Sg.hu – Joker: Two-person madness

Sunday, October 06, 2024, 11:24 am

Joker: Two-Man Madness is a huge disappointment, which turned the most exciting comic book film of the last decade into a terribly boring musical.

In 2019, the Joker movie by Joaquin Phoenix, the director of The Hangover and today’s most recognized actor, burst into theaters like a bomb, which we didn’t think we needed for a long time. After all, Heath Ledger played an amazing character, and then Jared Leto tried a different type of role in the terrible Suicide Squad. That is why almost everyone was a bit skeptical when Joaquin Phoenix, today’s most talented and versatile actor, took on the lead role in a comic book film.

Then the film came out, in which we can see the battle of a man with a mental disorder with the world. With the world that rubbed his feet into it every day and forced his dark self, Joker, out of him. The 2019 film deservedly became a global success, with its $1 billion revenue and countless awards, it became a new standard in the DC world. And by the way, Warner also saw this, so it was much easier to get the green light for the Batman or even the Penguin series.

Unfortunately, however well-rounded and perfect Joker was, Warner still saw the possibility of a sequel. The Joker: Two-Man Insanity could have been a great story about how Arthur Fleck’s fate in Arkham Asylum and what will be the end of his trial. This would also have acted as a novelty in the world of comic book films, since such a courtroom drama mixed with a little psychological treatment could have given a new flavor.

Instead, however, the main character persuaded the director to make a musical, in which the changes taking place in Arthur’s mind are presented with music and dance inserts. It worked, Todd Phillips finally went in and Joker: Two-Man Madness was completed. I described the story earlier, since we actually see Arthur in Arkham and in the courtroom. Meanwhile, he meets Harleen Quinzel, with whom they fall in love and experience their madness together.

If you’ve made it this far, I think you’ve already guessed that, in our opinion, Joker: Madness for Two is not a good movie. The fact that such a story is turned into a musical by the creators can be called a particularly brave step, but unfortunately it did not succeed. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is that there is no plausible connection between Lady Gaga and Phoenix. However, the latter shines again in the role of Joker and it was not his fault, but Gaga can play anything with just her voice.

The second is the implementation itself. The film starts brilliantly again, but soon loses its direction. It’s as if the director didn’t have the faintest idea what he wanted to get out of the film. It is quite simply felt every minute that Phillips did not want to do this. He has stated on several occasions that Joker is a solo film and will not get a second part and will not be included in the great DC timeline either – and then he still found himself behind the camera.

The situation of fans and viewers is very difficult, because the continuation of a brilliant film has to be judged, and unfortunately, every minute of the 130-minute film is used so that we don’t try to find positive things in it. The Joker: Two-person insanity is a boring film, which can’t even be called a musical, mediocre or even weaker, a comic book film, and as a sequel to Joker, the end result is downright horrible. I really hope there won’t be a third installment, because any sequel like this makes the 2019 film seem more like a lucky coincidence than Phillips’ genius. 3/10