Joker: Folie à Deux Gets Unexpected Rotten Tomatoes Score Shock

The top reviews of Joker: Folie à Deux on Rotten Tomatoes all seem to agree that something is amiss with the hotly anticipated sequel. Impression Blend’s Marianna Neal explained in her review “By the end, it really feels like the joke is on the viewer, and as a viewer I didn’t appreciate that,” while Mey Rude of Out Magazine decried “It doesn’t matter if he wins his trial, it doesn’t matter if society is broken. It doesn’t matter if he gets the girl… And it doesn’t matter if you see this movie.”

Clearly, some key plot points of the film have left viewers at large unsatisfied, and have led some to believe that Todd Phillips‘ heart simply wasn’t in it.

Some reviewers have been even harsher on the filmmaker, whose previous bodies of work primarily include comedies such as the Hangover film series. A pair of particularly rough Joker: Folie à Deux reviews on Rotten Tomatoes elucidate “Todd Phillips knows how to put the HA into being a hack,” and “If anything, Phillips is found guilty of his own count of murder by slaughtering the quality of his work.”

Spoiler-heavy reviews take particular issue with a few key moments at the very end of the film, though we won’t lay them out in detail here. If you’ve already watched the movie in full or simply don’t mind having the ending spoiled, a quick trip to Rotten Tomatoes will walk you fully through the folly of the final moments.

One significant talking point regarding Joker: Folie à Deux, which is especially evident in many Rotten Tomatoes write-ups is the quality of the musical numbers laced throughout the narrative. The film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and pop sensation Lady Gaga in the leading roles, took a sort of Trojan horse approach to announcing the fact that it’s a musical.

Despite the casting of a renowned vocalist, many fans had no idea that Folie à Deux would contain so many elaborate musical numbers, and others took issue with Phoenix’s singing specifically.

For example, one Joker: Folie à Deux review from The Atlantic’s Spencer Kornhaber on Rotten Tomatoes argues “The musical performances are underpowered, lacking much movement, personality, or surprise.” Comicbookmovie’s Josh Wilding seems to largely agree with this assessment, writing “Lady Gaga shines and Joaquin Phoenix brings more of the same to Joker: Folie à Deux, a wholly unnecessary sequel with no new ideas and nothing to say. It doesn’t work as a movie or a musical. What a waste of $200 million.”

Despite the overwhelming negativity surrounding Joker: Folie à Deux, not every single Rotten Tomatoes review is wholly negative. Some have highlighted Phoenix’s return to the role of Arthur Fleck as a career-best, especially those that consider themselves super-fans of the 2019 original.

Dan Scully argued in his review that the film is “a bold and audacious concept for a sequel and your mileage may vary on how well it works, but I’ll take what is ultimately a slap in the face to reasonable expectations over yet another samey comic book adaptation.”

While there’s still plenty of time for audiences to flock to Joker: Folie à Deux at the box office, it seems as though critical outlets such as Rotten Tomatoes are fully loaded with negativity that may prevent potential fans from bothering with the sequel. For now, all we can do is wait and see how audiences reflect on the film with time.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes