The Clown Prince of Crime is having it rough, and Batman has nothing to do with it. The Joker might have assumed he would never go through tougher times than he did in David Ayer's Suicide Squad, but the night has only gotten darker after a false dawn. At the moment, everyone is rejecting and condemning Joker: Folie à Deux. On Rotten Tomatoes, it scores 33% on the Tomatometer, and 31% on the Popcommeter, proving that both critics and audiences feel it's a mess. On IMDb, its average rating stands at 5.3. In addition to that, James Gunn has distanced himself from it, insisting it's a Warner Bros. film, not a DC Studios film.
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies PGAnimationFamilySuperhero Release Date July 27, 2018 Director Aaron Horvath , Peter Rida Michail Cast Greg Cipes , Khary Payton , Scott Menville , Tara Strong , Hynden Walch , Will Arnett
The consensus is that going the musical route was a bad move. Forget Ryan Gosling, Joaquin Phoenix is the true fall guy of 2024, as the actor has been blamed for the plot direction, with new reports claiming that the idea came to him in a dream. But what went wrong?
This is arguably the messiest the DC landscape has ever been, but is the sequel's genre really to blame? A few years ago, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies proved that it's possible to do a good superhero musical, so long as you keep the tone light, don't use a French title, and do a few other things.
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies Never Takes Itself Seriously Close
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies finds the young superheroes disgruntled. Everyone else is getting a movie but them. They thus head to Hollywood to bang on some doors and make things happen. However, their plan is disrupted when Slade Wilson, aka, Deathstroke shows up and starts causing havoc.
Despite the threat, the film never takes itself too seriously. Right from the start, audiences get introduced to a Titan team eager to have fun. They arrive at a crime scene to stop Balloon Man, only to jump into a rap song to introduce themselves. As expected, they get too caught up in the verses and bars, forgetting they have a baddie to cuff. Consequently, the Justice League is forced to intervene, and its members don't hesitate to give the Titans a scolding.
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During the movie, the characters perform a whopping 22 other songs, all of which are structured as musical pop culture references or parodies. Thanks to this approach, audience members who don't like these particular characters or franchises keep getting reminded of the things they adore, making them appreciate the recognition. And everything sounds good because the multiple Grammy-nominated composer, Jared Faber, aka, J-Radical is the person behind the tunes.
Beyond the music, the humor pushes this one over the top. There are multiple jokes, including one involving Stan Lee, and they are all very necessary since dancing usually goes hand in hand with laughter and happiness. The same cannot be said about Folie à Deux. Even though the new film captures isolated instances of laughter and play, those sequences are fleeting.
Great musicals also need to feel like a fiesta. Regrettably, Joker 2 doesn't feel like one because it mostly limits itself to interactions between a few characters.Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, on the other hand, has nearly the entire DC band, all ready to dance to the tune of the young superheroes. There is Batman (voiced by Nicholas Cage's son, Kal-El Cage), Superman (Nicolas Cage), Aquaman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, among others.
The Joker Is a Joke in Folie à Deux... In the Worst Way Close
While the Titans happily joke around in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, the Joker remains a joke throughout Folie à Deux. The premise doesn't work as there is never a clear path for the story to go. All the elements and situations that made the original movie poetic and addictive are here stripped of everything that made them glisten. Interestingly, during the film's rollout before its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, both Todd Phillips and Lady Gaga insisted that it wasn't a musical. Even the trailers hardly showed any musical numbers, proving that everyone involved wanted the movie to be taken seriously. But the strategy was all wrong.
"Why so serious?"
Like in the first film, the titular character mostly remains glum-faced. The real Joker always gets things done, yet this version wallows in self-pity and leaves himself at the mercy of the criminal justice system. In court, he represents himself, and, most surprisingly, he renounces his Joker persona. Before he ever encounters an adult Batman? That's the biggest out-of-character move and there are consequences. Lee (Lady Gaga) becomes so angry at her henpecked lover for dumping what he stood for, that she leaves him.
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Sections of fans have argued that Folie à Deux isn't for everyone, only for those who appreciate Todd Phillips' off-kilter brilliance. But the Joker belongs to everyone, so he should have been presented in a more palatable way. Trying to recapture the mental health themes of the first film was a good idea, but the sequel would have been better off being inquisitive and generally light on its feet throughout. After all, this Joker is a former stand-up comedian.
Most of the musical numbers aren't melancholic either, so the gloomy atmosphere never makes sense. On top of that, the film never knows what it wants to be. In addition to the musical aspect, Todd Phillips attempted to make it one of the best courtroom dramas, but there aren't enough arguments to make it work. And because audiences are supposed to be sad, the songs never hit the nerve like they do in a film like Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.
DC Should Probably Leave the Joker Alone for a While Close
Joaquin Phoenix's Joker should have been left alone, in Arkham, when the 2019 movie ended, making it a one-off story. On a larger scale, DC needs to ignore the character for a while. As fun as the Joker is, it's time for DC to give him a rest. The Batman Rogues Gallery is too huge to just keep recycling the same villains. If The Batman and The Penguin have taught us anything, it is that any of the Gotham baddies can be interesting, if the right story is told. Who would have thought The Riddler would become the modern-day Zodiac Killer, or that Oz was capable of being Tony Soprano 2.0? This fictional world is abundant and it ought to be utilized in the best way possible.
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Steering away from the Joker's mischief also allows for less scrutiny. Because the Joker is arguably DC's best villain, every story about him always gets judged very keenly by fans and critics. Every little mistake gets magnified and broadcast. But whenever another villain is on the playground, everyone simply sits back and waits to be surprised. The DC franchise has suffered greatly on screen, and if it is to thrive, it needs to avoid taking on the tough assignments. Leave the stage to Black Mask or Two-Face in the next movie and everything will be alright.
Joker: Folie à Deux is currently showing in theaters in the U.S.