Joker: Folie à Deux Falls Short of Expectations, Say Critics

By A Staff Reporter

The first reviews of Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the 2019 blockbuster Joker, are in—and the verdict is far from unanimous. Despite its warm reception at the Venice Film Festival, critics have largely found the DC film underwhelming and unnecessarily convoluted.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix reprising his Oscar-winning role as Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, the Todd Phillips-directed sequel aimed to explore new psychological dimensions. However, early critics are unconvinced by the film’s direction, pacing, and narrative.

Indiewire critiqued the film for straying too far from audience expectations, writing, "Folie à Deux actively courts the disappointment of its own fandom... articulating how cruelly Arthur is co-opted by the fantasies of the collective unconscious."

The BBC labeled the film as “disappointing,” explaining, “What Phillips appears to be doing is responding to how Fleck was received in 2019’s Joker. While some saw him as a revolutionary figure, the film portrays him as more of a passive unfortunate who stumbles into chaos.”

Variety dismissed the film for its lack of significant action, summarizing the two-hour-and-eighteen-minute runtime as slow-moving. "Arthur wastes away in Arkham State Hospital, meets Lee (Lady Gaga), and goes on trial. A bomb explodes. The end."

In contrast, Deadline appreciated the film’s audacious approach, writing, “The film explores a shared madness between two extreme hearts or perhaps a clash within one disturbed mind. It’s both head-spinning and ambitious.”

Also featuring Zazie Beetz and Brendan Gleeson, Joker: Folie à Deux arrives in cinemas on October 4, aiming to recreate the magic of its predecessor while navigating mixed critical expectations.