the film, [director and co-writer Todd] Phillips is just incapable of delivering the genre’s requisite razzle dazzle that would surely complement Joker’s persona.”

IGN Movies: “Gets bogged down by a lengthy courtroom saga, which not only keeps the dazzling Lady Gaga away from the spotlight, but centers the movie entirely around its own predecessor, without doing or saying anything new.”

IndieWire: “Folie à Deux simply tap dances in place for the majority of its listless runtime, stringing together a series of underwhelming musical numbers that are either too on the nose… or too vaguely related to its characters to express anything at all… A criminal waste of Lady Gaga.”

Little White Lies: “It begs the question, why is Phillips so reluctant to embrace that the film is a musical? Why not add a little more colour, some flourish to the production design?”

London Evening Standard: “Despite its fascinating and complex main character, the film is ultimately dull and plodding, taking us nowhere, slowly.”

It’s worth noting too that while the original Joker was also divisive among critics, it was beloved by cinema organisations – ultimately winning the highest prize at Venice in 2019, as well as two Oscars (Best Actor for Phoenix and Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir).

Joker: Folie à Deux dances into Irish and UK cinemas on October 4.

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